The Sign of His Glory • John 2:1-11
By Clay Anthony
John applies a helpful thread of information in his account of Jesus’ earthly life. Throughout his story, John uses certain scenes to prove that Jesus was indeed God’s Son, the Messiah. We read these proofs as signs which carry two common traits: (1) each involve a miracle and (2) each occurred before eyewitnesses. John utilizes a total of seven such signs and those are to be the focus of our lessons for this term.
The first sign occurs early in Jesus’ ministry. He and his closet friends have been invited to a wedding. We all have attended weddings. There is always a joyous atmosphere and smiling faces. Receptions are ways full of shared congratulations and good food. Weddings in Jesus’ day were somewhat different. For one thing, they lasted for several days. The host family was responsible for food and drink for their well-wishers. As we read the scene, an embarrassing incident occurs. The party has run out of drink. Whether it was poor planning, or an overabundance of uninvited guests did not matter. This was tantamount to a bride in our day crying because her wedding cake was too small for all her guests to enjoy. After a conversation with His mother, Jesus preformed His first earthly miracle. We know it to be water turning to wine. The wedding party could continue with no embarrassing stoppage.
In this miracle, no person was brought back to life, nor had their hearing or sight returned. No person was physically helped in this miracle. It would seem at first glance to be a bland miracle. This was not as exciting as broken bodies being made whole. Yet, there are a few lessons that we can take away from this ordinary miracle, if there is such a thing.
First, Jesus receives glory when we trust His timing. Verses 1-4 tell of Mary approaching Jesus needing Him to remedy a situation. There is no more wine. Jesus must act. It is vital that Jesus get busy to help alleviate this problem. We often think about Jesus’s humanity, and nothing more proves it than to know that He had a mother that was quick to give Him a chore to do. Yet note Jesus’ response: My time has not yet come. He was not being disrespectful. On the contrary, Jesus was being deliberate with His plans. This miracle was Jesus’ entrance onto the stage of the power filled, grace given ministry that He would spread all over the world. This was the opening act of a story that would take Him to an empty tomb.
Next, Jesus receives glory when we obey. Verses 5-8 show His mother moving her directives from her son onto the waiting servants. These hired hands knew that the wine was depleted but they had no idea what was about to happen next. Read Mary’s command to them: Whatever He says to you, do it. Just stop reading for a second and think: how much better would ours lives be if we followed Mary’s instructions? Just obey Jesus. What else do we need to know?
Finally, Jesus receives glory by what He does. There has never been one second in history where Jesus was not God. Be it prior to Bethlehem, while riding on a boat on the Sea of Galilee, speaking on a mountain top, or being tempted in the desert, Jesus never once wasted a moment or a word that did not prove that He was the Messiah. To give one glory is like our saying to give someone credit. When we see Jesus and learn from Him, we are only giving credit where credit is due. When He performs a miracle, He gets the credit. When He saves a soul, He gets the credit. This proof/sign is so needed to be shared by us today. Just like the servants at the wedding, we are all witnesses.
Anthony is Missions Pastor at Harrisburg Church, Tupelo.
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