John 2:1-12 illustrates another powerful truth: we can be very fruitful if we get past our preconceptions. Ask the Holy Spirit for insight, read this passage, and consider the points set out below. (This translation is from the New Jerusalem Bible. Other translations can be found here.).
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there,2and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited.3And they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the feast had all been used, and the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.'4Jesus said, 'Woman, what do you want from me? My hour has not come yet.'5His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.'6There were six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could hold twenty or thirty gallons.7Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water,' and they filled them to the brim.8Then he said to them, 'Draw some out now and take it to the president of the feast.'9They did this; the president tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from -- though the servants who had drawn the water knew -- the president of the feast called the bridegroom10and said, 'Everyone serves good wine first and the worse wine when the guests are well wined; but you have kept the best wine till now.'
11This was the first of Jesus' signs: it was at Cana in Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.12After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, but they stayed there only a few days.
1. This passage shows what can happen when we get past our preconceptions. Consider that:
A. This wedding was in Cana. Jesus was from Nazareth, not Cana. He was therefore likely at the wedding because of His newly formed relationship with Nathaniel, a native of Cana. See John 1:43-50 (Jesus’ new relationship with Nathaniel) and John 21:2. (Nathaniel was from Cana).
B. Nathaniel had negative preconceptions about folks from Nazareth, and strong ones at that. John 1:46 tells us that he doubted that “anything good” could come from Nazareth.
C. Luckily for him—and many others—he got past that, Jesus got to the wedding, and lots of folks got blessed. That started with the host; he was spared the embarrassment of running out of wine. It extended to the guests who enjoyed the wine, and judging by how much wine Jesus made, there were a lot of them. See vv. 6-9. It extended more profoundly to Nathaniel and the other disciples Jesus brought with Him. See vv. 11-12. Their ministries in turn in turn touched thousands/millions of souls in their time and billions since then, as has the gospel account we are considering. All that happened because Nathaniel was willing to be proven wrong.
2. We see variations of that dynamic elsewhere in scripture:
A. We see it in folks getting past preconceptions about other individuals. Consider Eli getting past his misconceptions about Hannah; that laid the groundwork for Samuel’s powerful ministry. See 1 Samuel 1:9-28. Consider also Ananias; he wanted nothing to do with Paul, but billions have been blessed by Paul’s work because Ananias got over that. See Acts 9:10-19.
B. We see it in folks getting past preconceptions about themselves. Consider Moses, Gideon, and Jeremiah. None of them thought they were up to what God called them to, but many have been blessed because they got past those preconceptions. See Exodus 4:1-17; Judges 6 & 7; Jeremiah 1:4-10.
C. We see it in folks getting past preconceptions about God’s plans. Consider Peter’s preconceptions about where gentiles fit into God’s plan and Paul’s preconception about where God wanted the gospel preached. Billions have been blessed because Peter and Paul abandoned their misconceptions about those things. See Acts 10; Acts 16:6-10.
D. Scripture also addresses that dynamic on a more general level. See Proverbs 3:5-7, Proverbs 16:1-2, Proverbs 21:2, and Proverbs 28:26. See also Wisdom Principles--Rebuke & Openness to Correction.
Five other posts considering the Miracle at Cana are linked at Lessons from the Miracle at Cana: Collected
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