Walking With Christ

John 2:1-11 (1)On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. (2)Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. (3)When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” (4)And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” (5)His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

(6)Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. (7)Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. (8)And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. (9)When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom (10)and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” (11)This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.(ESV)

The discussion yesterday about needs versus wants and the first miracle of Christ led me to ask more questions about the significance of that miracle. It went beyond just answering a want. It went far beyond the prevention of social embarrassment for the family. In fact, this miracle goes much, much deeper.

The creation of wine normally take time and a lot of effort. The grapes have to grow, be harvested, and then fermented. It takes a lot of dedication and care of human hands. This miracle speaks to the radical and miraculous transformation found through Christ. This was not just a transformation of water into wine but rather an announcement that His teachings would change the world.

Keep in mind that water is one of the essential ingredients in all Jewish purification rituals. This stone jars were meant for holding water that would be used for purification. The act of turning the water to wine was symbolic of His new covenant that would come soon where He would become the means of purification and thus supplant the old laws. The wine is blood analogy would become more obvious later at the last supper.

Think about how much wine was created and the level of quality that it had. Six large stone jars of twenty or thirty gallons each. That would be between one hundred thirty and two hundred gallons of the best wine anyone had ever tasted. This symbolizes the grace of God. Remember that the host of the party commented that it was common for people to give the best wine first to let people get drunk enough that a lower quality of wine would not be noticed. In this case, the absolute best wine was saved for last here. This is a new era of abundance and grace.

In Isaiah 25:6-7 we read, “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. (7)And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. (8)He will swallow up death forever;”(ESV). This is the passage that Jesus was starting to fulfill with this new feast. It announced the beginning of His ministry to the world. Don’t lose the significance of this taking place at a wedding. Christ had come for His bride. Like Jewish tradition, He came to barter the price for His bride. The price would be His life. He would then leave to make a place for His bride and when that work is completed He will come again. The time is never known to the bride so she has to be ready to go at all times.

When Christ said, ”how is this my problem” and Mary responded by telling the servants to simply do as Jesus told them that showed trust and obedience. She had trust and faith that Jesus would be able to find a solution to the problem. This is a key point in every Christian walk. Mary began the ministry of Jesus with an act of faith. We begin our walks with an act of faith. Most miracles begin with an act of faith. This turns into divine intervention and can grow into a living state of overabundance.

Every word of the bible drips with life and so much depth. It’s hard not to drown in it sometimes.