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Humble Hero

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Jesus Attends a Wedding

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. HH 59.1

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. HH 59.2

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. HH 59.3

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. HH 59.4

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. HH 59.5

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. HH 59.6

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.” HH 59.7

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. HH 60.1

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. HH 60.2

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. HH 60.3

“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. HH 60.4