The Best

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE BEST

John 2:1-11

2:1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." 4 "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."  5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.   7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." 11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

NIV

What a way to start. So far and we have no idea how long it has been since Jesus was baptized in the Jordon and exactly how many men he has called to follow him. We know at least some of the names. There is Andrew and his brother Simon Peter, and Phillip and he found Nathanael and we would have to believe John was the other of the two disciples of John the Baptist who followed after Jesus. So as far as we know it was Jesus and the five of them who went to the wedding feast with Mary the mother of Jesus. This third day is a bit odd. Is this the third day after his baptism in the Jordan, or is this the third day of the wedding feast? From our research of the scholars, they tell us in that culture a wedding feast typically lasted seven days. So they had been drinking for the last three days, and the guests were pretty happy by now, in fact they had been drinking so much they finished all the wine the wedding family had provided. From a social standpoint, this was a very embarrassing situation. There is another four days of celebration to go and not a drop of wine left. Either this showed ill preparation on the part of the family, or they were not sufficiently financially able to provide properly for the wedding. Either way, their reputation in the community was going to be tarnished. We would have thought Jesus would have been the one to initiated meeting their need, but it was his mother. Still, we have to wonder how she knew Jesus would be able to fix this problem. Surely she did not expect him and his disciples to run out to the local wine store and buy up all the wine and bring it back to the wedding feast. Certainly she, having pondered many things concerning Jesus, she knew he was not just an ordinary man. Was she at the Jordan that day when the Spirit descended on him and the voice of God spoke from heaven? Something more to ponder on. So she simply, believing Jesus could solve the situation, told him the problem. Sure the changing of water into wine was a big deal, revealing who he was and that many people saw this miracle. Many also spent time on the fact Jesus made the best wine. After three days of drinking, now the wine steward pulls the bridegroom aside and asked why he kept the best for last, after all the people were already drunk. The proper protocol would have to been start out with the best wine and after the guests have had too much to drink and feeling no pain, then bring out the cheap stuff. They would not know the difference. But, no, Jesus never provides cheap stuff. That is a great lesson, but what about this simple faith of Mary. She just believed Jesus could fix the problem. She did not wax on with highbrow prayers. She did not spend any time enumerating how much faith she had, or about who she thought of his majesty or holiness, or listed what she knew he could do. She just told him the need. “They have no more wine”. Maybe we need to take a lesson in faith from Mary. We might just tell him our need. No need to go through some big ordeal of prayers, just tell him our need and he will provide the best.