Water to Wine: Ordinary to Spectacular
February 25, 2020
Water to Wine: How Jesus Does Things
March 12, 2020
Jesus is at a wedding, having fun, when his mother Mary comes to him with a dilemma.
When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” John 2:3
What Jesus does next tells us a lot about himself:
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.
Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” (John 2:6-10)
Jesus answers a need with eight hundred bottles of choice wine. Is this perhaps a tad over the top? Perhaps. But it is not unusual for Jesus. Just for the fun of it I like to think of Jesus performing this miracle, and then looking at his disciples with a wink and a nod and saying, “Now that’s how I roll.”
My dear friend Doug Greenwold of Preserving Bible Times taught me to ask three questions as I studied Biblical stories. “What does this passage tell us about:”
- Who God is
- What he cares about
- How he does things
Who Jesus is (Is who God is)
Social and Relational: He is at a wedding with his family and his pals. Stop and think about that for a moment. The Savior of the world, God Almighty, creator of the universe, is taking the time to … socialize.
He is at a minimum a fun guy. His enemies accused him of being a drunk and a glutton. (Matthew 11:19) He was neither, of course. But if they are accusing him of this then he is obviously a fun person to be around.
One of my favorite images is God walking in the cool of the evening as he hung out with Adam and Eve. (Genesis 3:8) Isn’t that a wonderful picture of a relational God?
Who Jesus Is & What He Cares About
Caring and Compassionate: (Compassionate: ‘Com’ means ‘With’ and ‘Compassionate’ means ‘Suffering.’)
Jesus cares enough about this young married couple to be with them in their impending social suffering and humiliation. In this culture of social reciprocity and extreme hospitality, running out of wine would have brought shame to this young couple for years.
Jesus steps in and takes care of their problem by turning an ordinary party into a spectacular feast!
Interested and involved in the details: This is perhaps the most comforting and endearing aspect to this great Jesus. Oh sure, I believe God Almighty can take care of the world, but is he interested, and will he get involved in the details of my life? In the details of my daughter’s wedding?
Yes and yes and absolutely he will.
Next week: How He Does Things.
