Christian Perspectives – water into wine

January 15, 2014 · 0 Comments

A little while ago I read a disturbing news article. The article hi-lited several food items that we can expect to run short of in the next few years.

Bacon. Tell me it ain’t so! High feed prices due to poor harvests and a killer virus that is making the rounds means the supply is way down. All this means you might not necessarily see bacon or your pork chop disappear from grocery store, but you’ll be paying a lot more for your pork.

Chocolate. Yes for real, the world is facing a serious shortage of chocolate! I bet you are wishing you had saved some of those chocolate Christmas treats…. What are we going to do? What about Valentines or Easter? The African farmers who grow most of the worlds cocoa trees just don’t earn enough money (80 cents a day) to tend the cocoa trees which take 5 years to start bearing fruit.

Wine. Wine consumption the world over is way up (esp. in China) while wine production last year was down 5% in North America and 10% in Europe. If the trend continues we will definitely see wine shortages.

In The gospel of John (2: 1-12) ) we read the story of Jesus showing up for a wedding. Unfortunately for the Bride and Groom the party is running out of wine. Mary, Jesus’ mother, pulls her son aside and suggests/demands he do something. Eventually Jesus does: He turns water in the best wine that the wedding guests have ever tasted.

The wedding feast at Cana marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. It is remarkable that Jesus chooses this particular venue to start his ministry. Cana was a backwater, remote and far out of the way place. If you wanted to launch a new business venture, product or even a new ministry you would probably use a major or large city where there were lots of people (especially important, influential ones) You would make sure there would be lots of fanfare making sure there would be a big splash that would get noticed; Something that would definitely make the headlines in the major newspapers or hopefully go viral on facebook or youTube. But Jesus doesn’t do it that way. The miracle itself is shrouded in mystery. There is not a hint of an action just a simple word by Jesus. We should recognize the creative power of our Lord. In Genesis we see God at work at work in establishing his creation: God spoke a word and it came into being. That same God spoke a word and water turned into wine. This miracle is a declaration, a sign of Jesus’ divine nature: He is the son of God, creator and almighty God.

The whole miracle itself is totally different from any other miracle Jesus performed as well. Here there is no emergency, there is no one dying, no one suffering. It almost seems frivolous for Jesus to do what he did. I mean really, turning water into wine at some simple country wedding …? What was Jesus thinking? In the grand scheme of world affairs weren’t there bigger issues to solve? Jesus is interested in the most ordinary and trivial things of our lives. Besides weddings, he cares about your lost car keys, your cold, your car problem, your upcoming exams etc. Nothing is too unimportant for our Lord. He lived among us and understands and knows our struggles. He can fully comprehend all that we will ever face in this life.

The wedding at Cana also marks the beginning of a new relationship with His mother Mary. When Mary notices the party is running out of wine she talks to her son suggesting or demanding he do something. Jesus gently rebukes her and reminds her that now the time has come that he will act as God’s son. A transition takes place: He will no longer obey Mary as her son (luke 2:51) rather she needs to obey Him as the son of God. Sometimes we make the same mistake: we might be so familiar with Jesus that we think Jesus is at our beck or call, as if he owes us for our service to him, forgetting he is Lord and we owe him everything.

The wedding in Cana also gives us a hint of the celebration that awaits us in heaven. Throughout his ministry Jesus repeatedly compares himself as the groom and his church (that is you and me as believers) as his bride. The wedding feast is a symbol of the eternal celebration that awaits us when Jesus comes back to take us home.

Jesus came and took what was common and ordinary (water) into something great and wonderful (wine). He came to make it “Holy” that is, set apart for Him. If he can take a bunch of “rough, uncouth” plain fishermen and make them into His disciples, he can take you and me and make us into His disciples as well. Jesus came to make what was sinful and make it Holy again. We bow our head and acknowledge Him as Lord and obediently follow His lead and direction, so that through Christ we too will become “Holy”.

Jan Oorebeek

Highlands Youth For Christ