John 2:1-11
Validation is something that we all enjoy receiving. When someone appreciates our work or
expresses confidence in our abilities; this type of validation is reassuring
and encouraging to us. In reality, most
of us seek for validation all too often and become upset when we don’t get as
much of it was we think we should. When
Jesus turned the water into wine as His first miracle He was given much
validation but He did not do the miracle for that purpose. There were likely two motives behind this
miracle. The first may have been as
simple as having compassion on the family that was hosting the wedding with so
many thirsty guests. Running out of wine
would have been a huge embarrassment to them and Jesus spared them for
that. The more important motive behind
this miracle was to promote and solidify the faith of His disciples in His identity
as the Son of God. Jesus knew all about
the people’s expectations concerning Messiah and He knew that He was not going
to fulfill those expectations during His earthly ministry. He also knew how fragile the faith of His
disciples was. This and many other
miracles would help to validate their faith in Him. The key to pleasing God is believing in Jesus;
His identity and His work. This event
would help them stand firm in their faith when their expectations concerning
Messiah were not fulfilled. There are
many ways to look at this passage but I would like to consider it from the
perspective of the different people who were at the scene and how they
responded to what Jesus did.
MARY GAVE HER OPINION TO JESUS BECAUSE SHE BELIEVED: Mary,
Jesus and His disciples to this point are at a wedding. We don’t know who’s wedding it was or what
their relationship was to Mary and Joseph, but it seems as if Mary has an
important role and authority to instruct servants. Perhaps this was the wedding of one of her
other children or another family member.
Jewish weddings were typically a several day event so we don’t know how
far into the celebration Jesus and His disciples arrived. The reference to it being the third day could
mean that the wedding had been going for three days or that it was three days
since Jesus arrived in Galilee. Whatever
the timing, the organizers of the wedding had not planned the quantity of wine
correctly and had run out. Mary is aware
of the situation as I am sure Jesus was too.
Mary comes to Jesus, not so much to inform Him of the lack of wine but
to give her opinion as to what Jesus should do about it. Her statement implies that she believes that
He has the power to do whatever He wants and that she thinks it would be
appropriate for Him to do a miracle.
When Jesus calls her “woman” it is not a sign of disrespect but a more
formal greeting similar to how we would use “my lady.” Jesus makes it clear that He is not going to
do a public miracle in order to draw the attention of the crowd to
Himself. Perhaps Mary had something like
this in mind out of a desire to see Jesus assume His rightful place. Only a very few people, His disciples and the
servants, even knew what He had done.
Mary steps out of the situation and simply instructs the servants to do
whatever Jesus says. That is good advice
to all of us. We will do well if we do
whatever Jesus tells us to do. Mary knows
the identity and ability of Jesus. She
came to Him because she believed.
SERVANTS WERE OBEDIENT TO JESUS BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED: The
servants were obedient to do as Mary told them because that is what servants
do. Following instructions is what
servants are supposed to do. However
when Jesus instructed them to fill the pots with water and then take it to the
master of ceremonies; it took a step of faith to obey. We have no way of knowing when the water
turned into wine. It could have been as
soon as the water entered the pots or not until it crossed the lips of the one
in charge of the wedding feast. Whenever
it happened, the act of taking “water” to the master of ceremonies at this
wedding would have been a very dangerous proposition for these servants. None the less, they did just as Mary had
instructed and obeyed Jesus. As we live
lives of obedience to the Lord, it is very likely that He will call us to do
things that we don’t understand or that could be risky for us. Ease and safety are not usually the paths on
which Jesus calls us to travel. No
matter what He asks of us; we need to trust Him and obey what He tells us to do
even if it doesn’t make any sense to us.
In the end, the servants had the privilege of offering the very best
wine. Rewards from God involve risk to
us.
DISCIPLES WERE OBSERVANT OF JESUS AND BELIEVED: The
disciples were observing this entire process and were amazed by what they saw. Jesus did not make a public spectacle of this
miracle but He did want His disciples to see it. He was not ready for the multitudes to come after
Him but He was ready to assure His disciples that He was who John the Baptist
had proclaimed Him to be. John the
author of this book has made special mention of the belief of the disciples in
the previous chapter and he will make many other references to belief in future
chapters. He is not saying that they had
not believed in the past; nor is he saying that they would no longer face bouts
of unbelief. He is simply saying that
the faith of the disciples increased as a result of observing this
miracle. Jesus demonstrated His power
over the elements and the fact that He had super-natural abilities. It was important for the disciples to know that
they were not following just another man.
They were following the all-powerful Son of God. As we follow Jesus we will face very
difficult circumstances and there will be times where we cannot see a way
out. When this happens it is important for
us to remember that we too serve an omnipotent God who is able to do much more
than we can ask or even think. It is
impossible to please God without trusting Him.
It is a delight to follow Jesus when we rest in His power and grace.
APPLICATION: No matter how long we know Jesus we must continue
to place our trust in Him and take our difficulties to Him. We must always understand that He will act
according to His will and that might not always align with our will. No matter the circumstance, we are to follow
the Lord’s instructions. Strive to trust
the Lord more every day. Recognize and
be grateful for His “everyday” miracles in our lives; it will make our lives
much less stressful and much more pleasing to Him.
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