Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends on the second day of this new year!
This is a time of New Beginnings, isn’t it? The first weekend of this new year is ahead of us and following that schools will resume; the first economic business quarter will begin; and new champions are soon to be named as sports playoffs are underway. The first wave of babies are being born in this new year and undoubtedly some excited couples will be married this weekend. So, I wonder what excitement these first few days of 2026 will bring into your life and mine?
We’re following God’s “Grand Narrative” now in the New Testament, and that means we really are ‘Walking with Jesus‘ as we follow the four Gospels which tell the story of Jesus’s life and mission. Did you know, thanks to generations of Bible translators, the Biblical story of Jesus is available to nearly 7 billion people, all around the world, in their heart language?
Yesterday we sat on a hillside near Capernaum, looking out over the Sea of Galilee, listening to Jesus as He spoke one of His most memorable messages. He was probably speaking the language Aramaic, spoken especially in the Galilee region of Palestine, in the first century. This new Galilean teacher from Nazareth, named Jesus, was saying some fascinating and controversial things stirring up religious leaders and common people alike.
It moves me to ask this question: How does your soul and mine respond to the teachings of Jesus? Do we welcome the stirring, challenging, convicting work of the Holy Spirit as we read or listen to the Bible, or do we see evidence of spiritual anemia?
In these weeks ahead, I will try to lead us chronologically in following Jesus through the four Gospels, but only a few events are marked by historical dates, so we have to make some assumptions as we follow Jesus. Today, let’s walk down the road with Jesus, from Capernaum, due west, to a town named Cana in Galilee. The town is still there today about 36 kilometers, a little more than 22 miles from Capernaum. What’s the occasion? A wedding!
Because Jesus’ mother was also invited, it tells me the wedding family may have well known Joseph, Mary, Jesus and their whole family. Please remember Mary and Joseph had several other children, four sons and at least two daughters, after Jesus was born! (Mark 6:3) We don’t know when or why Joseph disappeared from Jesus’ earthly family story, at least in the Biblical record, but we conclude this means Mary was a single mother, maybe for a long time. We have no record that Mary ever married anyone other than Joseph.
The story of this wedding is found ONLY in John 2. It appears Jesus came to the wedding with some of the men who had begun spending time with Him. I presume that was Andrew and his brother Simon Peter; John and his brother James; Philip and his friend Nathaniel.
I gather all six of these men were from Bethsaida or other small towns along or around the Sea of Galilee, and their lives largely revolved around the fishing culture of those towns. (John 1:43-45) We know Jesus grew up in the home of a Nazareth carpenter and learned that trade, which was a lifestyle away from the Sea of Galilee and very different from fishing.
Jewish weddings then were often weeklong gatherings of friends honoring the couple for having remained mutually respectful and pure during their betrothal period; honoring the families of the young couple for their proper parenting and preparing the couple for adulthood and marriage; and celebrating the vast network of friends who would help the newlyweds begin their marriage journey well.
There was no rush, people often lingered for days making sure this marriage covenant began well. A steady flow of food and drink for these days was of course very important and required lots of planning. The shame of running out of either was unthinkable. Which is why when Mary heard the whispers, she felt an obligation to help her friends, and she urged Jesus to do something. (John 2:3)
It seems to me Mary knew her son Jesus had some special powers to do something to help, as we see by her instructions to the servants: “Do whatever He tells you.” (John 2:5) But since John tells us this was Jesus’ first public sign revealing His glory, (John 2:11) we don’t exactly know WHAT Mary knew about Jesus’ Divine powers; or WHEN she might have already experienced them.
What we do know is this wedding situation put Jesus in a predicament! Did you know that? You see, Jesus understood the Redemption mission God the Father had sent Jesus to earth to accomplish; and Jesus knew His Atonement death on the cross would be most significant for the Jews if accomplished at the Passover annual festival. Do you understand why?
So do we see that the TIMING of Jesus’ ministry of miracles and teaching God’s message would need to be carefully monitored. Jesus knew that once He began to show His divine power through miracles His popularity would grow rapidly as would His opposition by Jewish leaders.
This was going to be a very delicate process. Every event, every message would need to be strategic with careful attention to how people were responding to Jesus. This, my friends, is why after Jesus turned the water into wine at this wedding, He quickly left the wedding, unnoticed, so the wedding party and guests could not identify HOW this remarkable miracle had happened!
But these men who had come with Jesus saw the miracle, and it profoundly challenged their minds and hearts. Water turned to excellent wine without a touch or even a word was impossible.
A large supply of excellent wine provided for a dear young couple and their families, who may not have even known their limited supply was running out, was wonderful evidence of the compassionate and generous heart of Jesus. Who was this man? How did He turn many gallons of ordinary water into excellent wine? Why did He sneak out quickly, unnoticed?
As you read John 2:1-12 today, put yourself there watching it all happen. Then walk along with Jesus, His mother, His brothers and the men following Him, listening to their conversations. What should we conclude from this event about how attentive Jesus is to YOU and me and everything going on in our lives, and every need we have, even if we don’t know about the need? I urge us to talk with Jesus about this right now, as we look at the “lessons learned” notes in the Grand Narrative link below.
And today I’ve found a very unusual, brand-new song, recorded in a boat, which celebrates the truth that Jesus can do a similar ‘ordinary water to wonderful wine miracle’ in our lives… have you experienced it yet? And I’ll be here waiting for you tomorrow.
Today’s Scripture: John 2:1-12.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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