On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. (John 2:1-2)
At this point, Jesus had only chosen the first four disciples, all of which he chose when He first arrived in Galilee (see THE GOSPEL: Disciples, Who Are These Guys?). Jesus and the disciples go to join His mother and half-siblings at a wedding; And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (John 2:1-5) This is probably the most maternal exchange recorded in the Bible between Jesus and Mary. It could almost be translated Jesus said, "Mother, I'm not ready to do anything to draw attention to myself yet." Mary responds, "Boy, it's time for your to grown up! Now, you servants do whatever He tells you to." Only the servants, the four disciples and Mary would know what was done and by whom, so He still wasn't making a public show, yet.
Jewish weddings during this time were more like feasts, and they could last for days. Understand that many of the relatives and friends who were invited to come usually had to travel some distance by foot or animal, so they wouldn't just turn around and leave after the actual marriage ceremony was over, but would stay for a period of time. The bridegroom had to make preparation ahead of time to have enough food or wine to last the entire time the guests stayed. It was a very embarrassing thing to run out of wine before the feast time was over. There was no running down the street to the store to buy some more. What to do? Well, we all can learn a lesson from Mary about not panicking. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,... (Ephesians 3:20) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7) Pray, believe and then proceed!
Being the obedient Son that He was since His early childhood (Luke 2:48-52), He gave the servants instructions to use the waterpots that the guests used to wash themselves. Really? Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. [Romans 14:14] And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” (John 2:6-10) We all can relate to this. If we have hosted a special gathering or helped to organize one with someone else, we always make sure the best stuff goes out first, but we always have some extra stuff as a backup that may not be as good.
Well, in this case the wine Jesus made was like "saving the best for last"! That was unheard of. This also shows us very clearly that with Christ, we will always have better than what we had without him. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. (I Corinthians 15:42-49) We were once like dirty waterpots, now we're waterpots filled with water, filled with the Holy Spirit of God, therefore let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22)
What was the purpose of this miracle? John reveals, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. (John 2:11-12) ...but these [all that is recorded in the Gospel books] are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:31)
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