If you’re looking for a sign, is this it? (1)

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John’s first century eyewitness biography of Jesus Chapter 2: 1-12)

May I ask you a question or two about this incident in John’s biography? A few sentences after those in red above, John wrote (see below), “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.” First question. Given that Jesus’ mother, hearing of the wine failing, asked him to deal with this problem, did she have too high a view of her son’s abilities? Second question. Did Jesus have too high a view of his own abilities when he answered by saying, in effect, that he would see to that sort of thing when his “hour” would have “come”? A third question needs to be asked. His mother didn’t press Jesus to deal with the problem but spoke instead to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” If she had no idea what her son would do (if anything, given his reply to her), what was she thinking when she told them to do “whatever he tells you”? What was she expecting – for them all at the dried-up wedding?
Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.	.
Brim full, the six water jars would therefore have contained, in all, between 800 and 1,200 of our size bottles. Not all were used at the wedding – a huge quantity of wine would have been available for others, later. Fourth question. Given that Jesus’ “hour [had} not yet come”, what did this say to those around about what the position would be when his hour would come? What do you think Jesus intended to take place when his hour did come? 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 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.” Who is this “master of the feast”? One might think that he, as sommelier in chief, would know everything. But does he? Why is it only the servants – the servants who drew the water from the purification jars – who knew where this wonderful wine had come from? Why only them? Why didn't he try and find out? This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. Did you notice this second mention of “Cana in Galilee”? It gives rise to yet another question. Jesus was Jewish. The Canaanites in those days regarded Jews as their absolute enemies - and vice versa. Why then did Jesus do this miracle? Why bless them in that way? Does Jesus bless non-Jews today? Is it possible that Jesus’ love of his enemies is “his glory”?
And his disciples believed in him.	.
If you’d been there, would you have been impressed? After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days. Maybe, this was a time for all of them to stop and think, alongside the Lake of Galilee?

Sinner Syvret

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