John 2:1-11 Some Amazing Details From A Wedding

"Our Lord was not a recluse as was John the Baptist.  He accepted invitations to social events, even though His enemies used this practice to accuse Him.  Our Lord entered into the normal experiences of life and sanctified them by His presence," my commentary began.

At this point in His life, He had not yet performed any miracles, and many people barely knew Him.  He arrived at the wedding with six disciples and Mary.  The groom's family paid for and prepared the wedding feast, which by Jewish tradition lasted an entire week!  At that time, wine, diluted with water, was the normal drink.

His mother made Him aware of the host's problem.  The host might not have even known that the wine had run out.  My commentary suggested that Mary might have been helping to prepare food for the feast and that is how she found out.  She only told the servants to "do what He tells you to do," and the writer of my commentary says that would be wise for all of us to obey!  I know when I'd read this years before I got the impression that Mary was forcing Him to reveal His divinity or to do what she ordered, but that was certainly not the case!  Jesus took command and solved the problem.  Mary only pointed others to Him.

"Our Lord's first miracle was not a spectacular event that everybody witnessed.  Mary, the disciples, and the servants knew what had happened, but nobody else at the feast had any idea that a miracle had taken place," my commentary added.

Warren Wiersbe, the writer of my commentary, has impressed me with the wisdom he shows in many things he writes.  Here's an example:  "We are not told that all of the available water in the [six 20-30 gallon] jars turned into wine.  Only that which the servants drew out and served was transformed into wine."  I went back to check out those verses, and nowhere does it explicitly stated that all of the water in all of the jars turned into wine.  In fact, it says, "So they took the water to the master.  When he tasted it, the water had become wine."  This miracle wasn't a flash miracle that instantly converted up to 180 gallons of water into wine ready to be served!  This miracle kept occurring as each guest put the cup to their lips!

"The miracle did something for His disciples.  It revealed His glory and gave them a strong foundation for their faith ... The disciples had to begin somewhere, and over the months, their faith deepened as they got to know Jesus better."  And that's what we are called to do -- to get to know Jesus better!

Father, thank You so much for making my quiet time fresh by continuing to reveal to me things I'd read before but hadn't fully connected.  I feel like the things You drew out and served to me today are as incredible as that wine surely was for the wedding guests!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford