Is the Best Yet to Come?

John 2:1-12

“What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” John 2:11

After His baptism and the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus began to gather some men who would follow Him and learn from Him. He called this group of men His disciples. He and His disciples were invited to a wedding in Cana of Galilee. His mother Mary attended the wedding also.

The host ran out of wine to serve his guests. This must have been an embarrassing and distressing situation for the host.

Probably Mary’s husband Joseph was dead by now, because Mary went to her oldest son with the problem. Jesus’ answer to Mary seems a bit harsh. He said, “Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come.” Some commentaries suggest that Jesus and Mary may have been related to the host, so Mary felt a sense of obligation for them to help him out. That’s just speculation. I wonder if Mary went to Jesus because she had seen some evidences of Jesus’ miraculous power as He grew up. Jesus may have been telling His mother not to interfere with God’s timetable for His life. We don’t know. But we do know that Mary was not discouraged by Jesus’ answer because she went to the servants and told them to obey whatever Jesus told them to do.

Sitting in the house were six jars large enough to hold from twenty to thirty gallons apiece. Jesus told the servants to fill them with water, and the servants filled each one to the very top. Then Jesus instructed the servants to pour up some of the water and take it to the master of the banquet (the person we would call the caterer today). Imagine what the servants must have thought. Why are we taking him a glass of water? But they obeyed Jesus and discovered that the water had been turned into wine. There is a lesson here for us. When Jesus instructs us to do something we don’t understand--through God’s Word or the urging of the Holy Spirit or circumstances--we need to obey anyway. He knows what He is doing through us, and that’s all we need to know.

It was customary to serve the best wine a person had to offer first, and, after some time had elapsed and some wine had been drunk, the less expensive wine was brought out. But when the master of the banquet tasted the wine that been water, he pronounced it better than the wine served at first. When Jesus touches anything in our lives, He can make it better.

Jesus didn’t turn the water into wine just to help out at the wedding. He was beginning to show the disciples that He was no ordinary man but God in the flesh. Jesus’ miracles were a major credential showing He was who He claimed to be.

Father, when we realize that You want us to perform some specific task, may we be as obedient to You as the servants were to Jesus, obeying without question. Amen.