Water to Wine John 2:1-12
I’ve read this account of the Cana wedding; I don’t know how many times. This time it came to me that for a wedding this size the host must have delegated responsibility for different aspects of the celebration to different people. When our son was married the venue had people in charge of food, people in charge of the bar, people in charge of the actual ceremony, it would be no different with this wedding. What this means is someone was ultimately in charge of having enough wine for the gathering. Obviously, this person miscalculated.
Verse 4, “My time has not yet come.” Jesus just makes a matter-of-fact statement. He doesn’t say go find the one in charge of the wine. He doesn’t condemn him for misjudging the amount needed. In fact, this account doesn’t record that anything was done or said to him. This man made a mistake and Jesus doesn’t condemn him, nor does the host condemn him. We must be like them. When someone tries but makes a mistake, we should move on from it and not focus on it.
If we back up to verse 3, we see Mary is the one who brought this issue to Jesus, “…Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’” That’s it, that’s all she said to him. What if it was us, what would we have said? More than likely something like, “They have no more wine, send your disciples into town to buy more. Hurry, before everyone finds out.”
Too often we present Jesus with the problem in our life, but we also present him with the solution we want. Look at Mary. She brought Jesus a problem, but she didn’t tell him what to do. She didn’t tell him what she expected him to do. All she had was a trusting expectation that Jesus would do something. Mary presented Jesus with a problem and then was prepared to patiently wait and listen. When we present Jesus with our problem, we also must be trusting that he has a solution, patient that he will act, and willing to listen to what Jesus tells us to do.
Let’s go back to verse 4, “My hour has not yet come.” Was it not time for Jesus to show his public ministry? I don’t think this is it since John the Baptist has already declared Jesus is the Son of God.
“My time has not come yet.” Jesus isn’t saying “no,” but on the other hand, he’s not saying “yes.” Sometimes instead of telling us yes or no, God tells us it’s not time yet. This could be because we’re not ready,
“God, help me with this pain, this disease, this issue.” Perhaps God waits because how we react to him during our issue will influence another for his kingdom and God is waiting for that to be complete.
As I was reading over this again, I saw that Jesus isn’t the only one in our story to delay. What about the one in charge of the wine, didn’t he notice? And yet he didn’t say anything until the vats were completely empty.
I’ve been divorced many years ago. While going through the worst of it did I ask Jesus to intervene? No, didn’t even think of it. Meanwhile the wine barrels of my life and marriage got bone dry. Patience, understanding, and trying all ran dry. Would any of us have chest pain and not go to the ER? The point is, don’t wait until it’s too late, seek Jesus first.
Let’s look at verse 4 again. Jesus tells his mother, “Woman, why do you involve me?” Mary asked because she knew he could and would help. What would we tell Jesus if he asked us this question, “Why do you involve me?” Would our answer be, “Because I have faith that you will help me, I have faith that you can affect what I cannot.” Or would our answer be more like, “I’ve tried everything else, I’m desperate and you’re my last option.”
Verses 6-7, “Nearby stood six stone water jars…Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water…” Jesus could have just made the wine appear like he did when he fed the five thousand with a few fish and a couple loaves of bread. No, then the people weren’t asking for anything other than to be near him and to listen to him preach. Here, a problem was presented with an expectation of his intervention. Under this circumstance, Jesus required human cooperation.
How many times do we come before God, ask him to help or fix a problem, and then expect a magic solution like the Wizard of Oz pulled out of his black bag. Doesn’t always work that way. Many times God will put in our lives the things or people we need in order to have our need met.
Again, verse 7, “…so they filled them to the brim.” The servants didn’t listen to Jesus, start to fill the jars, and then halfway through decide it was taking too long, taking too much effort and stop doing what Jesus said. The servants were all in, they finished the task Jesus gave them. When we present our request to God, often we get discouraged, “God, it’s taking too long, God, I don’t like what you’re asking me to do.”
When we approach God with requests, we need to be all in. God doesn’t want us to give him just a little of ourselves. Do you think filling those water jars was easy? It was heavy and sweaty work. They did it anyway. God doesn’t want us to only do what he says when it’s easy or it doesn’t tax us too much. God wants 100% of us 100% of the time.
Looking again at verse 6, “Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing…” The servants didn’t turn to Jesus and say, “Sir, these jars aren’t for wine, they’re for washing. They can’t be used for this.” The servants were open to what Jesus told them.
Again, many times we ask God for help and then lament, “Wait, I can’t do that, I don’t want to give that up.” We hesitate when things don’t make sense to us. Rest assured; it always makes sense to God.
And last, Jesus said to fill the jars with plain water, no grapes, no yeast. Know that whatever God asks you to contribute, it will be what’s within your reach, it will be within your ability to contribute.
Today we read about one of Jesus most well-known miracles, the turning of water into wine. On the surface a straightforward miracle. But through the actions of Jesus and the others involved we learn spiritual truths.
People misjudge, they make mistakes. Jesus doesn’t condemn them for it and neither should we.
Present Jesus with the problem, but don’t present him with your fix. Trust that he has a solution, and he will act. Understand that God has good reasons to delay action on our prayers. We may not understand but he has a grand plan in place.
Don’t wait until all other avenues have been exhausted, ask Jesus first. And don’t expect a Wizard of Oz solution, be open to see the things God puts in place to answer your prayer. Give 100% of yourself and your trust to God.
And believe. Whatever God asks of you, whether or not it makes sense to you, it always makes sense to God.
May you always be blessed with the peace and love of our Lord Christ Jesus
Amen