Feb 19: Turning our water into wine
John 2:1-12 TNIV from Biblegateway.com
1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples put their faith in him. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
Devotional comments:
Jesus meets us in ordinary settings. His first miracle recorded in John was uniquely set at a celebration of regular small town folks. The wedding party of his family friends has the embarrassment of running out of wine at this festive occasion. At first Jesus rebuffs his mother’s request to do something. But her faith is unwavering. “Do whatever he tells you.”
We may find our own situation embarrassing. What if people really knew my shortcomings? What if everyone discovers how I don’t measure up? Jesus is there, calmly turning water into wine.
It is interesting how Jesus is quite silent in this situation. He only gives a few short instructions that perhaps challenged the servants (“why is he asking us to fill jars of water?”). Jesus has no elaborate explanation or teaching. No mysterious elaboration like “not tear down this temple and I will build it up in 3 days”. He simply says “now, draw some out and take it to the master.”
Can you imagine what was going through the servant’s minds, as they brought plain old water to the anxious father of the bride! “Here, that Jesus fella sent us to you with water.”
Then like all of Jesus interactions with us, they were amazed to find out Jesus used their simple obedience to perform a miracle. Oh, that Jesus would use us today in the same way.
Roger Gilbert
Pray for Jesus to perform his miracles in our lives.