On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine.""Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."
His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, 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 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."
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 2:1-11(NIV)
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.Perhaps it was Mary who reminded John in her old age of the time she imposed her rash will on her son, not realizing the mistake.
I think that the Holy Spirit urged the evangelist John to record not only the miracle, but Mary's mistake as well. We see the wisdom in this because so many have come to believe that Mary has power to intercede for us with Jesus and has authority over him.
We often miss the faith Mary had in her son, however. Think, mothers, how it must have been for Mary to believe the babe that nursed at her breast was the creator of all life.
Her faith was so stubborn that it even led her to prompt Jesus in this instance to perform his first miracle - he even tells her, "My time has not yet come"; but still she tells the servants to follow his command, so confident is she that he will intercede. We may learn much from Mary's simple lesson of ignorant faith here - even after Jesus rebukes her ("why do you involve me?"), she clings to her belief in him - that he will do what she believes to be the right thing.
The turning of the water to wine is Jesus first miracle, and as with most things, we may learn much from what will follow by observing what first occurred. Let us look into what significance this act has by being Jesus' first miracle.
But note that even beyond the fact that he met others' needs before his own, notice that he didn't just make bread for these people - he made wine - a luxury - and so he would make a luxury for others, but would not make even bread for himself. Do you see the importance in Jesus' refusal to make even a crumb of bread for himself - yet making those things that are luxurious and joyful for others?
Moses began his work with a miracle of judgment on Egypt, but Jesus begins his with a miracle of joy!
He sets the stage for all his later miracles by performing a deed that brings blessing and joy to humankind - his every word and deed that would follow this event would be the same. He performs his first miracle at a wedding feast - a place of great joy and celebration. Don't miss the point that Jesus' first miracle was at a wedding - marriage was and is the only real piece of paradise left for us and Jesus hastened to honor it with the God-man's first miracle
It is a good thing when we run short in this life, for it is in those moments that we must look to Him for completion and resolution. If you have no need - or refuse to acknowledge your need, Christ will not come to you. But if your needs stand before you as great empty water jars, he will fill them - but not only fill them, fill them with the greatest of wines and with this transformation, he changes our sighing to singing; our tears of tragedy to tears of joy.
Jesus reaches out to people wherever they are, he doesn't hide in the church building waiting for us to come to him
Look at Jesus' other miracles - what about the feeding of the five thousand - did he just give them enough to prevent starvation? NO, more was collected as left-overs than what was begun with - the bellies of the multitudes were full! Christianity is not a sad existence on this earth that looks forward to joy only in the life to come - it is a life of joy. Michael Card wrote a song entitled Joy In The Journey, the lyrics demonstrate the thought well:
There is a joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obeyAnd all those who seek it shall find it
A pardon for those who believe
Hope for the hopeless and sight for the blindFor those who've been born of the Spirit
And who share incarnation with him
For those of eternity stranded in time
And weary of struggling with sinForget not the hope that's before you
And never stop counting the cost
Remember your hopelessness when you were lostThere is joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey
We too often feel that if we desire something from God, we should pray more than usual to get his attention, don't we? Yet, here, Jesus' miracle shows us that he goes beyond simply meeting our needs - he fills us to the brim - not with the wine that will suffice - but with the wine that is better than all others! Note, also, that what was required to receive this blessing was nothing difficult or challenging - rather, simple, trusting obedience was all Jesus asked for.
Dwell for a moment on this thought - what were the servants thinking? What was Mary thinking? Jesus had never before performed a miracle that we know of? Mary simple trusted him to take care of the problem - perhaps she thought he would send the servants to purchase new wine. The servants certainly could've had no idea what he was about to do. Jesus didn't come to them, nor does he come to you and I, with difficult hard things to do in order to receive his grace and blessing.
Have faith enough to trust him - even though you may not understand what he is about to do - and he will perform miracles. Grace is free - but only to those who accept it; the wine was provided by grace, was it not? No one worked for it, did they? Yet in order to receive it, the servants had to obey. Jesus is still the same; the precedent he set with that first miracle exemplifies his call to us even today
Lord of Light O come to this wedding
Take the doubt of darkness away
Turn the water of lifeless living
To the wine of gladness we prayMother Mary's gently requesting
That you might do whatever you can
Though she may be impatient she loves you
So she asks what she can't understandSo amidst the laughter and feasting
So there sits Jesus full with the fun
He has made them wine because he is longing
For a wedding that's yet to come
This first miracle is the first of Jesus' signs that his will be a different kind of kingdom. Had Jesus' intent been to set up a military kingdom, his first miracle might well have been performed at a gathering of soldiers. Had his kingdom been one of politics; he would've shown his first miracle at the courts of the Romans. But his kingdom was unlike any that man has ever conceived of before or since.
The story of our Bible ends like all well-told tales - they were married and lived happily ever after. The images in the words of Jesus and the apostles for the church portray her as the bride of Christ - that he is the bridegroom that will return very soon for his bride. He longs for that day - and he has promised us that the wine of gladness and rejoicing will flow forever more when he meets us at the wedding feast at the end of time.