Thursday, October 26, 2006
John 2 (The Message)From Water to Wine
1-3 Three days later there was a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there. Jesus and his disciples were guests also. When they started running low on wine at the wedding banquet, Jesus' mother told him, "They're just about out of wine." 4Jesus said, "Is that any of our business, Mother—yours or mine? This isn't my time. Don't push me." 5She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, "Whatever he tells you, do it." 6-7Six stoneware water pots were there, used by the Jews for ritual washings. Each held twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus ordered the servants, "Fill the pots with water." And they filled them to the brim. 8"Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host," Jesus said, and they did. 9-10When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn't know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, "Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you've saved the best till now!" 11This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
More than almost any other Bible stories, I love the ones that show Jesus' humanity and personality. In them I see compassion, humor, empathy, urgency, even anger and impatience. These stories deepen my connection with Jesus…they make Him more of a “real person” to me. They make far more plausible the reassurance in Hebrews 4 that, “We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin.” These wonderful stories that relate who Jesus WAS – rather than only what he said and did – draw me closer to Him, make Him more approachable, make His sacrifice even more precious.
I suppose this is why I find the 'first miracle' story of John 2 so interesting. Read over and over, a number of details begin to emerge. Like a good movie or book or painting, the more often I see it, the more I notice.
First, it’s always seemed strange to me that our initial glimpse of Mary’s relationship with an adult Jesus is not necessarily a flattering one. She appears to be either egging Jesus on or bragging about Him, wanting Him to show off to the crowd or to the host. While I can’t be certain of Mary’s motivation, I know - as the father of two boys – that we all want to let others know how great our children are.
It also appears to show that Jesus could get really irritated with people – even with his own mother! As a person who is occasionally challenged by the minor irritations of life, I find it rather endearing to see Jesus ‘tested’ in this way.
I also find it very interesting that Jesus first tells his Mom, "It's not my time," and then performs the miracle anyway. I can almost hear him say, "Butt out, Mom! Oh...all right. I’ll do it."
And why this particular miracle? Certainly he must have known that his future would include the performing of miracles to heal people and give evidence of the arrival of the Kingdom of God. Yet Jesus starts with what seems almost like a party trick. Not only that, I think a significant number of believers through the ages might have been a bit more comfortable with this miracle had Jesus turned wine into water, rather than the other way round. (As a Northern Californian, I’m just grateful he made really good wine.)
Finally, I think there's some powerful symbolism in this story that I've never heard anyone talk about. Jesus had the servants fill the big water jugs that were used for ritual cleansings. This was pretty daring – it must have even seemed inappropriate. Ritual cleansings were VERY important in His day and time – a serious part of daily life for people of faith. And not only did Jesus get rid of the cleansing water, He filled these important vessels with wine.
Why these containers? I think there’s a message here about Jesus’ purpose – He’s here to cleanse us. I don’t think it’s too great a leap to think of wine as symbolic of His blood. Jesus replaces the OLD way of spiritual cleansing with the NEW way. He miraculously converts the medium that give temporary purification into the precious blood - the source of the greatest cleansing, the once-for-all cleansing, the perfect, eternal cleansing.
There is such encouragement and instruction and wisdom to be gained in learning more about who Jesus really was – not only what people said about Him, but what HE said and did. Take some time to really read them - again or for the first time!
Dave Wright
1-3 Three days later there was a wedding in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there. Jesus and his disciples were guests also. When they started running low on wine at the wedding banquet, Jesus' mother told him, "They're just about out of wine." 4Jesus said, "Is that any of our business, Mother—yours or mine? This isn't my time. Don't push me." 5She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, "Whatever he tells you, do it." 6-7Six stoneware water pots were there, used by the Jews for ritual washings. Each held twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus ordered the servants, "Fill the pots with water." And they filled them to the brim. 8"Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host," Jesus said, and they did. 9-10When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn't know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, "Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you've saved the best till now!" 11This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
More than almost any other Bible stories, I love the ones that show Jesus' humanity and personality. In them I see compassion, humor, empathy, urgency, even anger and impatience. These stories deepen my connection with Jesus…they make Him more of a “real person” to me. They make far more plausible the reassurance in Hebrews 4 that, “We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin.” These wonderful stories that relate who Jesus WAS – rather than only what he said and did – draw me closer to Him, make Him more approachable, make His sacrifice even more precious.
I suppose this is why I find the 'first miracle' story of John 2 so interesting. Read over and over, a number of details begin to emerge. Like a good movie or book or painting, the more often I see it, the more I notice.
First, it’s always seemed strange to me that our initial glimpse of Mary’s relationship with an adult Jesus is not necessarily a flattering one. She appears to be either egging Jesus on or bragging about Him, wanting Him to show off to the crowd or to the host. While I can’t be certain of Mary’s motivation, I know - as the father of two boys – that we all want to let others know how great our children are.
It also appears to show that Jesus could get really irritated with people – even with his own mother! As a person who is occasionally challenged by the minor irritations of life, I find it rather endearing to see Jesus ‘tested’ in this way.
I also find it very interesting that Jesus first tells his Mom, "It's not my time," and then performs the miracle anyway. I can almost hear him say, "Butt out, Mom! Oh...all right. I’ll do it."
And why this particular miracle? Certainly he must have known that his future would include the performing of miracles to heal people and give evidence of the arrival of the Kingdom of God. Yet Jesus starts with what seems almost like a party trick. Not only that, I think a significant number of believers through the ages might have been a bit more comfortable with this miracle had Jesus turned wine into water, rather than the other way round. (As a Northern Californian, I’m just grateful he made really good wine.)
Finally, I think there's some powerful symbolism in this story that I've never heard anyone talk about. Jesus had the servants fill the big water jugs that were used for ritual cleansings. This was pretty daring – it must have even seemed inappropriate. Ritual cleansings were VERY important in His day and time – a serious part of daily life for people of faith. And not only did Jesus get rid of the cleansing water, He filled these important vessels with wine.
Why these containers? I think there’s a message here about Jesus’ purpose – He’s here to cleanse us. I don’t think it’s too great a leap to think of wine as symbolic of His blood. Jesus replaces the OLD way of spiritual cleansing with the NEW way. He miraculously converts the medium that give temporary purification into the precious blood - the source of the greatest cleansing, the once-for-all cleansing, the perfect, eternal cleansing.
There is such encouragement and instruction and wisdom to be gained in learning more about who Jesus really was – not only what people said about Him, but what HE said and did. Take some time to really read them - again or for the first time!
Dave Wright
Post a Comment