Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Jesus
turns water into wine
1 On the third day a
wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2
and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3
When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus
replied. “My
time has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the
servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Nearby stood six stone water
jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from
twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with
water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told
them, “Now draw
some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, 9
and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.
He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn
the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said,
“Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the
guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 11
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He
thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
John
tells us that this was the first miracle of Jesus. If you were writing a letter
to someone and you were trying to convince them that Jesus was the Son of God,
what miracle of Christ would you start with? Maybe the raising of Lazarus from
the dead? Or raising the widow’s son from the dead? John starts with Jesus turning water into
wine. Why? Because it gets to the heart of what Jesus came to do – transform lives.
The
married couple does something that every married couple should do; invite Jesus
into their marriage. He will show up. He will change things. He can transform a
marriage. At the reception (which
usually lasted seven days), this couple faced a huge problem – they ran out of
wine. Jesus’ mother learns of the
dilemma and immediately goes to Jesus. Jesus response to his mother wasn’t
harsh or cruel. He was simply saying, “Mom, you know my time hasn’t come for me
to be glorified.” Mary knew what others did not know – Jesus could fix this
problem. We can learn some important
lessons from Mary. First, take your
problems to Jesus. He can transform them. He can transform the ordinary into
the extra-ordinary. Mary knew that Jesus could transform. Second, we should
take her words to heart, “Do whatever he tells you.” What a great motto to live by. Our resolve should be to obey whatever Christ
tells us to do.
Jesus
tells the servants to fill the empty the jars with water. Then they were to
draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. We can learn obedience from these servants as
well. They obeyed Jesus immediately –
they filled them up. They obeyed Jesus enthusiastically – they filled the jars
up to the brim. They obeyed Jesus completely
– they drew it out and took it to the host.
The transforming power of Jesus comes to our lives the same way –
through obedience.
The
master of the banquet was totally blown away by Jesus’ wine. He saves the best
for last. The writer of Hebrews wrote, “In
the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in
various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he
appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Hebrews
1:1-2). God saved his best communication for the last – His Son, Jesus Christ.
John
makes it clear that this miracle was a sign that revealed the glory of Christ
It
reveals his glory to transform.
It
reveals his glory over creation.
It
reveals his glory to save – Jesus can fill an empty life.
It
reveals his glory over time – He can change water into wine in a second
It
reveals his glory to provide – Jesus comes to give abundant life.
His
glory is revealed in us when we obey Him.
May Mary’s motto be yours – “Do whatever he tells you.”
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