John 2:1-12 DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU
“On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with His disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever He tells you.’”
Jesus' first sign happened in the wedding at Cana. If we read the whole chapter, we will notice that perhaps Jesus and His family are very close to the bride or the bridegroom, or Mary was involved with the event planning. Jesus, His disciples, His mother Mary, and brothers were all invited and present at the wedding. When Mary realized that the wine ran out, she immediately turned to Jesus for help instead of notifying the bride/groom or the wedding planner, for what it's worth. Why did Mary do that?
Mary knew who Jesus is. She knew that He is more than the son she carried in her womb; He is the Son of God, conceived through the Holy Spirit! In Matthew 1:23, the angel of the Lord prophesied over baby Jesus that He will be called "Immanuel" which means "God with us."
At this time, Jesus had already been baptized by John the Baptist and had already summoned disciples and followers. Mary must have thought that (1) there is a need in this particular event that needs a miraculous provision and (2) Jesus must be ready to show the world who He really is and what He is able to do. Whatever her reasoning may be, only Mary and Jesus know. Jesus then answered her by asking, "Woman, what does this have to do with Me? My hour has not come yet." In our contemporary time, Jesus might sound like a very disrespectful son. But we know that Jesus is not disrespectful to anyone and more importantly, He will not dishonor His mother like that. Oddly, this was actually respectful way to address someone in this time according to some Bible scholars.
This chapter needs a lot of digging and research. But there is one thing that we know for sure from this story:
Mary trusted in faith that only Jesus can fix the need on hand and that He is willing to be answer no matter what.
How do we know that?
Mary simply asked the servants to follow whatever Jesus tells them to do, like she never heard Jesus' rationalization. And Mary was not disappointed. Jesus asked the servants to fill the jars and He conducted His first miracle to ever be recorded in the Gospel of John.
“Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.’ So they took it.”
The Servants' Faith
The servants also showed their faith in Jesus, regardless if they know who He is or if they know that what they are doing is insane. They still filled the water jars to the brim and drew from the jars and take it to the master! Now if we think about it, the servants have risked a lot of courage and possibly put themselves up for a big scolding if they delivered WATER to the master, which they knew was the thing they filled the jars with. But like Mary, the servants were not disappointed either.
“When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him,
’Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.’”
Any requests asked through faith, God will answer with a miraculous and over-the-top response. He is the God who never lets you down. He is the God who rewards a believing heart. And just like His Name "Immanuel," God is with us through every detail of our lives. How ever big or small, God wants to be involved in our life. It may be His time yet or not, He wants to be there when we need Him the most. Nothing can ever hinder His passion to be there for us so that we will not be put to shame.
PRAYER
Father God, You are the God of miracle! You are the Almighty, the Great I am, the Alpha and the Omega. There is nothing too hard for You to do. You are able to do the impossible and willing to do whatever is deemed necessary to spare us from shame. Thank You that You so willingly want to be a part of our life. From the minutest to our most significant needs, You are there to provide if only we ask, in faith. Lord, help us to trust You so that we can fully entrust our lives to You as well. Forgive us for all the times that we tried to fix things on our own, when we know that we are helpless without you. Thank You for Your grace. In Jesus Name, we pray. Amen!