John 2: Thoughts, Meditations, and Speculations

(Just some speculation about how it might have really “gone down.”)

On the third day. Hmmm. Jesus had only known his disciples for three days prior to this wedding feast. So, imagine the conversation that probably happened just two days before.

Jesus to Mary: Dear Woman, you know that wedding that we’re going to the day after tomorrow?

Mary: Yes?

Jesus: Do you think it would be okay for me to bring my new friends with us? Could you get them an invitation?

Mary: Oh, probably! You know how the Goldsteins love you! How many invites do you want me to ask for?

Jesus: Eleven.

Mary: Eleven?

Jesus: Yes.

Mary: Okay! I’ll see what I can do! Hannah owes me anyway; I’ve been helping her plan this feast for weeks now!

So, with that as backdrop, cut to the day of the feast. Mary finds out the wine is gone, and her first thought is to bring it up to Jesus.

He utters the famous words, “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.”

Mary doesn’t say a word. She glances across the room toward a table where 11 boisterous men sit, all drinking their wine with gusto. Her look says it all. The 11 recently added guests may have a lot to do with the wine being gone! With a raise of her eyebrow that only a mother can master, she turns from Jesus toward the servants and says, “Do whatever he tells you.” She doesn’t know what Jesus will do, but she knows He won’t let her down. Especially after the strings she had to pull to get his buddies there!

Did the servants observe the undercurrent of the conversation? No doubt, and they were loving the subplot!

Jesus had envisioned a different way of introducing himself and his ministry to Israel. Ever since he was 12 years old and had visited the temple with his parents, the scene of the greedy moneychangers in the temple courts had haunted him. Every year when He returned to celebrate Passover, it seemed to have gotten worse. He knew that His first public act as the Messiah would be to clear away the moneychangers and merchants.

Now He reconsidered. Should not His first public act as Messiah be to bless the woman who had given Him birth, sacrificed her reputation and indeed her whole life to provide him with love and nurture? Mary’s lot hadn’t been easy. Yes, this was a better idea. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Here was a way to illustrate that the merciful shall obtain mercy before holding the unmerciful merchants and moneychangers accountable.

Jesus spied six stone water jugs, the kind the Jews use for ceremonial washing. Ah! Here was a brilliant symbol, indeed! A way to illustrate that the old religious system was being replaced with a new order. The Bridegroom is here, and the time for joyous celebration in freedom is about to replace the somber sacrificial rituals. The jugs were empty—they had no power to take away sins. But the wine of the new covenant—his own blood—would make perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Jesus ordered the jugs to be filled with water and taken to the master of the banquet. What had been amusing to the servants up until now suddenly took on a rather risky feel. They didn’t feel too happy about serving water to the master when he was expecting wine. How thrilled and relieved they were to see the delighted smile on the master’s face upon tasting the water that had been turned into wine! They glanced at each other in utter amazement, and at the first opportunity began spreading the word about what had happened. One ecstatic servant told the disciple named John, and John made him slow down and tell the whole story in detail from beginning to end.

When Jesus heard the master of the banquet give his opinion on the matter, His spirit rejoiced in the prophetic and symbolic meaning of the comment. “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.”

Yes, the new covenant Jesus was about to offer was the best. And it had been a long time coming. Those who were willing to receive it would savor it and appreciate it with awe.

This was the first of His miraculous signs. In this way He revealed His glory, and His disciples put their faith in Him. And His mom was happy, too.