“On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’
“Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.’ So, they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him” [JOHN 2:1-11]. [1]
Weddings happened every day in Galilee. At a wedding, everyone knew what would happen next. Like our own celebrations, the rituals are fixed. Though the bride may imagine that her special day is unique because she wrote her own vows, or because she chose a strange venue for the ceremony, or because she chose dresses for her bridesmaids and her maid of honour that no one will ever wear again, the order of service will seldom vary. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that weddings in that ancient day were rather monotonous. The routine never varied. Well, not until one day when Jesus came to a wedding.
A WEDDING AT CANA — When Jesus was revealed as the Messiah to the Baptist, He immediately began His divine work. For thirty-three years, He had lived in relative obscurity. He did nothing to stand out until that day He came to where John was baptising in the Jordan. John immediately knew Him. The Baptist shrank in awe at the request to baptise Jesus. He demurred, saying, “I need to be baptised by You, and do You come to me” [see MATTHEW 3:14]? Nevertheless, the Master responded to John, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting to fulfil all righteousness” [MATTHEW 3:15].
After He was baptised by the Baptist, Jesus began to gather around Himself those men who would be His apostles. John was standing with two of His disciples, one of whom was Andrew, the brother of Simon the son of a man named John. As Jesus passed by, John declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God” [JOHN 1:36]. The two men who had been standing with John immediately began to follow Jesus. It was not a desertion of the Forerunner; this was fulfilment of the ministry God had assigned to John.
I suppose some might imagine that there was competition between Jesus and John. That is the way things operate in our world, but John saw matters differently. He knew why he was there in Judea, and he understood what his purpose was. He would say of Jesus and of himself, “He must increase, but I must decrease” [JOHN 3:30].
Having heard John’s testimony concerning Jesus, Andrew made the decision to follow Jesus. Andrew was excited—excited enough that he raced to find his brother, saying to him, “We have found the Messiah!” His excitement generated interest in Simon, who followed Andrew to Jesus. When Jesus saw Simon coming to Him, He said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas.” The Master was gathering a band about Him. There was nothing exceptional about these first followers; nevertheless, they were destined for greatness.
The next day, with these first disciples in tow, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There, He found Philip, and invited him to join the growing band of disciples. The account the Evangelist provides reads as follows. “Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael said to him, ‘How do you know me?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’ Nathanael answered him, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered him, ‘Because I said to you, “I saw you under the fig tree,” do you believe? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man’” [JOHN 1:44-51].
Wow! Talk about understatement! When Jesus said, “You will see greater things than these,” Nathaniel could not imagine all that he would witness. This little band could have no idea of what was going to happen over the course of their lives. They would be stretched in ways that they likely would have thought impossible. They would be threatened and ultimately suffer terribly because of the choices they were then making. Ultimately, each of these men, with the exception of John the Evangelist, would suffer premature deaths because they followed Jesus as Master over life. And yet, they would see the glory of God revealed through themselves. They would see Jesus reveal God’s majesty; and they themselves would experience His marvellous power and majesty as they served Him.
Our text begins with the words, “On the third day.” This is telling us that what is about to happen was quite early in the ministry of Jesus. He had been busy calling these disciples, these men who would be known to us as Apostles after Jesus sent them forth. Now, three days had passed since Jesus had called Nathaniel. Perhaps Nathaniel was the last of the Twelve to be called; no others are mentioned as being called after this. Moreover, the events that are about to take place were witnessed by this ragtag band of men. As result of what they witnessed that day, we are told, “His disciples believed in Him” [see JOHN 2:11].
Why did Jesus provide the signs that were witnessed throughout the brief days of ministry as He walked the dusty trails of that ancient land? The answer is provided as John draws the Gospel bearing His name to a conclusion. The Evangelist wrote, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” [JOHN 20:30-31].
The Gospel John wrote is arranged around seven signs that Jesus performed during the days of His flesh. From the passage just cited, the Evangelist makes it abundantly obvious that these signs were not the only ones Jesus performed; rather, each of the signs John listed was deliberately chosen in order to reveal Christ’s power and to demonstrate the impact His presence had on those about Him in that day.
When he brought the message of life to the household of a Roman centurion, Peter spoke of Jesus’ work in the flesh when he said, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” [ACTS 10:38]. Peter, an eyewitness to all that Jesus did during the days of His ministry, spoke in broad strokes of what the Master did; however, the Apostle to the Jews was quick to assert that Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good. Obviously, from Peter’s testimony, Jesus was busy showing compassion and rebuking the power of the devil throughout the days of His ministry in Judea and Galilee. He healed “all who were oppressed by the devil.”
Later, Peter would write, “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain” [2 PETER 1:16-18].
Jesus performed signs, and the Spirit of Christ ensured that those signs would be written down, for one great purpose—that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ. And the reason God seeks our belief is so that by believing you may have life in his name. This is in keeping with the declaration Jesus made to His disciples on another occasion. Jesus said, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” [LUKE 19:10].
The text selected for the message today describes the first sign that Jesus provided. In the text for this day, no one would lose life as result of running out of wine; but the couple and their family would be disgraced if they were unable to fulfil societal expectations. Jesus was revealing His compassion for the couple and the families. In contradistinction to the fanciful imaginations of apocryphal stories of whimsical miracles performed by Jesus as a child, stories that are obviously the equivalent of fairy tales, John describes what took place at this wedding in Cana as constituting the “first of His signs.” The Bible is silent concerning what may have occurred in Jesus’ life before the sign that was delivered on this particular day. However, what John has written leaves no doubt that it is futile to look for more than what is provided.
We are not told who was being married, but truthfully, it is not important that we know. Whoever the bride and groom may have been, Mary’s firstborn had been invited to the wedding. I suppose it is possible that the reason Jesus had been invited was because He was Mary’s Son. However, there is no mention of James, or Joseph, or Simon, or Judas, or her daughters as having been present at this wedding. Their presence would not have been germane to the development of the account or to understanding the purpose of why this was included in John’s Gospel. John is careful to state, “The mother of Jesus was there.” It is as though he wants us to take special note of this fact. It seems that it is included as something more than a literary device to account for Mary asking Jesus to do something when the wine was depleted. If her other children had been present, it would not be unreasonable to think that John would have noted the fact.
In light of the account we are provided, it seems appropriate to surmise that Jesus was well known to at least one of the families since the inclusion of His disciples in the invitation would indicate some knowledge of Jesus’ activities. Thus, among the guests at the wedding were Mary, the mother of Jesus, Jesus, and His disciples. We aren’t told how many disciples were present, whether it was the full complement of twelve, or whether the band was still being formed. Again, for the purpose of what is written, it is enough for us to know that disciples were present with Jesus. They would stick close to Him, not necessarily being well-known among the other guests and perhaps feeling somewhat awkward to simply circulate.
Here is a truth that we must not forget—where Jesus is, His disciples will be found standing with Him; wherever His disciples may be, Jesus is with them. Is this not the promise we have received when Jesus said, “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him” [JOHN 12:26]? Focus on the statement, “Where I am, there will be My servant also.” The servant of Christ will stand with Him. This affirmation from the Master does raise the question of whether those who refuse to stand with Him are actually His servants. By this criterion of proximity to the Holy One, how many of the professed minister of the Gospel are parading under false colours! It still remains that, “If you love [the Master], you will keep [His] commandments” [JOHN 14:15].
The Master promised us who follow, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” [MATTHEW 28:20b]. Our God has promised His people, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” [HEBREWS 13:5b]. There is real comfort in this knowledge!
Take the time to discover where Jesus is standing, then, stand with Him there. Find where the Master is working, and invest your energies working with Him there. At first glance, it may not be apparent that Jesus is at work. Nevertheless, find where He is standing, because that is the place where He will shortly be working. Jesus is always working, just as He testified, “My Father is working until now, and I am working” [JOHN 5:17].
THE WINE RAN OUT — The words seem so pedestrian, so mundane, as we read them. It certainly doesn’t excite us to read, “The wine ran out…” However, this was a disaster, a blunder from which the couple might never recover. Ever after, the families would be identified by this social gaffe rather than by who they actually were. It is much like the individual who commits a faux pas by posting something ridiculous on Facebook today. Immediately, social justice warriors jump in, wearing masks of anonymity and ripping apart the one guilty of the indiscretion. The actions of Internet trolls remind me of vultures waiting for some carrion to appear so they can feed. People can be exceptionally cruel, and it was no different in that day.
Perhaps it was a hot day and the guests drank more than usual at the wedding that day. Perhaps the families hosting the wedding had economised and failed to purchase enough wine. We really don’t know what why there was not enough wine; however, in the bigger scheme of things, it is unimportant why the wine ran out at the reception that day. What is important is that the wine ran out. If the host did not provide beverage, the guests would soon begin to leave—they would quit the party early. Regardless of the reason, the guests would conclude that proper etiquette had not been observed. Word would be bruited about that the families didn’t plan properly, or perhaps it would be suggested that they were rather skimpy in providing for guests. The thought would be fixed in society that the families involved were not hospitable; it would be an epic disaster. Whatever reason might be given, the reputation of the hosts would be fixed in the community. Their name would be irreparably sullied from that point forward.
It was when the wine was depleted that the mother of Jesus realised what was happening. She discretely spoke to her Son, “They have no wine.” This raises an interesting point. Until this point in His life, Jesus had provided no signs. So far as those who knew His Name were aware, He was “the carpenter’s son” [see MATTHEW 13:55]. Despite fanciful apocryphal stories, Jesus had provided no signs, He had performed no miracles.
Was Mary, then, simply making idle conversation? I don’t believe that to be the case. When the Master gently rejected her statement, it indicates that He understood that she was asking Him to do something. Remember, Jesus said, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come” [JOHN 2:4].
It is abundantly obvious that Mary expected her Son to do something to relieve the situation. I say this because she instructed the servants, “Do whatever He tells you” [JOHN 2:5b]. She wasn’t suggesting that Jesus needed to make a wine run to the local supermarket; she expected that He would do something to specifically address the immediate need. Mary expected that her Son would rescue the families involved so that they would not be embarrassed.
Here is what I would have us see—in making the request she made, Mary was acting on her personal knowledge of who Jesus was. She was acting on the basis of the revelation given to her by the angel Gabriel. Let’s refresh our memories by reading a portion of the Word that is often neglected except during the Advent season. Here is the passage in question, LUKE 1:26-38.
“The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’ But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’
“And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’
“And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.’”
From the day the Angel of God appeared to her, Mary understood that the child she carried was more than an ordinary child. We read that she pondered the greeting she had received when she visited Elizabeth when Elizabeth was in her third trimester carrying John, who would be known as “The Baptist.” The unexpected greeting from her cousin would be remembered throughout her life.
We read that Mary had “treasured up” the events had taken place when the shepherds came with an account of angels sending them to see the child that she had borne [see LUKE 2:19]. She had marvelled at the prophecy of old Simeon [see LUKE 2:22-35] and the praise that had been offered up by Anna [see LUKE 2:36-38].
Mary treasured up all that was said when the child, at twelve-years-of-age, had been found in the Temple. At that time, her firstborn child had responded to the expression of concern voiced by both Joseph and Mary, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house” [LUKE 2:49]? Jesus had said He was precisely where He was supposed to be when He was in His Father’s house.
Mary was surely aware of the proclamations delivered by the Baptist. She was no doubt fully aware of what had taken place when Jesus Himself was baptised by John. Since Luke’s Gospel appears to have been an account of Jesus’ ministry provided by Mary and recorded by Luke, we would expect that she was the source for what Luke wrote: “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’” [LUKE 3:21-22].
With no other evidence than God’s promise and those times when the Spirit of God prompted spontaneous recognition of the unique nature of her Son, for thirty years Mary knew that Jesus was divine, that He was God’s Son. Though He had never performed a miracle, his mother knew that He could, if that was His Father’s will. She knew that Jesus was obedient to His Father, and that the Father had spoken from heaven, identifying Him as His beloved Son. Though Jesus had not performed a single miracle, it was likely that His mother was perceptive enough to realise that the time of His revelation was at hand. Though she could not have known all the particulars of His ministry, and though she didn’t fully grasp that He must give His life as a sacrifice, she knew something of His power.
There is something else, something that is not immediately related to what we read concerning this first sign that Jesus presented. I’m talking about something so dark that it seems almost to be hidden until Jesus Himself speaks of it; then, when He had spoken of that dark matter, it was as if He could not stop speaking of it. Though Jesus spoke frequently of that ominous cloud hovering over His life, His disciples appeared unable to grasp what He was saying. However, I must believe that Mary knew, and always pondered with a sense of dread what she knew must surely take place. Consider the information we have been provided throughout the Gospel accounts.
When Simeon delivered his prophecy, Mary and Joseph marvelled, according to the Word. Then, Simeon blessed them before he would say to Mary, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” [LUKE 2:34-35]. Whatever could he have meant by the words, “A sword will pierce through your own soul also?” That one word, “also,” makes this prophecy stand out with the hint of deep darkness. Mary’s soul would also be pierced as she would watch her Son as He yielded up His life.
I note that Simeon addressed Mary with this dark prophecy; he did not address Joseph. Was there the suggestion in not speaking to Joseph that he would not be present to witness the sword when it pierced the heart of Mary? Since Joseph is not mentioned again in Scriptures after the birth narratives, I would be on solid ground in suggesting that he died at a rather young age. Well, he would have been young in comparison to modern standards. At some point before Jesus began His ministry, it seems certain that Joseph died. Mary, however, was forewarned that “a sword would pierce [her] own soul.” She would stand beside the cross on which the Son of God would yield His life as a sacrifice for sin. She would see her Son humiliated, stripped and mocked, His life cruelly taken by violent, wicked men.
Throughout the years of Jesus’ days in the flesh, His mother lived under an ominous shadow. Though His disciples appear to have been ignorant of the darkness that was looming, Mary knew that Her Son was born to die. Though she could not see the actual event clearly, she knew a dark spectre overshadowed the horizon, a threat would always hang over the life of her child until the brutal sacrifice was accomplished. Nevertheless, for the moment, Mary was assured that Jesus was the Son of God and that His Word was powerful. So, she came to Him to inform Him that the wine had run out.
Jesus Himself would testify, “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished” [LUKE 12:49-50]! I must imagine that at some point during those formative years when he quietly worked in the carpenter’s shop, Mary’s Son had spoken in her presence, and as He spoke, He would have spoke of the reason He had taken on human flesh. I am comfortable in my belief that Mary had heard from Jesus’ own lips, the reason He was born into this life.
There is something else in this account that has immediate application for each of us. Eventually, things happen in each life, things that are common to all mankind, but things that nevertheless have the potential to incapacitate us. Perhaps it is something as mundane as losing our creativity. We bear responsibilities for our families, responsibilities that require us to think creatively. Perhaps we are a parent and we struggle to ensure that our children are trained in righteousness. We can move in a pedestrian manner, going through the routine as we have always done, or we can find some meaningful way to provide instruction that will transform. However, we recognise that we are exhausted from the daily demands on our life, and we simply can’t do what is necessary. Failure to meet the challenge has consequences that last for a long time. Our children can be negatively impacted as result of our failure. The wine has run out!
Perhaps we teach a Bible class or lead a prayer group, and we know we are just going through the motions. We know that the routine is quickly turning into a rut and those for whom we are responsible are moving toward spiritual insignificance. We know that we need something, some spark that will ignite the fuel and impel our students or those who pray to aspire to a powerful walk with the Master. If we don’t provide something, the consequences could be disastrous for those who are looking to us. The wine has run out.
It may be that we have a friend who is lost, and we have long felt responsible to tell that friend of the freedom that is found only in Christ. We’ve prayed for that friend and sought opportunity to speak with her, but in recent days we’ve come to realise that we are still saying prayers, but we are not praying. We are going through the motions, but we know we aren’t really standing in the presence of God. We realise that things are not what they should be, but we aren’t certain what can be done. The wine has run out.
We have settled into the dreary condition of living in a haze, stumbling through the days as though we were part of the walking dead. We know that we need revival because in our life, the wine has run out. You may recall that the Master taught, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins” [MARK 2:22].
You need new wine, and you know that your faith constitutes new wineskins. You came to the Master, confessing your faith in Him as the Risen Lord of Glory. You still recall that day you were born from above, and He has never rescinded that transformation. You, however, have slipped into a rut. What is needed is not another wineskin—you are born from above. You need to replenish the wine. This is nothing less than a call for revival in the life that is exhausted.
If you will hear it, whether for the first time or in order to refresh your memory, this is the Word of God. “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation” [ROMANS 10:9-10 CSB]. That glorious promise concludes by quoting the Prophet Joel, “Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved” [ROMANS 10:13].
When the missionaries had been beaten and jailed in Philippi, God intervened to set His servants at liberty. The jailer, fearing that his charges had escaped, was about to take his own life. However, Paul spoke out loudly, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” The jailer, no doubt relieved at the reprieve from the sentence of torture and death he undoubtedly face, called for a light so he could verify that all the prisoners were present. When he had confirmed that none had escaped, he brought the prisoners out of the gaol where they had been incarcerated, and pleaded, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved” [ACTS 16:30b]? How relieved he must have been to hear, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” [ACTS 16:31].
Here, then, is the essential issue. Have you called on the Name of the Lord? Have you placed your faith in the Living Son of God, and has He redeemed your soul? Then, know that you are His? Though you may have seen the wine run out in your life, the wineskin is still new and will hold what is needed.
Allow me to remind you of a portion of the Word that I have no doubt you know well. “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” [EPHESIANS 5:18-21].
We are commanded to “be filled with the Spirit.” It has been said quite well on other occasions, there is one baptism and many fillings. When we came to faith, we were baptised in the Spirit. However, from that point, we find that we are always in need of refreshment. Jesus promised, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive” [JOHN 7:38-39a]. The waters cannot continue to flow without being replenished.
The one who follows Christ will refresh others and encourage them, but that one will find it necessary to be refreshed from time-to-time; and the refreshing that is provided will be the new wine refilling the new wineskins. Your life as a born-from-above follower of the Christ is the new wineskin. If you were just another religious individual and you attempted to refresh others, you would be a disastrous failure. Your life could not contain the new wine, the Holy Spirit, because He would cause you to burst open, ruining the wine and the skin. However, you are made new by faith in the Risen Saviour; and the Spirit of God now lives within you. Thus, you are a source of rich refreshment for others. Let His Spirit quench the thirst that others have!
A QUIET MIRACLE — If you and I had changed water into wine, I have no doubt that we would let people know. We’d likely write a blog, telling all those who follow our blog what had we had done. Perhaps we would send an Email to CBC or to CTV, telling them that they might want to send a reporter around to interview us. We are infected with the same spirit that was manifested in Jesus’ brothers before His sacrifice. When they heard Him speaking, they said, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world” [JOHN 7:3-4]. They thought this way because they didn’t believe in Him [see JOHN 7:5].
I don’t mean to suggest that we are braggarts, but we do brag and boast. Oh, we couch our accomplishments in pious language, but we want to be certain that people know what we have done. If we had changed water into wine, we’d perhaps say, “This is what the Lord has done through me.” We’d be certain to stress our role in what was accomplished. Somehow, it is never quite enough to simply say, “The Lord has done great things!” We want to ensure that our role is recognised. However, Jesus didn’t promote Himself as He performed the work of God.
It was a wedding. No one expected anything beyond the ordinary. The servants knew that the wine was being drawn down at an alarming rate. Finally, it happened—there was not even another cup. Those serving the guests were not able to take the ewers to the table to refill the goblets. Shortly, guests would begin leaving and the reputation of the bride and groom, and the reputation of their families, would be tarnished for the remainder of their days and beyond. Then, Jesus stepped in. He said no magic words, he didn’t wave a wand over the jars, he didn’t ask people to pay attention to what he was doing. In fact, most of the guests would never know how close they were to a premature conclusion to the celebration.
Other than His disciples, who appear to have been standing close to the Master, the servants were the only ones who knew something significant had taken place. We can almost see the wonder on their faces. They knew they had filled the jars with water, carrying the water from a well and emptying the water into the jars. Six jars, each holding between seventy and a hundred litres, had been filled. The servants had laboriously, hurriedly carried the water in. They had heard this man, Jesus, instruct one of the servants to draw some out in a cup and give it to the master of the feast.
The master of the wedding feast, someone that seems to have had a position best described as a combination between a wedding planner and a master of ceremonies in our day, not knowing the source of what he was tasting was quite astonished. He exclaimed to the bridegroom, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now” [JOHN 2:10]. You can bet that the bridegroom was mystified. He couldn’t quite put together what this wedding planner was saying. All the wine likely came from the same source, but here this director was saying that something new had taken place.
What is critical for us at this point is the knowledge that none of the guests, with the exception of Jesus’ disciples and His mother, knew what had happened. Jesus’ mother knew because she asked her Son to do something—and He did something! The disciples realised what had happened because they were actually with Jesus, observing Him as He performed this miracle. The servants knew because they actually brought the water and drew some of the wine to take to the master of the feast. Remember, however, they were only servants; they wouldn’t volunteer what had happened unless they were directly asked a question. Nevertheless, they appear to have been so astonished that it is unlikely they could have said anything. Certainly, they would not have been able to explain what had happened. These servants were not unlike us when we’ve witnessed some momentous event when the Master has intervened; they saw what happened, but they had no way to explain what they had seen. And Jesus was not saying anything. For those with Jesus, this was an event that was fully known. For everyone else, it would remain a mystery until John described what happened in his Gospel.
There is something here that flies in the face of modern religious concepts. If an evangelical congregation is planning some special meetings, the assembly will feel constrained to have some exciting feature prominently advertised in order to make people want to come. Vance Havner used to tell of a church that planned special meetings. Seeking to ensure a good crowd, the elders contracted to bring in a horse that could count. The trainer asked the horse how many Gospels there were, and the horse pawed the ground four times. Again, the trainer asked how many Apostles there were, and the horse tapped his hoof twelve times. Wishing to show how really smart the horse was, the trainer asked how many hypocrites were in the church, and the horse began to dance madly on all four legs. We don’t need a counting horse to draw people to the Faith.
Increasingly, churches of today appear to resort to Hollywood stars and starlets in order to attract a crowd. If we can only get some well-known individual to say something nice about Jesus, it will verify our message. Perhaps the star power of B-grade actors or notorious people will draw crowds to the church—numbers is the name of the game. More common is the use of special lighting, performances by the musical team with a backlit stage and smoke generators. We’ll witness dance routines and waving flags, all in an attempt to attract a crowd. However, we have forgotten that one demonstration of the power of the Spirit is worth a thousand demonstrations by famous people or musical numbers by accomplished musicians.
Let me make a few applications and I am finished. I am addressing this congregation, members of the New Beginnings Baptist Church. I urge you not to allow yourself to slip into attempting to use the world to accomplish Christ’s work. To attempt to do the work of God in the strength of the world is to fall into a snare from which we may never recover. I am not saying that we should never permit someone who is well-known to be present in a service, or even to permit such an individual to participate in a service, if such will honour the Master. In fact, that is the key to guide us in planning our services—will a given action advance the cause of Christ, or will that action simply exalt us. We must never allow ourselves to think that we can accomplish the will of God through using the methods of this fallen world. As followers of the Son of God, we must commit ourselves to prayer, commit ourselves to making ourselves knowledgeable of what is written in the Word, and commit ourselves to obeying the command of the Master to penetrate the darkness of this fallen world. In doing these things, we will see the miraculous in the mundane.
Perhaps we need to train ourselves to begin to see the miraculous in the monotonous. God can transform the alcoholic into a testimony of grace and power. I’ve witnessed that with my own eyes. He can change the money squandered on alcohol and drugs into food for little children, into support for missionaries to advance the cause of Christ into darkened corners of the world, into care for the injured and hurting of this world. God works through what the world calls common. Recall how the Apostle encouraged the Church of God in Corinth when he wrote, “Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” [1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-31].
God works in the monotonous. We may well be excited by the dramatic, but God works deliberately and in the routine of life. I well remember a pastor who used to contend, “My God works in slow-motion.” He was right. We need to remember that though the revival under Hezekiah “came about suddenly” [see 2 CHRONICLES 29:36], it required time to prepare the hearts of the people to honour God. You have put your faith in the Son of God, and He redeemed you. You don’t feel any different than you ever did, but you know there is a difference. He appointed you to a service, and like Moses, you dissented, arguing that you can’t speak or arguing that you don’t have the training. However, you are learning that we serve a God who makes no mistake. And though He works slowly, He does work.
Dear people, the God who redeemed you when you trusted Christ is the God who will continue to work in your life. With the Apostle, we can testify, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” [PHILIPPIANS 1:6]. Indeed, we are able to testify with confidence, “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” [1 THESSALONIANS 5:24]. This is why we do not give in to the daily grind. We know that God is working, and we see the miraculous in the mundane, His glory in our lives. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
