1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee , and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." … 6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." So they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him. 9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, 10 and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." 11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
Commentary:
“On the third day”, don’t wonder what happened the first two days? Well, we will see as we role chapter by chapter through John’s gospel, that John has a message and like a good teacher / communicator, he does not tell you everything he knows. John carefully selects from the annals of Deity activity and communicates a simple yet profound message.
Cana was situated on the northern mountainside at a geographical location that was perfect for grape production. This valley could have been the Napa Valley, Ca. of New Testament Israel. This heightens the stressful fact that the wine ran out. In the middle of grape vineyard area they run out of wine. This was due to one of two reasons: 1. They did not prepare adequately for the guests they invited. Haven’t you ever done that? I mean, invite more than you expect to show up for the party. Well, all they invited might have shown up. For “the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding” and they showed up. 2. The bridegroom might have been financially embarrassed. Regardless, Jesus meets the need of wine for the wedding. He does not expose the potentially embarrassing circumstance.Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come. This statement brings much comfort to me. For I often, as I expect you do, confuse my desires with the desires of God. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the beginning of his ministry, got somewhat confused and needed to be gently and respectfully redirected.
Whatever He says to you, do it. This is one of the most powerful statements that a follower of Christ can make. The Church needs to be filled with people encouraging one another with this admonition: whatever Jesus says to you, do it. There is a two legged prop in that encouragement: 1. You must hear what He says. It is of little consequence if He speaks to you and you do not hear Him. 2. Obedience. It does not matter what you hear or know, if you do not obey. I believe that this statement is somewhat muffled by Protestants due to not wanting to deify the mother Mary. Irregardless, this is a great statement of Mary’s perspective of her Son.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the waterpots with water.’ So they filled them… So they took it to him... The headwaiter did not know where it come from… but the servants knew.” Here we have the obedience of those behind the scenes directly benefiting those in the public eye. The obedience of the servants directly prevented the embarrassment of the bridegroom. In fact, their obedience caused the bridegroom to be praised. Also, we may be able to conclude that our obedience to God may not be for our own benefit. It may result in someone elses’ blessing and they may never thank you or even know of your involvement. Also, the blessings you receive may not be due to your obedience. Your provisions may be due to someone elses’ obedience to do whatever He says to do.
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