The First Miracle

1 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.

It is interesting that Jesus chose a wedding to perform his first miracle. There are several things revealed and it should be noted that Jesus took the time to attend the wedding. The union of a man and a woman coming together into one flesh is present in the beginning of creation when God created man, and then created a help mate. Marriage is a commitment for life, yet today’s world wants to take the "easy way" out of marriage and flee at the first sign of problems. Scripture tells us in Hebrews 13:4 & 5:

4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

This verse brings out that God WILL judge the adulterer and sexually immoral. The next sentence really hits home in many marriages. Broken marriages and unhappy marriages are often looking and comparing their marriage to other people and to the world, but Scripture addresses to troublesome areas when it states, as just read, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said , ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’" This is tied directly to the 10 Commandments. The love of money is a violation of the First Commandment "You shall have no other gods" and the 6^th Commandment "You shall not commit adultery". It is Jesus who will come again to judge the world, and it is Jesus who honors a wedding by attending it.

Back to the wedding, it is at a wedding that Jesus chose to perform His first miracle. This is a demonstration that He is all-powerful. To set the scene, Jewish weddings customarily lasted seven days. The wedding takes place in the city of Cana in Galilee, which is a village about 10 miles from Nazareth. Because Jesus, Mary, and the disciples had received invitations, they probably close friends or maybe even family to the wedding party. The wedding host is responsible for providing food and wine for the wedding.

Anyone who throws a party, even today, knows it is better to have too much food than not enough. It is embarrassing to run out of food. When you think about a wedding lasting seven days, it is a little easier to see that much planning goes into a wedding and it would be easy to underestimate. Well, this is what has happened. Scripture tells us:

3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, "They have no more wine."

It is Mary who approaches Jesus. She KNOWS who Jesus is! The angels came to her before the birth, they were guided to flee to Egypt, and then to return, and she also remembers when Jesus was left at the temple at the age of twelve. They found him three days later teaching and asking the teachers questions. They were amazed at his understanding. When Mary and Joseph found him, Jesus response was "Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?" Many people often speculate as to whether Jesus performed miracles while growing up, but we should note that verse 11 states that this was His first miracle. Scripture states: "This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him."

It is Mary who approaches Jesus and informs him that "They have no more wine". We too should approach Jesus with this attitude. Mary is taking somebody else’s problem to Jesus which is in simplest form, a PRAYER! Mary could have walked around gossiping saying "isn’t it embarrassing that they ran out of wine?" or "I feel bad for them", or even the bold statement "well they should have prepared!.. it serves them right!". Instead of taking this alternative, or running down the street to the nearest Thrifty Liquor, she takes the problem to Jesus.

It is Jesus response that catches many off-guard. He responds:

4 "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."

Jesus in essence, rebukes Mary. When I read this out of the NIV translation, it sounds like Jesus tells her "no", much like a teenager would, but this is a mis-translation of the text. The text should read "Woman, what does that have to do with ‘us’" or "Woman, why do you involve you and me?" Jesus is rightfully put Mary in her place. He loves his mother and he honors his mother in keeping the 4^th Commandment "Honor your father and mother", but now, Jesus is beginning the Ministry. He is pointing out to her that when it comes to God’s work, it is not her place to dictate the place, time or event! This is God’s work. So when Jesus says "Why do you involve you and me?", he is stating to her this is my work and to not interfere with God’s work.

Mary rightly understands this. The rebuking she took was very mild, and she honors it. She does not run off and tell Jesus "Fine, do it your way!" or sulk and say "don’t ever count on me helping you", or "do it yourself, I’m leaving!" This would be the common response in the world today! Instead she heeds the rebuke and acknowledges and she doesn’t take it personal. We all have a lot to learn from Mary!

Mary also picked up on the "My time has not yet come." She knew that this was an acknowledgment that the time "will come". Jesus may have waited a few minutes, or maybe an hour or so to let the problem of running out of wine to manifest. Nevertheless, Jesus answers Mary’s prayer through a miracle. The answer to the prayer comes at God’s time, not our time. People are often impatient and want immediate answers to prayers, but God answers them in His time.

Mary, a lady with great faith, steps into action. She approaches the servants and tells them: "Do whatever he tells you." When that time had come, Jesus looks around and see six large stone water jars. Scripture states:

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.

Jesus is not dealing with a glass, carafe, a bottle, or a jug, but he has over 120 gallons of water! Now, the miracle takes place. Scripture states:

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."

This is a glorious miracle that cannot be performed by humans, it takes God to change water to wine. Jesus demonstrates that He is all powerful! He is also demonstrating that He is MERCIFUL by saving the wedding host in a time of need! Jesus mercy was extended to the wedding host and he extends the same mercy to you today. He cares about you and performed His greatest miracle to us on the Cross. The greatest miracle is that He has taken every sinful action, desire, and thought you have done and He has forgiven you. The master of the banquet called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guest have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." What does that mean to us today? It means that the BEST IS YET TO COME. It is impossible for man to turn water into a wine. This is a radical change! Well, Jesus brings you a truly radical change when He changes you from a lost sinner to a forgiven child of God. Faith brings about a radical change in your life. Jesus forgives you of your sins and gives you eternal life through His Word today, but the Best Is Yet to Come. Jesus promised us that He will return, and when He does, we ... that is the believers, will be taken up into heaven. We will live in the full presence of God and will be in full communion with the Father. We rejoice that Salvation is ours!

Amen!