Poured Out

Did you know that Jesus' first miracle was at a wedding? Recorded by John in the second chapter of the gospel, he tells of his first-hand observance where Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding reception. Everyone is having a grand time drinking wine at the wedding feast, and it runs out. His mom, Mary, sees that there's no more wine and goes to her son, whom she knows is God, to tell Him about it. And Christ's response is classic. He says in verse 4, "What concern is that to you and me? My hour has not yet come." It's like He's saying, "Seriously, you are asking Me to do a miracle for this? I am just starting this ministry, just now gathering disciples and you want Me to get more wine or even make it? That is not why I'm here. It's not my job. It's not my time." (Makes you wonder what she observed Him do prior to this event.) But here's the beautiful part. This story is bathed in symbolism, literally. First, the jars Christ asks the servants to fill with water are stone jars used in ritual washing for the Jews. This ceremonial washing was to cleanse and purify the Jews prior to meals and worship. And these jars were big, holding upwards of 30 gallons of

water. Christ asks for six of these to be filled. Then He just asks the servant to draw some out and take it to the chief steward. Imagine the bravery of the servant carrying a cup of what was originally water to his boss for a taste. Then imagine his surprise that is was the best wine ever. Think about the number of people that day who learned what happened there. You can hear the whispers: "Psst, I heard Mary's son, the carpenter, magically transformed this water into wine. Not even kidding." Christ, in this one act, was announcing to all the people at that wedding (many who were probably drunk with wine at this point), "Hey, look what I can do" with a more poignant "See Who I Am." The fact that He used jars for ritual cleansing and changed it into wine, you can see the symbolism and preview of His saying at the Last Supper (recorded in Luke 22:20), "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for many." They would not need stone jars for ritual cleansing anymore. Christ had it covered.

We know you both love wine (and have the cork collection to prove it). As cuisiniers, you know what wines enhance other foods to make them taste even better. And obviously Christ loved it, too, enough to make it an example and symbol of His great sacrifice for all time. We love that Christ chose (even if his mom nudged Him to do it) a wedding, a sacred event and union symbolic of His marriage to the church, to introduce Himself as Savior. And it was this first miracle that convinced the men who recently decided to follow him (John, Andrew, Peter, Nathaniel and Phillip in John 1) that they were following the right Rabbi. John 2:11 says, "Jesus did this, the first of His signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him."

Christ has revealed His glory, and we believe. Pouring His life out for ours and rising from the dead, glory to Him.

Now don't count on Christ changing any water into wine at your wedding reception. But you can count on this: no matter what you do in this life, no matter what mistakes you make in your relationship together, He has it covered.

Discussion: What impresses you most about this first miracle at the wedding in Cana? Just for fun, what kind of wine do you think Christ turned it into? How important is the symbolism of wine to Christ's blood to you? Is communion a possibility at your wedding? What kinds of wine will you have at your reception?

Prayer: Father, we thank you for your Son, for His sacrifice for us and most importantly that He conquered death that we can be brought to you pure and holy. Thank you for Him and the beautiful symbol of the wine at the wedding in Cana. In name of the True Vine (John 15:5), Amen.