John 2:1-12 : On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[b]
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 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.”
11 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.
12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
[a. Don’t worry, Jesus was not sassing His mom. The footnote in my Bible says that this was not derogatory.]
[b. About 75 to 115 liters….aka a lot of water]
I love love love the Book of John. It is my favorite of the four gospels. In my Bible it has been highlighted and underlined so many different times it can be hard to read it. I think it is my favorite because of two specific passages that speak to me are not included in the other gospels: the woman at the well and this first miracle of Jesus in chapter 2.
So setting the stage: Jesus is at a wedding with His mom and disciples. The party was hoppin’ because weddings back in the day were a weeklong to-do. It required a lot of planning and prep time, so whenever the host ran out of wine (verse 3), it could have turned into a huge embarrassment. Mary stepped in and told Jesus the problem, hoping that He would be able to do something.
Jesus in verse 4 tried to tell Mary that it was not the time yet, but in verse 5 she tells the servants to do whatever Jesus said. Mary thought Jesus was maybe going to solve the problem in a simple way, or maybe she knew all along her Son was capable of miracles. Jesus turns water into wine. I’m no scientist, but I know that there is no physically possible way that all the molecular compounds and atoms of water could turn into wine all by themselves. This is only a miracle that my Jesus could do.
Through the rest of passage, there are three major points that I gain from this miracle the several times that I have studied it. I hope it’s ok if I share them with you today.
Here it goes:
1) Jesus uses what is there.
2) “Fill it to the brim”.
3) The best is yet to come.
1) Jesus uses what is there.
After Mary tells Jesus the problem, I can just envision Jesus having these doe-eyed servants looking at Him, questioning what to do next. They are probably hot from all the people at the wedding festivities, tired from having to run around like chickens-with-their-heads-cut-off all day, and doubting that this guy that Mary told them (verse 5) to do whatever he said could really fix the problem. But, we will come back to the servants later.
I can just picture Jesus scanning the room or tent around Him, trying to come up with a solution. I imagine His eyes fixating on the six stone jars (verse 6) standing in a corner. These jars haven’t been used since the start of the festivities. They were used for ceremonial washing by the Jews before they ate to cleanse themselves from any bad influences associated with what they touched. The jars stood about waist high and the last time they had water in them, they weren’t exactly the cleanest from all the muck that had been washed off in them. Being made of stone made them heavy and deeply rooted in the floor they stood on.
And, for some reason, Jesus decided to take these completely ordinary jars to use them for something extraordinary. Think of the jars as your current circumstances. They can be the situation you are in, the trial you are facing, the obstacle you must overcome, the blessing you have been given, the pain of your past, or the joy of your future, all in one big ‘ole jar.
Mary could not have fully understood what Jesus was going to do, but she trusted him enough to do what was right. Just like we as believers are going to have these six stone jars of baggage from the past or mountains to climb in the present or valleys to fear in the future, we must trust the our Lord and Savior is going to use what is there to accomplish His will in the best way.
Jesus uses what is there, the junk and the joy of our life to make something beautiful. He uses what is there to cleanse us, to sanctify us, to draw us nearer to the Lord, and to make us more like Him. We just have to surrender it to Him and let Him create a beautiful mosaic of brokenness to make it beautiful. Not only does He use our jars, but He decides to use us, His servants.
2) “Fill it to the brim”.
Well, after Jesus decided He was going to use these jars of stone that could hold somewhere between 20 to 30 gallons (holy cow that is a lot of milk), He looks at these servants. As I previously said, these poor pals probably haven’t been having the best night of their lives. They were definitely looking a little rough around the edges. I don’t know how accurate this is, but I imagine Jesus standing in front of them, like a coach giving his sweaty, defeated looking athletes the one last play of the game.
“Fill the jars with water,” He said (verse 7). Now, I could imagine my initial response if I were a servant. My face would be like it was when I played soccer and our coach would tell us to do one more sprint after we had done what felt like fifty. Because I was tired, I would no longer have my poker face. My true emotions would be clearly displayed on my sweaty noggin. The expression would have a mixture of disbelief and utter confusion as to why I am about to have to do this.
But the most important thing that happens in verse 7 occurs after the semicolon:
“So they filled them to the brim.”
The servants did not only what the Lord commanded them, but they did it to the fullest measure possible.
Unfortunately, human nature isn’t always wired naturally to do that. I am a part of the generation where we are infamous for trying to work smarter not harder. Generation and societal connotations aside, I am ashamed to say personally that I could see myself justifying, “Well the jars are kinda heavy, don’t want to over fill it, so halfway should be good,” or even, “About there-ish looks good. He didn’t say how full to fill it.” And I am not the most patient of people, sometimes the microwave doesn’t go fast enough. I could only imagine the struggle of waiting on all the water to be scooped into those huge containers. (It would be about 120 to 180 gallons of water for all six jars). Not to mention I would be questioning the sanity of the man who wanted me to do something as off the wall in the first place. Then I had to carry these things….goodness.
But, the servants did not cut any corners. They did what the Messiah commanded them, no questions asked. Whether they did so out of faith or desperation doesn’t matter. The important thing is that they did it. Not only did they do it, but they did so whole-heartedly. The servants had the AUDACITY to do the best they could, whether it worked or not.
I can only push and strive and hope that I can respond just as these servants did to the things that the Lord has put on my heart to do. I heard it once said, “With obedience comes clarity.” It is easy to do, but often hard to carry out. It means coming out of your comfort zone, facing buried emotions, or travelling the world. I want this audacious faith.
The servants remind me of how important it is to take every day, every opportunity with trusting in the Lord and to fill it to the fullest measure. I want to take my life and fill it to the brim for His glory.
3) The best is yet to come.
Finally, after the servants fill the jars to the brim, Jesus turns the water into wine. In verses 7-12, Jesus tells the servants to draw out the water, and to their shock, it is wine! Not only is it wine, but in verse 10, the master of the banquet says it is the best wine. It is not like the cheap wine people normally used toward the end of parties, but the highest of quality wine.
“But you have saved the best till now.”
This is just such a great depiction of that the best is yet to come. Where there is Jesus, there is hope. We are promised as Christians in James 1:2-6 that there will be joy in the trials. In Isaiah 61:1-4 that those who suffer will receive a crown of beauty from their ashes. Psalm 9:9 says that the Lord is our refuge and strength when we are oppressed. 1 Peter 5:6-7 promises that the Lord will exalt us in due time, we are to cast our cares upon Him because He loves us. I could go on and on with all the promises that the Lord left in the greatest love letter, the Bible, to remind us that this Earth is not our home. It is only temporary and the best is yet to come by being eternally with Him in Heaven.
What an encouragement is that?! So we already know that the best is yet to come, so why are we not daily living like it? I want to not just save the best years of my life for last. I want to do more than just start strong to finish stronger.
Now that you have read this novel of a blog post (sorry and thank you for your dedication), I just want you to know that my goal for this adventure of a Race is to do all these things that I have written about. I feel like the Lord is calling me to do the World Race to not only learn more about who He is, but how to better follow Him.
Thank you so so so much for all of your encouragement, warnings about safety, prayers, donations, and support. Just know that I love you and that I hope you are going to take each day and fill it to the brim.
Love, Aud
Ephesians 3:17-19
