In John 2, we find our Lord at a wedding. He is there along with his mother and his disciples, all invited guests. In the course of the celebration, they run out of wine. And in the first century, running out of wine at a seven-day wedding feast was not a good thing for the host. It would be rather shameful, in fact. And so Mary comes to Jesus and tells them that the wine was gone. And already, we see she believes in her son. But we also see that she doesn’t have a full understanding.
Jesus responds to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” Of course, he is right. Having enough wine is not his responsibility. Ensuring that the banquet continues as normal is not why he has come. Undeterred, faithful Mary looks at the servants and tells them, “Do whatever he tells you.” And they do. And what are they told? To take the six stone water jars, jars used for ceremonial cleansing, and fill them to the brim. Fill them until they are about to run over. And they do.
And they obey the Lord when he tells them to take this water from the jars to the master of the feast. Now think about this request: You are to take the water that people wash their hands in and give it to your master to drink. It is water that you wouldn’t want to drink, but you are to give it to your master. How many of you would be willing to do that? Even if you wouldn’t, they do. “Do whatever he tells you.”
The water, now wine, is brought to the master of the feast and he tastes it. And when he does, it is not dirty water that hits his palate, but the best of the best vintage of wine you could imagine. Only better. His response says it all. He calls the bridegroom and, in a way, chides him for bringing out the best wine later on in the feast.
Jesus submits to his mother and ensures that the joy of the feast is not interrupted. His time is not yet come, but he uses his power to provide for the needs of the newly married couple. But why? Jesus isn’t responsible for there being enough wine. He isn’t required to do anything. Why act? Because the is the first of his signs and upon doing it, he manifested his glory. And he manifests his glory for one simple reason: that his disciples would believe in him.
Throughout the ministry of Jesus, the disciples are witnesses to the teaching of Jesus. The miracles of Jesus. They see and experience his joy and pain. Reception and rejection. As they walk with him, they learn to trust him. To believe that he is the Son of God and the Redeemer of the world. But even as they do so, they stumble and fall. At times, they doubt. And that should provide us some comfort. They were with Jesus as he walked among them. We, some two-thousand-years later, are with him, but we do not see him in the flesh.
Though we don’t have Jesus in the body with us, we do have what the Holy Spirit had the apostles write down for us. We have the Word of God. And in it, especially in the Gospels, we read what Jesus did and what he has done for us. The Apostle John even gives the reason for writing his Gospel: That all those who hear it would believe in Jesus. That he is the Son of God, and that believing in him you would have eternal life.
We see in the miracles of Jesus that they are not to make us “healthy, wealthy, and wise,” but to be wise in what is the Truth. To be wise in knowing and trusting in Jesus. This first and chief sign of Jesus at a wedding in Cana clues us into what all the Gospel, and indeed, the Bible is about. It is about Jesus. How he creates all and then comes to it after it falls to restore it.
The wedding in Cana is a joyous festival, but it runs out of wine. The church throughout the world today celebrates the joy of Christ weekly by coming together, hearing the Word, and participating in the sign, the sacraments, that our Lord has given us. But we also wait for the culmination of the wedding in Cana. We wait for our own wedding feast as the Bride of Christ. It is there that he will again bring out the best of the best wine, and we will live eternally with him.
Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD
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