A friend recently asked me which of my blogs is my favorite. Without hesitation, I named two of them. The one you are about to read is one of them.
I enjoyed looking at Jesus’ first miracle from an unexpected angle. Perhaps you, too, can identify with being filled with the traditions of men only to have your heart and soul radically transformed by the miracle-working presence of Jesus.
I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Open your mind as you step into this scene!
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“The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, ‘They have no more wine.’” (John 2:1-2 NLT)
Weddings naturally draw friends and family from all around for grand celebrations. This particular wedding was no exception. Six hefty water-filled jars sat stone-faced as they witnessed the Jewish festivities. However, as the celebration continued, water levels within these six weighty containers decreased, causing the jars to feel depleted and greatly ignored.
Many faithful Jews used this purified water for countless hand washings and other rituals. Yet, the close friends who chose to serve the family during this wedding celebration became distracted with tasks other than replenishing the water. Before long, the six stone jars realized their emptiness and inability to do anything about it. Secretly, they wondered if they might ever be refilled or, better yet, filled with the wine that seemed to make hearts glad. Their water storage work had been essential for centuries, but was there more? Could there be something even better?
The jars first noted the servant’s raised eyebrows after listening to a behind-the-hand message from a concerned woman. The soft whispers were too few to decipher at first. However, the solemn secret quietly blew into ear after ear, one servant at a time. The unfolding situation caused a panicked frenzy in the frazzled servants, who tried their best to do everything exactly right.
The woman who first whispered the secret had arrived at the wedding celebration with her Son and a few of His friends. The Son, enveloped by a sweet but unfamiliar aroma, now stood beside the stone-faced jars. Simply having Him near warmed the jars from the inside out. That’s when they overheard the sad secret.
The wine was gone!
The jars had been around long enough to know how embarrassing this would be for such a fine family. An absence of wine created an absence of joy! Joy stands out as the hallmark emotion whenever a Groom takes His bride!
“Fill the jars with water,” the Son told the servants. Realizing they could find no other solution, they did as they’d been told. Not only did they replenish the water, but they filled the jars to the brim. The six hefty stone jars felt completely overwhelmed as the liquid rose inch by inch to the brim. They slowly realized something was different about THIS water – something so very different! It also filled the air with a sweet but now more familiar aroma.
The Son spoke up again, “Now draw some out and take it to the head waiter.” Again, the servants did as they were told, not knowing what else to do. The head waiter tasted it. Eyebrows flew up again! He wondered out loud why the very best wine had been saved for last.
The stone jars wondered if they’d heard correctly. Did he say, “Wine?” They expected to eventually be filled again with the same ceremonial water they had become accustomed to. They never expected to be filled to the brim with the best wine ever! Not just one of them, but all six jars had been filled! MORE than enough for a celebration! More than they EVER imagined!
The wine left its rich color on the inside of the jars as a permanent reminder of that day. From that day forward, they knew that no matter what anyone else tried to fill them with, they were CONFIDENT they had been changed from the inside out. They had done nothing to accomplish it on their own. It was the Son who had performed the miracle inside them. They resolved to stand as a living testimony to the joy that can be experienced when one gets filled by the Son and releases the sweet fragrance He provides.
“I [Jesus] came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” John 10:10, The Message
