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John
2
Jesus
made happiness wherever he went, because he was usually happy. Happiness is
contagious. He was constantly cheering people up - Mat. 9:2, 14:27, John16:33.
We know that Jesus had a merry heart because “A merry heart is a blessing from
God” - Pr. 15:13. Because Jesus was a perfect Man, his life was a perfect
fulfillment of the Proverbs (and all other Scriptures) in regard to the best
possible example of a human life lived perfectly.
His
life was spent doing things for others, and before he died he bequeathed to his
disciples "joy" - John 17:13, and peace - John 16:33, and security -
John 17:11, and love-John 17:26.
In
this he showed that God is interested in all his creature's interests, and that
he enters into all our experiences . . . and so it was that He, God, came to the
wedding feast- He was invited to it either because he was a popular man, or
perhaps he was related to the host, or bride, or groom.
But
the wine ran out. This was a very serious problem within the context of the
Jewish wedding- The hosts were possibly poor people, or perhaps they were
disorganized. Perhaps both? But whichever it was, it was terribly embarrassing
to the bride and her sensitive family.
Mary
came to Jesus with the problem. Up till then he had done no miracles, but,
because he was already a wise son, she thought he might be able to help, This is
always the way when there is a problem - the people who consistently show care
and concern for others, those with a history of helpfulness, are the ones who
are called on first.
When
Jesus replied to Mary, his words were not rude or impolite, (as some have
supposed), though they might sound like that to our Western ears. “Woman what
have I to do with you?” In saying this Jesus spoke a typical Hebraism, or
manner of speaking, as David also
did, in 2Sam.16:10. He also spoke in much the same way when he was on the cross
- "Woman behold your son" - John 19:26. This manner of speaking is
important when we look at Jesus’ words – in fact, in order to really
understand Jesus, we must see him in the light of all the prophets of the Old
Testament. It was Jesus who spoke through all those prophets of God, and who
inspired the writing of the books of the Old Testament. Jesus was totally
consistent with what came before, and no different from any of the prophets who
preceded him.
Even
though it is a respectful manner of address, it also carries with it the
reminder that He is not Mary's son, but God the Father's.
Smith
and Goodspeed bring out the sense that Mary was trying to push Jesus into doing
something : "They have no more wine!" Jesus said "Do not try to
direct me. it is not yet time for me to act."
The
way Mary came to him seems to indicate that she was really concerned about the
lack of wine, and expected her Son to be just as upset as she was. Jesus showed
her that "Your concern is not mine, My hour has not yet come." It was
similar to the "Get behind me Satan" which he addressed to Peter
" Mat. 16:23, when Peter tried to dissuade him from His God-directed
course. In a way, Jesus was saying "What have your concerns to do with My
Mission? I did not come for this sort of thing - to help people at weddings who
run out of wine - My hour has not yet arrived. You must not tell me what to
do," It would be like getting Superman to spend his days straightening
nails, instead of saving trains from crashing.
The
"hour" of Jesus came when he submitted to the plan of God, allowing
people to lead him to the crucifixion - see John 7:6, 30, 8:20 and then
Mat-26:18 and 45. His "hour" began in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Mary
must have realized that she had to stay out of her Son's way. The separation
between her and her son widened - from the angel's message, to the flight to
Egypt and then back again, to the arrival of the shepherds and then the coming
of the wise men, and then to the question in the Temple "Don't you know I
must be about My Father's business?" - Luke 2:49. Gradually, any claim she
might have had to be His mother (in the way other mothers related to their sons)
slipped away. Jesus grew more mighty and more different as the years rolled by,
until Mary found herself on exactly the same level as any of Jesus' other
close and dedicated followers.
The
"hour" of Jesus is explained in John 7:1 - 6. Up until a certain time,
Jesus did what the Father told him to do, but when his "hour" came he
allowed wicked Men to do what they wanted (though still completely under the
Father's
control).
Is,53:1,2
it was the love, not the power of the messiah which had to draw people.
"Whatever
he says to you, do it". These are Mary's last recorded words. She
handed the matter over to her son and obediently slipped out of the picture. So
must we. Whatever Jesus tells us to do, we must do it - without fuss or
argument. And when Mary was gone, Jesus worked his miracle, but he did it
without ostentation or show. Privately, almost secretly, he worked an
astonishing miracle, which only his disciples and the servants knew about,
though afterwards the word spread, and God's care for the happiness of the
wedding guests (and by inference our happiness too) was displayed.
A
week before this miracle, Jesus refused to turn stones into bread to ease his
own
hunger, but here he turns water into wine, to save a wedding.
The
wedding marked a turning point in Jesus' life. It was the beginning of his
public work, and the first sign of revelation of who he was.
Miracles
are not the best revelation of God, since they can be mimicked by Satan (i.e.
the magicians of Egypt) and magicians or conjurors or illusionists (who appear
to work miracles through illusion and slight of hand). A far better way to know
God is through the Word, which describes the truth, and the Spirit, after the
new birth.
Bullinger
comments 'This miracle was the first one the Jews had seen for 450 years. The
last one was in Dan.6:22."
Jesus Christ is all of God's goodness - John 1:14, 17, Mat.19:17, Acts
10:38, John 10:11 the Good Shepherd. When Moses asked God to show him His glory,
God let "all His GOODNESS pass by him - Ex. 33:18 and 34:6 onwards. Glory
and goodness go together. When we think of "glory" we often think of a
great, shining light, but glory can be a quality, such as goodness,
without any physical appearance.
The incident at the marriage was the first of several major miracles recorded in John’s gospel. It displays creation, and reveals the Creator. It also reveals God’s love in that no detail is too small for Him to care about. It shows His condescension in that He was able to visit a wedding rather than avoid it in favour of the Great Mission – as some zealous missionary types might have done. It shows his impeccable manners in that he spoke with dignity but kindness to his mother. We can learn from this incident that we should not try to relate to Jesus in a ‘wrong’, or inappropriate way. He is approachable, but not over-familiar. He attracts but he also demands respect. Not even his mother can claim any exception to this rule.