Read: John 2:1-12
THEME: The first two chapters of John’s Gospel record significant encounters at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Meetings that were noteworthy for Jesus were even more important for those He met.
The wedding guests at Cana were a diverse group and though they all benefitted from the ministry of Jesus they no doubt came away from the event with a range of different impressions.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, would have left weighing Jesus’ strong sense of timing. He clearly wanted to help but in saying ‘My hour has not yet come’ He was obviously aware of His ultimate redemptive assignment.
The waiters, disciples and family members of Jesus would all have seen His miracle-working power. We know that His disciples went away believing but the waiters may well have left discussing their nervousness when presenting the contents of six large water pots to the Master of Ceremonies. And maybe for His brothers it marked the start of their troubling process of re-assessment – Son of God, or just a brother?
So what of the Master of Ceremonies? He tasted the good wine without knowing where it had come from and congratulated the Bridegroom on its quality, questioning why the Groom had saved the best wine until the inferior wine had gone. As for the Groom himself, he would have just been grateful to have saved face before His wedding guests and might well have headed off with his Bride without knowing the full story.
As we go about our daily lives, it’s worth remembering that many people are experiencing the goodness of God without fully realising it.
Maybe we should look for more opportunities to explain why the new wine is better.