John 2:1-11

Ok, so as I'm studying through John, the commentary available for study is just amazing. e-Sword is chock full o' goodness, as is the Blue Letter Bible and a ton of other spots online. As I'm reading and studying Jesus' first miracle at the wedding in Cana, I'm struck by the wealth of knowledge and info. and wisdom and insight in these short eleven verses. Matthew Henry's commentary on John 2 is amazing. The Holy Spirit is teaching me to study God's Word and seek the context and meaning behind the words as opposed to just what resides on the surface of the Scriptures. When I stop and really look at what's being said and the implications of what's not said, the picture painted is so rich and full as to leave me speechless. Except for all those words above and those to follow below. Other than these, I'm...ok, I obviously can't say I'm speechless, but the enormity of what's going on in this short passage is staggering.

To begin, we see that Jesus has been invited to a wedding. Specifically, to the wedding of a family friend, we can assume, as it says in verse 1, "...and the mother of Jesus was there." She wasn't invited as Jesus and His disciples were. Rather, she was already there which we can safely assume means she knew the people well and most likely had helped prepare the wedding and the feast. So Jesus accepts the invitation to this wedding which is instructive on numerous points, the first being what His acceptance says of His respect for the institution of marriage. Jesus tells us through His attendance that marriage is worth His time and effort; likewise it is worth ours. By His presence He blesses the marriage ceremony and gives it His approval. His presence at this wedding is this young couple's best hope for a successful, happy marriage; likewise, it is ours.

Right away we see this marriage hit its first obstacle to happiness: they run out of wine. They are unable to fill their needs (enough wine for their friends), and we can look at this as being symbolic of the problems our marriages will inevitably encounter. Yet if Jesus is in our wedding/marriage, we see what He will do when trouble arises. He abundantly fills the need by miraculously turning water into wine! Jesus will perform miracles in our marriages if He is invited! And what kind of wine is it? Is it just acceptable or good enough or adequate? No! This wine is great stuff! And Jesus provides between 120-180 gallons of the stuff! I don't know what kind of feast was going on here, but we can safely say 120-180 gallons of wine would fill that need many times over! We learn the quality of the wine from what the master of the feast says in verse 10: "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" How amazing is this! It tells us so much, and I fear I may be babbling incoherent thoughts as my mind races to both comprehend it all and put it down on paper!

Next, we see that Jesus chooses a wedding to perform His first miracle, effectively announcing to the world that He is the long-awaited Messiah, the Savior of the world. He knew that news of this miracle would spread like wild-fire and His public ministry on earth would begin. Ken Gire paints a picture in "Moments with the Savior" of the turmoil He experienced when presented with this opportunity. In verse 2 Jesus answers His mother with, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." He knows that performing this, His first miracle, would bring the crowds and the attention He had until this time avoided. He knew what the culmination of that attention meant, the cross, and the spiritual, mental, and physical pain He was to endure must have weighed heavily on Him now as He looked at the situation before Him. But here we also learn of the Man Jesus was; compassionate, kind, loving, and above all else, willing to sacrifice Himself for others. If Jesus only stayed His hand and let this wedding run dry, how much more time could He have had to spend alone without the crowds pressing Him from the shores into boats? Yet He gave Himself away freely to help those in need; if only I could do the same when someone's need is well within my ability to help, instead of manipulating the situation to affect the best outcome for myself. Lord, take my eyes off of my own ambitions and put them only on You and the perfect example You set.

For further study, we see where this wedding, Jesus' public announcement of His Divinity, was held. It was in Cana of Galilee; a little research tells us this small town is far from the religious folk stationed down in Jerusalem. Instead of coming to the rich and wealthy and highly-esteemed religious leaders and noblemen, Jesus chose to first reveal Himself to the poor and to the lowly. Again, what pain and suffering He could have avoided if only He would have "cast Himself down" from the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem as Satan tempted Him in Matthew 4. Revealing Himself to the religious authorities in such a manner would have saved Him the cross; yet again, we see Him willing to sacrifice Himself for us knowing full well our hopes for eternal life with the Father were contingent on His spilled blood cleansing us from our unrighteousness. In choosing to resist the Devil and declare His divinity in the presence of the poor shows us His love for us and His total submission to the perfect will of the Father, even as He knew it meant the death of the cross.

Reading through John, I'm just amazed at what I find and how applicable every single verse is to my life. If I want a happy marriage, invite Jesus in! He loves my marriage and wants to bless it with His presence and His provision! If I want to die to self as Christ did, I must put away my own desires and ambitions, even my own thoughts, and simply follow the path God has set out before me! Even if it means the death of the cross! Reading through Lee Strobel's "The Case for Faith", he talks about the existence of suffering in our world as supposed evidence against the existence of an all-loving, all-powerful God. He refutes that claim so simply as he says (and I'm paraphrasing), "The greatest tragedy in history, Dei-cide, was God's way of providing the greatest blessing, salvation". In Christ's sacrifice, the ultimate good was revealed. If I sacrifice myself to God's perfect will, even if that means the death of the cross, God will use that to His good and perfect end! How comforting a thought! Even in my greatest suffering, God is there to share my pain and give me strength to conquer in His Name! It all started with a small miracle at a simple wedding in a quiet town. It ended with the cross and the blessings we inherit because of Jesus' total sacrifice of self. Thank you Jesus!