“When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you’.”
~John 2:3-5 (NRSV).
Note the interesting family dynamics. The fly on the wall might’ve seen Jesus less than interested to bail out the hosts for insufficient planning, not to mention the sense of mild conflict between Mary and Jesus.
In the gospels, Jesus is found constantly changing the agenda—and right here—creating space for the Kingdom objective.
Always the Kingdom Objective
At this position in history—three years pre-the-cross—Jesus is coming King.
Turning again toward Cana, not only does Jesus create about one hundred fifty gallons (about seven hundred litres) of wine from the water, he implicitly changes the family dynamic—he’s no longer just Mary’s son, but her coming Saviour. Jesus is to save Mary as he will the very last one of us penitent believers.
Yet, what had changing water into wine to do with the Kingdom?—that is perhaps Jesus’ contention. Still, to honour his mother he accedes to her wishes.
From the outset—and as it’s seen here—Jesus is turning toward the cross.
Transformation – the Business of the King
As King over all creation, Jesus is the Lord over all. As Lord over the believer’s life Jesus is not like the traditional monarch. This king is after an intimate relationship with each of us—and not simply because we’re likeable.
As Jesus changed the water into wine—and there’s no rational explanation for how that occurred—so we either believe the miracle or deny it—Jesus wishes to change us.
But from what into what?
Fundamentally, the Lord sees us differently to how we see ourselves. He sees a saint where we see a sinner. He sees a cleansed lamb; one made new by the blood of the Lamb.
Jesus is into the business of transforming lives—always has been, always will be.
We come to God shattered by hellish lives, and the Spirit is straight to work to straighten us out, not that we’re not seen perfect already—God loves us just the way we are.
As Jesus transformed the water into wine, and the familial relationship with Mary, from son to Saviour, he’s transforming us and our understanding of the Spirit’s power to do all this. When we begin to realise the power in transformation—and we believe—the impossible is made possible in our minds.
Be transformed.
© 2011 S. J. Wickham.
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