Water into Wine

Jesus and his mother went to a wedding in Cana, and the disciples came as well. We can assume that the couple getting married were friends or relatives of Jesus and His family. A Jewish wedding and celebration could last up to seven days, so there was a constant need for food and drink to be replenished. And it would have been a big deal when the wine ran out at this wedding in Cana. We are not given any details as to why, but it could mean the groom’s family, who were responsible for the feast, had not counted the cost, had not made sure there would be more than enough. It could mean there were wedding crashers, people who were not invited but eating and drinking nonetheless. It could be there were some in the crowd who were particularly “festive,” they might say, but were in fact overindulgent. They were drinking wine like it was their job. We simply don’t know. But we know it was a problem. In fact, it was a scandal. There was a strict social and covenantal obligation for the groom’s family to make sure that there was enough food and wine for everyone. Running out would be embarrassing, at best. But it could also result in a breach of the marriage contract, which would expose the groom to public humiliation or financial penalties from the bride’s family. It could, in other words, result in a lawsuit. 
 
We have a hard time understanding this, don’t we? I mean, the worst that can happen at one of our wedding feasts might be that we don’t get to go back for thirds on pigs in a blanket. Or the dance floor is not big enough for the Cha Cha Slide and the Wobble. But in the ancient Jewish world, running out of wine was a serious breach of hospitality. That’s why when Mary heard about the dilemma, she went immediately to Jesus and said, “They have no wine.” And He replied, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” I remember hearing this verse as a child and my mouth fell open and my eyebrows went up. “He called his mother ‘woman’!” But I learned that in Jewish culture at the time, this was not a show of disrespect. It was another way of saying, “Ma’am” or “Madam.” I get it, but I would not recommend saying, children, when your mom says that you can’t have milk in your cereal because it’s all gone, “Woman, what does that have to do with me?” That may not end well.  
 
What did Jesus mean when He said to His mother, “What does this have to do with me?” Scholars agree that Jesus was gently chiding His mother, saying, “Why do you involve me?” Or even stronger, “Don’t tell me what to do in my earthly ministry.” Remember, Jesus did not come to the earth to do man’s bidding, but to accomplish the will of His Father. Matt Carter wrote, “If He responded to what men desired from Him, He would have filled bellies, healed diseases, and overthrown Rome, and then all humanity would have died and gone to hell.” He came for our good and God’s glory. 
 
Then Jesus said, “My hour has not yet come.” As you walk through the Gospel of John, you see this theme of “my hour” or “the hour” repeated several times. Two times the Jews were seeking to arrest Jesus, “but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.” In the week after His triumphal entry, Jesus said “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” He was speaking of His death, which He made clear by saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” \ The hour is the time of His suffering and His death. The hour is the reason Jesus took on human flesh and came to earth. He came as the exact imprint of God’s nature so that man could see God and not die, so that man could see God and believe in Jesus and never die. 
 
Mary heard what Jesus said to her but was not deterred. She turned to the servants and said, “Do whatever He tells you.” There are two truths that strike me about her response. First, she acted in faith. James would write later, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith.” Mary looked into the face of God and believed that He would give generously. Second, she spoke an eternal truth. She said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” It is not taking this verse out of context to say that this sentence from Mary’s lips is universally true in every circumstance and with every person. Mary was essentially saying to the servants, who had no idea who Jesus was, “He knows what to do. Listen to Him and do what He says.” We are His servants and that is our primary job. Listen to Him and do what He says.  
 
You know how it ended. Jesus turned as much as 180 gallons of water into the best wine anyone there had ever tasted. It tells us of God’s abundant grace in meeting us at our point of need. It reminds us that the Lord loves to give lavishly to His people, abundantly above all that we could ever ask or even think.  
 
And it encourages us to always “do whatever He tells us.”