Thursday, December 13, 2018

Lessons from the Miracle at Cana: Our Part

Another thing we can learn from John 2:1-12 is our part in manifesting Jesus’ creative power.  Ask the Holy Spirit for insight and read this scripture with particular focus on the servants’ role in this incident. (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.

The servants had a key role in this very impactful miracle. What can we learn from their actions here?  At least five things come to mind:

1.    Do what Jesus tells you to do. This miracle happened because the servants were obedient. This is a precondition to many of Jesus’ miracles; someone had to follow His instructions before the miraculous results occurred. See  Matthew 12:13-14 & parallelMatthew 14:16-21 & parallel;Matthew 14:28-29Matthew 15:35-39 & parallel;Mark 5:35-42 & parallelLuke 5:4-7Luke 17:12-14John 21:5-6. We see the same pattern in the Hebrew scriptures. See  Joshua 3Joshua 6:1-201 Kings 17:7-16;  2 Kings 4:1-72 Kings 4:42-442 Kings 5:9-14

2.    Do what God tells you even though you don’t understand where He is going with what He asks you to do. The connection between the ablution jars and the problem at hand was probably not obvious, but the servants did what Jesus told them and miraculous results followed.  Once again, we see this same dynamic in other of Jesus’ miracles: miracles occurred because folks took actions that Jesus directed, even though those actions probably did not make much sense to them. Consider the multiplication of the fishes and loaves; the disciples were probably skeptical about the efficacy of what Jesus told them to do, but they did it, and the miraculous occurred. See Matthew 14:16-21 & parallel. We also see that dynamic in the events that set the stage for Palm Sunday/Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and Peter’s ministry: disciples were asked to take actions that probably seemed at least a little odd, but they took them and eternally significant results occurred. See Matthew 21:1-11 & parallelLuke 5:4-11.  This dynamic is also seen in the Old Testament and other parts of the New Testament. See  Joshua 3Joshua 6:1-201 Kings 17:7-162 Kings 4:42-44Acts 9:10-19.  This seemingly non-sensical pattern actually makes sense when we consider that God knows far, far, more than we do; it is therefore not surprising that His directions can be several steps ahead of our understanding.  That reality underlies Proverbs 3:5-7.

3.    Realizing the benefit of God’s blessing can require serious effort. These servants had to do some real work to execute Jesus’ directions. They had to wrestle heavy stone jars. They had to fill them, which likely involved more than simply turning on a spigot. They had to transport the wine to the guests. They likely had to clean the jars out after the wedding. This is not the only time we see this pattern in Jesus’ miracles. It took real effort for Peter and his companions to reap the benefits of the miraculous catches described in Luke 5:4-7 and  John 21:5-11.This is the opposite of the dynamic described in Proverbs 19:24

4.    Do what Jesus tells you even though it involves things that are outside of your normal responsibilities. This is admittedly surmise on my part, but I suspect that the servants answered to the president of the wedding, not the guests. They nonetheless did what this guest directed, even though it took real effort, and this impactful miracle occurred. 

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5.    Do what God tells you the best of your ability, be “all in.” These servants did not do a half way job; verse 7 tells us that the filled the jars “to the brim.” That sounds a lot like the attitude described in Colossians 3:23

-->Five other posts considering the Miracle at Cana are linked at Lessons from the Miracle at Cana: Collected

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