Weddings are generally very happy and also important occasions for a family. Often many months of careful planning go into hosting such an event, and no one wants some mishap to occur. This was also the case back in the days of the Bible. Though the ceremony was different, and the garments that the bride and groom wore looked nothing like what we are familiar with today, everyone wanted things to run smoothly for the couple and their families. Today in our Scripture from the Gospel of John, we will look in on a wedding, see a disaster unfold, but when they turned to Jesus, the day was saved.
As our Scripture passage opens, Jesus, several of His disciples, and His mother were invited to a wedding in the village of Cana (vs. 1-2). Cana was on the west side of the Sea of Galilee, north of the village of Nazareth, where Jesus had grown up. Cana was also the hometown of Nathaniel, one of His disciples (John 21:2). Weddings in the days of the Bible were week-long festivals. There were many guests, sometimes the whole village, and often out-of-town guests, such as in this case. Thus, careful planning was needed. To run out of food or beverage was a terrible thing, and was quite embarrassing. Even more so, it broke the unwritten law of hospitality. It was a disaster!
As we read, such a thing happened to the host of this wedding. They ran out of wine, and there were probably several days left with the wedding festival. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a close friend or possibly a relative of the bride or groom’s family, and as such, was privy to this terrible predicament. The many wedding guests did not know this, but the immediate families of the couple did, and they were frantic. What would they do? Mary, their close friend or relative, knew what she was going to do, though. She would take the problem to Jesus (vs. 3).
What do we do when we have problems in our life? Problems even much more serious than running out of beverages at a wedding? At that time, and for this family, they were facing a terrible need. Sometimes in our life we run up against terrible crises. Perhaps a horrible illness, a job loss, or a financial ruin. Like the Virgin Mary did for this family, we need to take these problems to the Lord. It doesn’t matter what our need may be, even if it might seem a bit odd like this problem was, we need to go to Jesus with it. We may have no idea how to fix the problem. We may not even know what to exactly pray for. It doesn’t matter. We can leave it in Jesus’s hands, knowing that He will do whatever is best.
When Mary brought the problem of no wine to her Son, she didn’t know what He was going to do. That didn’t matter, though. She had faith that Jesus would take care of the matter in the best possible way, whatever that way would be. After bringing the problem to Jesus, Mary told the servants to do whatever He would tell them to do (vs. 5). Mary submitted to Jesus and how He would answer her request. Like her, we should submit, and allow Him to deal with our needs as He sees fit.
Jesus instructed the servants to fill the large water pots with water, and then bring them to the master of the feast (vs. 6-8). These water pots were quite large. Each one would have held between 18-27 gallons, depending on the size. There were six of these, so that would have been a total of between 108-162 gallons. When the servants obeyed, and brought it to the master of the feast, it had turned to wine, the best of wine (vs. 9-10).
Like the stone water pots, God wants to fill us with His anointing. First, though, we must be empty of everything of the world. We must give to God everything we have, and He will transform us into a vessel full of His anointing.
In closing, just as our Scripture says, we need to do whatever God tells us to do. God knows how to take us out of our mess, and into wherever He wants us to be. Sometimes the instructions God gives us may not make sense to anyone, just like at this wedding, but we must do whatever He tells us to do. Noah probably wondered why God wanted him to build an ark. Abraham wondered why God wanted him to leave his homeland. They obeyed, remained faithful, and reaped God’s blessings. When we take our problems to God in prayer, be ready to obey what He says, and then be prepared for His blessings to pour out.
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