Anchor My Faith

Not Enough Wine

Scripture: John 2:3-4

We ended the previous lesson with Jesus, his mother, and the five disciples at the wedding in Cana. Everything seemed normal at the wedding until the wine ran out. “When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”’ (John 2:3). A wedding celebration could last seven or eight days and with Jesus present there may have been more people there than expected and thus the original supply of wine was not sufficient. It is also possible that the lack of enough wine was the result of a lack of sufficient funds to provide more.

Why did Mary come to Jesus with the problem of no wine? Did Mary know that Jesus could perform miracles by having seen some in the past? The wine would have to be provided through a miracle because we know from previous lessons that Jesus and his family were relatively poor and could not afford to buy more wine and to do so would be improper and an embarrassment for the bridegroom.

To the statement from Mary that the wine had run out, “Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”’ (John 2:4). Looking at the response Jesus made, one might say he showed disrespect, but in that culture at that time it was acceptable. For example, in John 19:26 (ESV) we find “woman” being used in a loving and caring moment when Jesus was directing her care over to John: “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”’

As a possible relative or a close friend, Mary saw a need and wanted Jesus to help, but to do so in a proper way would require Jesus to perform a miracle. Jesus knew there was much work to be done to properly educate the people to understand the office of Messiah. They must come to realize that Messiah was not to be an earthly king too free them from the bondage of Rome, but was a king of a spiritual kingdom of believers. The popularity of a miracle worker would only feed the view of the people and would work against his mission. We will see that Jesus did provide, but in a very unnoticeable way. We will also see, in future lessons, that Jesus uses miracles to grow faith in him in terms of salvation.

The hour that Jesus is speaking of is the time at the end of his public ministry when he goes to the cross to purchase our salvation through his death. That time is in the future and Jesus must somehow balance displaying who he is against the people seeking him to lead an army too free them from the bondage of Rome. Jesus is conveying this tension to his mother for her understanding. This tension will grow as Jesus drawn nearer to the cross. The people will either want him as an earthly king or they will want him dead because he refuses them. Jesus came as a king, but not an earthly king. Jesus came to die, but at the proper time and in the proper way. It is this tension that resulted in Jesus saying, “My hour has not yet come.”

Prayer

​

Father, there is a tendency for a westerner to interpret the use of “woman” by Jesus as a sign of disrespect and miss the message of what Jesus is saying. The context of culture shows it was not a sign of disrespect, but here accents the tension Jesus feels regarding what lies ahead. Father, how important it was for Jesus to convey who he was, and then to live long enough to properly die, to finish the work for which you sent him. Father, we sense this tension in this lesson.