John 2:1-12

Relax, Read and Reflect

Prayer- Lord, Open our hearts and open our minds and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.

Jesus Changes Water to Wine

¹On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, ²and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
⁴"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
⁵His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
⁶Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.^a]'>
⁷Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
⁸Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."
They did so, ⁹and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside ¹⁰and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
¹¹This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

Jesus Clears the Temple

¹²After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

This is one of the more mis-understood miracles of Jesus' ministry, it is also his first. First of all- JESUS IS NOT CONDONING THE USE OF ALCOHOL!!! How many times have we heard, "Jesus turned water into wine- not wine into water." The turning into wine is not the miracle here, or should I say that was not the important part.
Jesus was at this wedding, and the reception was about to go bad. The families were about to be shamed because they were running out of rerefreshments. It is unclear what the relationship was between the wedding party and Mary, mother of Jesus, but she asked Jesus to do something.
Mary knew Jesus was special, she had faith that He could save the day. Jesus had not been doing miracles and told his mother such. When Jesus says "Dear Woman" in verse four, (some translations just say "Woman",) he is not rebuking his mother. Actually, this was a form of respect. I do admit I like this translation with the dear in front better.
So why did Jesus do the miracle? Good question. This was a way to get the people's attention without alienating them. It shows that God does care about us, and wants to help. It also shows that we are with God always, not just in the temple or church.
Another significant point of this miracle is that when God works in our lives, he does it in wonderful ways. Not only is the water changed into wine, it is changed into VERY GOOD wine. Anything God does is done right. Therefore, if we do God's work, should we do it the best way we can?

Questions:
1. Should we look for opportunities to do God's work everywhere? Why?
2. Why would Mary believe that there was anything Jesus could do to help?
3. How did the servants show their faith when they took the jars to Jesus?

Prayer- God, Help us be aware that you do great things everywhere. Help us stay aware of the needs and give us the faith and courage to act on them. Go-Fight-Win. Amen