When the Wine Runs Out...

“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’ ‘Woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’ They did so, 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 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.’ 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 2:1-11

I would be very surprised if told me that you had never heard the story of Jesus turning the water into wine. Although this story has been heard and discussed many times and we feel that we know it well it is wrong to let our minds drift and to not pay attention to new truths that God could reveal. I have to admit this recently happened to me when we read this passage in church the other weekend. I went in thinking I know that story so what could I possibly learn more from it. God laughed and I learned as I sat and listened.

In this week’s post, I want to take a deeper look at that story of the water into wine and see what else we can learn. As we already know, turning the water into wine was Jesus’ first public miracle. Although it may not seem to be as important in comparison to some of Jesus’ other miracles such as healing the sick and raising people for the dead, that couldn’t be further from the truth. This miracle is very important because it proves that Jesus is the source of life. The miracle is a symbol of the new life that Jesus brings when we allow Him to change us from old to new. This miracle was done at a wedding to shine a light on the fact that Jesus is the bridegroom and we the church are His bride. Just as a groom waited with anticipation for his bride, Jesus is excitingly waiting for us to come to Him and join in an intimate relationship. He is continually drawing us in and courting us into a relationship.

In Jesus’ first miracle, He shows that He will provide for us no matter how big or how small. All we much do is take what we have even if it is as common as water and Jesus can work through it to turn it into something of great value. But how does He do this? Well, first and foremost, He is God and can do all things but we must believe in Him and His power. We must take Mary’s advice to the servants in the passage when she tells them to “Do whatever he tells you.” It sounds simple enough but so often we fail to take our all to God because we give Him on the part we want to give up and we hold on to the rest thinking we can handle it. Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Out of the richness of His heart, God provides for us when we give HIm complete control.

I find it so interesting that Jesus takes normal water previously used for basic sanitization in the Jewish tradition and turns it into wine, this is not just normal table wine but the best wine. Jesus could have easily turned the wine into something basic that would have got the job done but He doesn’t do that at the wedding and He doesn’t do that in our lives today. No, He turned it into fine wine, the best wine because Jesus doesn’t give us the bare minimum. He gives us exactly what we need when we need it. God always gives us what we need even if it is not what we have asked for. He knows far better than us because He sees the entire picture of our lives and knows where we much go.

Finally, in the last verse of the passage, we read that because of this sign the disciples believed in Him. In other words, the men who had been with Him still had questions about what He was saying and wanted to see proof. Sounds a lot like us today right? Well during the wedding in Cana the disciples were given the proof they needed by watching Him perform this miracle. For us, it is not that simple, we cannot see with our own eyes Jesus perform a miracle. We much look a little harder and pay a little more attention to the things happening around us. When we choose to look for God we can see His hand in the small things in our lives. Those small things direct our eyes to God and His glory.

God still performs miracles in our lives today. Although they might not be as grand as bringing someone back from physical death He does give us a new life and saves us from the physical death and pain that we deserve. That is a miracle that we experience daily and a miracle that should be rejoiced in!