Chapter 24
Filled to the Brim
The Reading: John 2:1-12:
The Problem:
In Jesus’ day, Jewish weddings were far more elaborate than today. Our wedding ceremonies may last the better part of one day. But as lavish as American weddings can be … they don’t even come close to what the Jewish culture invested into this event.
The wedding usually started with a time of feasting. And then later in the afternoon or early evening, the father of the bride would take his daughter on his arm and parade her and the wedding party through the streets of the village, so that everyone could come out and congratulate the bride.
Finally the wedding party would arrive at the home of the groom, and the wedding actually took place in the front doorway of the groom’s house. After the wedding ceremony, the wedding party would light torches and parade the bride and groom through the streets of the town again - always taking the longest route through the village so that as many people as possible could wish them well.
After that is when the real celebration would begin. For nearly a week, the newlyweds would hold an open house. They were treated like royalty, dressed in fancy clothes, often wearing crowns on their heads. The groom’s family was expected to provide all the refreshments for the seven days of festivities.
Now, in those days, it was believed to be unhealthy to drink water alone. And it was also thought to be harmful to drink wine alone. Only barbarians drank wine straight from the jug. Instead, it was the common custom to water wine down by at least a 2:1 ratio. Most wine that would have been drunk at weddings and other social gatherings would have had an alcoholic content of no higher than 2.2 to 2.75 % ... well below the 3.2 % that is considered necessary today to classify a beverage as alcoholic.
So this wedding feast wasn’t anything like a drunken party, but for some reason the host ran out of wine. To plan for so many people, surely careful preparations had been made. They must have sent out invitations, and carefully counted how many people RSVP’d for the after-party. They had undoubtedly told the caterer how many people to expect.
To run out of wine was more than embarrassing; it was a social crisis because this would damage their credibility in the community. A good host always made sure there was plenty food and drink available. Perhaps, more people showed up at the party than the groom had invited. Or maybe, the wedding took place during a heat wave and guests were drinking more than they expected. Whatever the reason, the seven-day celebration was about halfway through when word came to the groom, "We're out of wine."
The Turning Point:
Mary, the mother of Jesus, had experienced public shame connected with her own wedding so many years before, so she was sympathetic. She didn't have the resources or ability to solve this dilemma, but she knew that Jesus could take care of everything.
When she learned the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother simply said to him, “They have no more wine” (John 2:3). Mary wasn’t that much different from other moms that we know. There must have been something in her eyes, or perhaps there was an inflection in her voice that Jesus recognized from His childhood. Her meaning was obvious, and Jesus knew exactly what she was really saying. “Son, fix this problem and fix it now!”
Notice … Mary didn’t try to tell Jesus how to fix the problem (as we so often try to do in our own prayers). Mary had the kind of faith that knew Jesus could handle the problem without any instructions from her, because she knew Who He was and she had a pretty good idea about what He’d come to do. In fact, her unwavering faith was why God had chosen her to be the mother of Jesus.
It seems like Jesus was a bit annoyed, because His answer to her almost sounded harsh. He said, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4 ESV).
The Miracle That Followed:
But Mary had paid her dues and she expected to receive the miracle. She had spent many long nights feeding and caring for Jesus, raising him from a baby to the man that He was that day. I believe Jesus loved her, as most sons love their mothers. He respected her position in His life and realized that for Him to not obey her would have been to directly disobey the Old Testament law that says to honor your mother and father. Mary didn’t take Jesus by the ear like other mothers do their children. She grabbed him by the heart and made a simple request. She knew that this would be nothing for Jesus to take care of.
Then Mary said to the servants, "Whatever He tells you to do, do it.” And Jesus said to the servants, “See those six stone jars over there? Yes, those water pots. I want you to fill each one of them up to the top with water.” What Jesus told them to do made no sense! If Jesus would have told them to go buy some wine at the corner store - that would have made more sense. However, that would have meant walking by sight, and Jesus wanted them to begin walking by faith.
The servants did as Jesus asked, and filled the pots up as full as possible. I think it’s interesting to note that Jesus asked the servants to help Him. Jesus could have filled these pots with wine by means of just by a look, or by speaking the word. However, God loves to share with us, His servants, opportunities to work alongside Him.
After the pots were filled, Jesus didn’t pray over them, or anoint the jugs with oil in His own name. He simply said, “Take some to the governor of the feast.” And the catering manager declared that it was the best wine he had ever tasted.
The Bottom Line:
There are several lessons to learn from this account.
- Jesus honored His mother and obeyed. Then the servants obeyed Jesus, and filled the jugs with water. And when the servants dipped a cup into the jugs and poured liquid into the guests’ wine glasses, because of their acts of obedience, instead of water – there was delicious wine in everyone’s glasses.
- When we have done all we can to, it doesn’t mean that God isn’t still able to do something. The servants had exhausted their own ability, but they hadn’t yet tapped into the Lord’s ability to solve problems and make things happen.
- When Jesus gives something, He never gives “just enough” to get by; He always gives so much that there’s plenty left over. The six stone jugs could hold up to 20 or 30 gallons each, which adds up to to 120 to 180 gallons in all. That’s a lot of wine! There’s no way the guests would need that much wine to last until the end of the marriage feast. So why did Jesus give them so much? It was because He is an extravagant giver, and as a kindness to the newly-weds. They probably had enough wine left over to last the rest of the year.
Remember when Elisha told poor widow to pour oil into the empty jugs to redeem her sons? She didn’t receive just enough oil to pay her debts. She was given so much extra she was able to support herself and her family for quite some time (2 Kings 4:7). When Jesus multiplied the little boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish in order to feed 5,000 men and their families, there were twelve baskets of undistributed portions remaining. He gave abundantly!
Paul experienced God’s extravagant grace, for he said, “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief (1 Timothy 1:13). To a dying thief on a cross he gave the gift of paradise. To a woman caught in adultery he gave the gift of amazing grace and forgiveness. To a grieving father he gave back a child from the shadow of death.
Whatever you need from the Lord, know that He is lavish with His gifts.
