The Hero

Jesus Attends a Wedding

Picture: Jesus Attends a Wedding 3TC 87.1

This chapter is based on John 2:1-11.

At a household gathering in a little Galilean village, Jesus used His power to add joy to a wedding feast. In this way, He showed His sympathy with us and His desire to minister to our happiness. In the wilderness, He Himself had drunk the cup of sorrow, but He came from there to give us the cup of blessing. 3TC 87.2

There was to be a marriage at Cana. The bride and groom were relatives of Joseph and Mary, and Jesus and His disciples were invited. 3TC 87.3

Mary, His mother, had heard of the sign God gave at the Jordan, at His baptism. The news had brought to her mind once again the scenes that for many years she had hidden in her heart. Mary was deeply stirred by the mission of John the Baptist. Now his connection with Jesus kindled her hopes anew. She had treasured every evidence that Jesus was the Messiah, yet doubts and disappointments also came to her. She longed for the time when His glory would be revealed. 3TC 87.4

Death had separated Mary from Joseph, who had shared her knowledge of the mystery of Jesus’ birth. Now there was no one with whom she could talk about her hopes and fears. She thought deeply about the words of Simeon, “A sword will pierce through your own soul also.” Luke 2:35. With an anxious heart, she waited for Jesus’ return. 3TC 88.1

At the marriage feast, she met Him, and He was the same tender, dutiful Son. Yet He was not the same. His face showed traces of His conflict in the wilderness, and a new expression of dignity and power gave evidence of His heavenly mission. With Him was a group of young men who called Him Master. These companions told Mary what they had seen and heard at the baptism and elsewhere. 3TC 88.2

As the guests assembled, there was an atmosphere of suppressed excitement. As Mary saw the many glances directed toward Jesus, she longed to have Him prove that He was the Honored of God. 3TC 88.3

It was the custom for marriage festivities to continue several days. On this occasion, before the feast ended, the supply of wine ran out. As a relative, Mary had assisted in the feast, and she now said to Jesus, “They have no wine.” These words were a suggestion that He could supply their need. But Jesus answered, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” 3TC 88.4

This form of addressing her expressed no coldness or discourtesy. In Oriental custom, it was used toward persons to whom one desired to show respect. Christ Himself had given the commandment, “Honor your father and your mother.” Exodus 20:12. Both at the marriage feast and on the cross in His last act of tenderness toward His mother, the love He expressed in His tone, look, and manner interpreted His words. 3TC 88.5

At His visit to the temple when He was a boy, Christ had said to Mary, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” Luke 2:49. Now He repeated the lesson. There was danger that Mary would think that her relationship to Jesus gave her the right, in some degree, to direct Him in His mission. For thirty years He had been a loving, obedient Son, but now He must go about His Father’s work. As Savior of the world, no earthly ties must hold Him from His mission. This lesson is also for us. No earthly attraction, no ties of human relationship, should turn our feet from the path in which God calls us to walk. 3TC 88.6

Mary could find salvation only through the Lamb of God. Her connection with Jesus did not give her a spiritual relationship to Him that was different from that of any other human being. The Savior’s words make clear the distinction between His relation to her as the Son of man and as the Son of God. The family ties between them in no way placed her on an equality with Him. 3TC 89.1

“My hour has not yet come.” As Christ walked among us, He was guided step by step by the Father’s will. In saying to Mary that His hour had not yet come, He was replying to her unspoken thought—the expectation she cherished that He would reveal Himself as the Messiah and take the throne of Israel. But the time had not come. Jesus had accepted the normal condition of humanity not as a King but as “a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Isaiah 53:3. 3TC 89.2

Mary’s Faith Is Rewarded

Though Mary did not have a right concept of Christ’s mission, she trusted Him completely. To this faith He responded. Jesus performed His first miracle to honor her trust and to strengthen the faith of His disciples. From the prophecies the disciples understood without a doubt that Jesus was the Messiah, but they were bitterly disappointed by the unbelief, deep-seated prejudice, and hatred that the priests and rabbis displayed toward Jesus. The Savior’s early miracles strengthened the disciples to stand against opposition. 3TC 89.3

Mary said to those serving at the tables, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 3TC 89.4

Beside the doorway stood six large stone water jars. Jesus told the servants to fill these with water. Then He said, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” Instead of water, the jars yielded wine. 3TC 89.5

When he tasted the wine the servants brought, the ruler of the feast found it superior to any he had ever before drunk. Turning to the bridegroom, he said, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then that which is inferior; but you have kept the good wine until now”! 3TC 90.1

The gifts the world offers may please the eye and fascinate the senses, but they prove unsatisfying. The “wine” turns to bitterness, the good times to gloom. What began with songs and mirth ends in weariness and disgust. But the gifts of Jesus are always fresh and new. The feast that He provides never fails to give satisfaction and joy. There can be no short supply. If you abide in Him, a rich gift today ensures that you will receive a richer gift tomorrow. 3TC 90.2

The gift of Christ to the marriage feast was a symbol. Human hands brought the water to fill the jars, but the word of Christ alone could give it life-giving power. The word of Christ provided ample supply for the feast. His grace is similarly abundant to blot out iniquity and to renew and sustain the spiritual life. The wine Christ provided for the feast, and which He gave the disciples as a symbol of His own blood, was the pure juice of the grape. Isaiah refers to this when he speaks of the new wine “in the cluster,” and says, “Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it.” Isaiah 65:8. 3TC 90.3

In the Old Testament, Christ gave the warning, “Wine is a mocker, intoxicating drink arouses brawling, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.” Proverbs 20:1. He Himself provided no such beverage. Satan tempts men and women to indulge in things that will cloud their reason and numb their spiritual perceptions, but Christ teaches us to bring the lower nature into subjection. It was Christ who directed that John the Baptist should drink neither wine nor strong drink. He commanded similar abstinence for Samson’s mother. And He pronounced a curse on anyone who would put the bottle to his neighbor’s lips. See Habakkuk 2:15. Christ did not contradict His own teaching. The unfermented wine that He provided for the wedding guests was a wholesome and refreshing drink. 3TC 90.4

As the guests commented about the wine, some asked questions that drew from the servants an account of the miracle. When finally the assembled guests looked for Jesus, He had quietly slipped away. 3TC 90.5

Attention now turned to the disciples, giving them the opportunity to acknowledge their faith in Jesus. They told what they had seen and heard at the Jordan. News of the miracle spread and was carried to Jerusalem. With new interest the priests and elders searched the prophecies pointing to Christ’s coming. 3TC 91.1

Christ Broke Down Class Barriers

Jesus began His work by coming into close sympathy with humanity. While He showed the greatest reverence for the law of God, He rebuked the pretended piety of the Pharisees and tried to free the people from the senseless rules that bound them. He was attempting to break down the barriers that separated the different classes of society, so that He could bring them all together as children of one family. 3TC 91.2

Jesus denounced self-indulgence, yet He was social in His nature. He accepted the hospitality of all classes, visiting the homes of rich and poor, educated and ignorant, trying to raise their thoughts from ordinary life to things that are eternal. No shadow of foolish merriment marred His conduct, yet He found pleasure in scenes of innocent happiness. The Son of man did not find the joy of a Jewish marriage displeasing. By attending, Jesus honored marriage as a divine institution. 3TC 91.3

In both the Old and New Testaments, marriage represents the tender and sacred union that exists between Christ and His people. To the mind of Jesus, the wedding’s gladness pointed to the rejoicing on that day when He will bring home His bride, the redeemed, to the Father’s house. “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” “He will rejoice over you with gladness, ... He will rejoice over you with singing. Isaiah 62:5; Zephaniah 3:17. John the apostle wrote, “I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, ... saying, ... ‘Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’” Revelation 19:6, 7. 3TC 91.4

Jesus reached the hearts of the people by going among them as Someone who desired their good. He met them in the streets, in private houses, on boats, in synagogues, by the shores of the lake, and at the marriage feast. He showed interest in their everyday lives. His strong personal sympathy helped to win hearts. He prepared for His work among people in their daily life by praying alone in the mountains. From these sessions, He went out to relieve the sick and to break the chains from Satan’s captives. 3TC 91.5

Jesus trained His disciples by personal contact and association. Sometimes sitting on the mountainside, sometimes beside the sea, or walking with them along the roads, He taught them the mysteries of God’s kingdom. He did not sermonize. He did not command His disciples to do this or that, but said, “Follow Me.” On His journeys, He took them with Him, so that they could see how He taught the people. 3TC 92.1

All who preach Christ’s Word should follow His example. We should not take ourselves out of society, but meet all classes of people where they are. It is not only pulpit preaching that touches people’s hearts with divine truth. Another place to work, every bit as promising, is in the home of the lowly, in the mansion of the great, and in gatherings for innocent social enjoyment. 3TC 92.2

We will not mingle with the world to unite with them in foolishness. We should never give approval to sin by our words or our deeds, our silence or our presence. Wherever we go, we are to carry Jesus with us. We should all become witnesses for Jesus. We should put social power, sanctified by the grace of Christ, to good use in winning souls. Let the world see that we want others to share our blessings and privileges, that religion does not make us unsympathetic or demanding. Everyone who has found Christ should minister as He did for the benefit of others. 3TC 92.3

We should never give the world the false impression that Christians are a gloomy, unhappy people. Christ’s followers are not statues, but living men and women who are partakers of the divine nature. The light that shines on them they reflect on others in works that glow with the love of Christ. 3TC 92.4