Weddings are usually a very special time. Unless one elopes or has a very small ceremony with just a couple of witnesses in front of the priest or pastor, or they just have a civil ceremony in front of a judge, a lot of planning goes into preparing for the occasion. Both families want everything to go perfectly. Once in a while, though, a snag comes up. Sometimes it might not be too big a deal, but other times it is. It can be a huge embarrassment to the couple and their families, and threaten to ruin the whole day. This is the situation we find at one wedding, which the Apostle John relates to us today. Let’s see what happened that day.
When our Scripture opens, it is very early in Jesus’ ministry. He had only recently been baptized by John the Baptist, and returned from spending forty days in the wilderness in prayer and fasting. Jesus had not yet performed any miracles, whether of healing, casting out demons, or any other, and so He did not yet attract huge crowds. The family of the bride or groom (or both) were good friends with the family of Jesus, and as we see, His mother Mary must have been a good friend and confidant to probably the mother of the bride or groom.
Jewish weddings in Biblical days were big affairs. Unlike most weddings today, which usually last just one day with the ceremony and reception following, Jewish weddings at the time of Jesus lasted several days, often up to a week long. Large amounts of food and drink would be consumed by all the guests during that week. To run out of either one would be a crisis, and would also bring the family great embarrassment and shame.
This is what happened to the wedding family at the wedding that Jesus was invited to. Probably the mother of the bride or groom, who was a close friend of the Virgin Mary, shared with her that they had run out of wine. What were they going to do? It’s not like they could just run out and buy multiple cases of wine. This was very disturbing to the family, and they shared this with Mary. Mary immediately thought of her Son, the Lord Jesus. For thirty years He had spent His life at home with the family, and had only just recently started His ministry, and she knew His good character. What was she expecting Him to do? Did she think that He would perform the miracle that He did? She might not even have known herself what He could or would do, but she knew the family was in a crisis, and she knew that Jesus was filled with love and compassion, and cared about people.
As we read, Mary came to Jesus and shared with Him that the family was facing a crisis, that they had run out of wine (vs. 3). Jesus’ response to her might seem to some to be a bit abrupt or sharp, but it really wasn’t. In this context, calling her “woman” was showing her proper respect as His mother, more like saying “Ma’am”. He proceeded to tell her that His ministry had only just begun (vs. 4). However, the Virgin Mary was not put off. She didn’t get upset and start demanding, but neither did she just give up. Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus said (vs. 5), and probably then went back to the family. Now everything was in Jesus’ hands. Mary did her part, she interceded on behalf of her friends and brought the need to the Lord. What Jesus would do was up to Him. Would He respond or not? That was not Mary’s responsibility anymore. It was up to Jesus.
Jesus does care and have compassion on people, and Mary knew that. He told the servants to fill the large water pots with water, and then bring the pots to the host. Those servants might have wondered about that request, as the guests were not going to want to drink water! However they obeyed, and the water was miraculously turned into wine, and not just cheap wine, but top quality (vs 6-10).
When we are faced with a problem, we need to take that need to Jesus, like Mary did. Frequently He involves us in the process of obtaining our miracle. We are to do whatever God tells us to (vs 5). He knows how to take us out of our mess and into our miracle. Sometimes the instructions God gives us may not make sense to anyone, but we need to do whatever He tells us.
In order for God to pour His anointing into us, we must become an empty vessel, just like those six empty water pots of stone off to the side were. We need to be ready for God’s use. Give Jesus what we have, and He will transform us into a vessel full of His anointing. When Mary came to Jesus, she did not know what He would do, but she knew He would do something, and she trusted and believed. When we pray, expect God to hear and answer our prayers. Be available for His use, and believe!
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