Dear friend in Christ,
Our Scripture reading is from the Gospel of John, who writes of the first sign (miracle) that Jesus used to openly reveal of His Godness to those who were present on that day. We are in the season of Epiphany, which means the revealing of the Divine Nature of Christ. Historically it marks the bringing of the Gospel to the Gentiles through the Wisemen from the East. Last Sunday the church marked the occasion of the baptism of Jesus and how it was done in order to fulfill all righteousness. The baptizing by John upon Jesus marked the beginning of the new kingdom and the descending of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus and the voice from heaven proclaimed Jesus, the Son of God, as the new King. (Matthew 3;13-17)
The main point of this text is to show in what manner Jesus demonstrated that He was more than a prophet or a rabbi, for this was the first miracle that He did. This is about Jesus with Mary his mother being the secondary person in the account.
KJV John 2:1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
Jesus came there with either five or six of his disciples whom he had called to follow him. This was the beginning of their relationship with Jesus and they were going to spend three years with Him learning from Him.
3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
Mary, as the mother of Jesus and still trying to come to grips with Him being the Messiah, came to Jesus with a problem of the wine running out at the wedding. Jesus spoke to her in what seems like a harsh tone, but yet reveals to her more of the primary purpose for which her son was born on this earth.
Did her mind go back to the time when they had brought their infant son to the temple and they had heard Simeon speak concerning their son?
Luke 2:33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.
34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Did her mind go back to when they were at the temple when Jesus was twelve years old?
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.
42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?
50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
Again, with the knowledge that she had, she simply said, "Listen to Him, for He will do what He wants to do for His Father's purposes.
6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.(twenty or thirty gallons)
7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
11 This beginning of miracles (signs) did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
Jesus then demonstrated that He was the Son of God by changing the water into wine, and John called it a sign of His Godness. Glory: Inner attributes revealed openly.
What are some of the lessons that jump out at us in this account of Jesus' first sign of who He is? As was mentioned earlier, Jesus is the main person in this account as He must be in all the scriptures. He is the Giver and we are the receiver. What does He want us to get in this passage?
1. He is God and has all the attributes and abilities of God and He used this sign to demonstrate this.
2. The new wine signifies a new beginning of the new kingdom and the King.
3. The first miracle at a wedding feast points to the feast that is waiting for all who look for His coming again.
4. In Holy Communion we are given a taste of that feast which is to come for all eternity.
What about Mary? What can we learn from her actions in this account?
She pondered and kept those things in her heart that had been told to her and that she had seen.Luke 2:19, 2:51 (She did not forget them)
She trusted Jesus and told others to trust Him.
How about you and I?
Our knowledge of Christ today has been gained from those things that we have been told and that which we have seen. How does our world view line up with the teachings of Christ?
We have the opportunity again in this new year to follow Jesus through the Bible as He begins His ministry by calling his first disciples to follow Him: We will follow along as another disciples and as we do we will listen and learn and in so doing, we will be assured, strengthened challenged, corrected and inspired.
Are we a diligent and honest seeker of the truth or are we so locked into our own ideas that we cannot even see or hear what Jesus is saying to us as individuals, or to us as families or to us collectively as a church body?
May we travel along with Jesus who wants to lead us in the ways of blessing and honor.
Grace to you, dear friend.
Pastor Orval