The Perfect Provision of God!
I have read many versions and opinions on the subject of Jesus at the wedding in Cana, (John 2:1-11) and they all differ in context and reasons.
It seems reasonable that, understanding the way we thing, we would make so much controversy out of a wedding.
Certainly it was the first recorded activity of Jesus right after his ministry started, and of all activities this was a party, and of all parties, this was a wedding, an event which depicts the symbolic act of the birth of the church, which represents the whole purpose of Jesus' ministry on earth.
He is the groom, we are the bride and there is a celebration being prepared which we are all going to enjoy in due course.
And if we keep digging, as we look at what was also Jesus' first recorded miracle, we could agree with theologians and scholars of the bible about the transcendence of this event; in fact this has been the one subject which has absorbed all of the studies of this particular recorded activity of Jesus; turning the water to wine.
About this particular miracle I have heard many opinions, I have heard that Jesus wanted to break away with religion by desecrating the jars of the ceremonial washing; I have heard the God is a God of abundance and this miracle demonstrated it, as Jesus in an instant provided nearly one hundred and eighty gallons of wine for the celebration.
I have heard that this was a gift for the wedding couple as they could sell the left over wine once the party was over; I have even heard that the wine represents the blood of Jesus which He would eventually shed for the forgiveness of sin.
I have heard that the water represents the spirit and that by turning the water to wine He was making a statement that the kingdom of heaven is near.
All of these statements have some biblical ground and individually they tend to make sense as we look deeper into Jesus' reason for becoming a flesh and blood, living, breathing Human being.
We could discuss every one of these assertions individually and find the biblical ground for them; we could even expand on some of them to add a few fresh suggestions at to what exactly took place in this occasion.
Yet in conversation with my wife a few nights ago, she made an extraordinary comment regarding this passage of the Bible.
God is not a God of waste.
God would not turn six thirty gallons stone jars full of water into wine and cause an opportunity for waste, for dilapidation and for even probable drunkenness.
I stopped for a minute to reflect on her version of the story, and it took me off balance, I was abashed by the simple observation and its logic.
My wife tells me that the jars never actually turned to wine, they continued to be water; she even insists that the actual jugs used to extract the water from the jars were still filled with water, and that they remained to be filled with water until this water was finally poured into the glass.
In other words, they would have as much wine as they needed for as long as they needed it, but once the party was over there would not be any wine left to waste, there would be no reason for drunkenness or dilapidation, I dare even expand on the possibility that for those who were getting too drunk the water would actually remain to be water when poured into the glass.
What a marvelous observation, what a significant theological breakthrough, what a beautiful revelation.
As I was hearing my wife I could not help reflect on the story of Elisha and the widow in 2 kings 4:1-7, there was a need to be met in order to keep her from losing her sons to slavery.
Elisha gave her specific instructions, and as long as she had empty jars the oil kept pouring.
Once she ran out of jars, the oil stopped flowing.
In the case of the wedding at Cana, there was a need to be met and a great embarrassment to be avoided; obviously the mother of Jesus was fond of the couple.
They were probably closed friends, or even relatives, and she knew that Jesus could take care of the problem, she was not even concerned of how He would do it, she only told Him, "they ran out of wine", and then to the servant, "do whatever He tells you to do".
Jesus gave the servants specific instructions.
I do not believe that Jesus was at this point interested in making any particular statements; this was his first public appearance as a minister.
I do not believe either that at this point there was a purpose to desecrate anything, He was certainly opposed to rituals and religious traditions, but this was a party where He had been invited, and Jesus was polite enough not to make a disturbance in the house where He was a guest.
I can reflect on the case of the woman who poured an alabaster jar of expensive oil at Jesus' feet while he was at the house of Simon the Pharisee, (Luke 7:36-50).
Jesus had enough reasons to have embarrassed Simon in this particular occasion, yet He opted to politely tell him a parable to make him understand his wrong without humiliating him in front of the other guests.
We have also the case of Jesus feeding the five thousand, and the four thousand; in both cases he tells the disciples to pick up the pieces so they would not go to waste.
The Lord is always ready to satisfy our every need, and He certainly does.
Last night in conversation with my father in law, He jokingly said that God would never give him a million dollars to spend, my answer was, if there was a true need for a million dollars, God would provide it, yet He would not provide a penny extra, not a single cent which was not needed.
The case of the Cana wedding is the perfect example, when seen in this context, of the actual provision of God, and his purpose of satisfying our every need.
After a careful analysis of the context of this story we can affirm categorically, that there was no wine left in the stone Jars or even in the Jugs when the wedding was over.
Not a single drop was wasted.
God provided exactly what was needed.
As He always does.
May the Lord continue providing in your lives exactly what you need; no more no less.
Rev.
Jose A.
Luna A servant of Christ Jesus.
It seems reasonable that, understanding the way we thing, we would make so much controversy out of a wedding.
Certainly it was the first recorded activity of Jesus right after his ministry started, and of all activities this was a party, and of all parties, this was a wedding, an event which depicts the symbolic act of the birth of the church, which represents the whole purpose of Jesus' ministry on earth.
He is the groom, we are the bride and there is a celebration being prepared which we are all going to enjoy in due course.
And if we keep digging, as we look at what was also Jesus' first recorded miracle, we could agree with theologians and scholars of the bible about the transcendence of this event; in fact this has been the one subject which has absorbed all of the studies of this particular recorded activity of Jesus; turning the water to wine.
About this particular miracle I have heard many opinions, I have heard that Jesus wanted to break away with religion by desecrating the jars of the ceremonial washing; I have heard the God is a God of abundance and this miracle demonstrated it, as Jesus in an instant provided nearly one hundred and eighty gallons of wine for the celebration.
I have heard that this was a gift for the wedding couple as they could sell the left over wine once the party was over; I have even heard that the wine represents the blood of Jesus which He would eventually shed for the forgiveness of sin.
I have heard that the water represents the spirit and that by turning the water to wine He was making a statement that the kingdom of heaven is near.
All of these statements have some biblical ground and individually they tend to make sense as we look deeper into Jesus' reason for becoming a flesh and blood, living, breathing Human being.
We could discuss every one of these assertions individually and find the biblical ground for them; we could even expand on some of them to add a few fresh suggestions at to what exactly took place in this occasion.
Yet in conversation with my wife a few nights ago, she made an extraordinary comment regarding this passage of the Bible.
God is not a God of waste.
God would not turn six thirty gallons stone jars full of water into wine and cause an opportunity for waste, for dilapidation and for even probable drunkenness.
I stopped for a minute to reflect on her version of the story, and it took me off balance, I was abashed by the simple observation and its logic.
My wife tells me that the jars never actually turned to wine, they continued to be water; she even insists that the actual jugs used to extract the water from the jars were still filled with water, and that they remained to be filled with water until this water was finally poured into the glass.
In other words, they would have as much wine as they needed for as long as they needed it, but once the party was over there would not be any wine left to waste, there would be no reason for drunkenness or dilapidation, I dare even expand on the possibility that for those who were getting too drunk the water would actually remain to be water when poured into the glass.
What a marvelous observation, what a significant theological breakthrough, what a beautiful revelation.
As I was hearing my wife I could not help reflect on the story of Elisha and the widow in 2 kings 4:1-7, there was a need to be met in order to keep her from losing her sons to slavery.
Elisha gave her specific instructions, and as long as she had empty jars the oil kept pouring.
Once she ran out of jars, the oil stopped flowing.
In the case of the wedding at Cana, there was a need to be met and a great embarrassment to be avoided; obviously the mother of Jesus was fond of the couple.
They were probably closed friends, or even relatives, and she knew that Jesus could take care of the problem, she was not even concerned of how He would do it, she only told Him, "they ran out of wine", and then to the servant, "do whatever He tells you to do".
Jesus gave the servants specific instructions.
I do not believe that Jesus was at this point interested in making any particular statements; this was his first public appearance as a minister.
I do not believe either that at this point there was a purpose to desecrate anything, He was certainly opposed to rituals and religious traditions, but this was a party where He had been invited, and Jesus was polite enough not to make a disturbance in the house where He was a guest.
I can reflect on the case of the woman who poured an alabaster jar of expensive oil at Jesus' feet while he was at the house of Simon the Pharisee, (Luke 7:36-50).
Jesus had enough reasons to have embarrassed Simon in this particular occasion, yet He opted to politely tell him a parable to make him understand his wrong without humiliating him in front of the other guests.
We have also the case of Jesus feeding the five thousand, and the four thousand; in both cases he tells the disciples to pick up the pieces so they would not go to waste.
The Lord is always ready to satisfy our every need, and He certainly does.
Last night in conversation with my father in law, He jokingly said that God would never give him a million dollars to spend, my answer was, if there was a true need for a million dollars, God would provide it, yet He would not provide a penny extra, not a single cent which was not needed.
The case of the Cana wedding is the perfect example, when seen in this context, of the actual provision of God, and his purpose of satisfying our every need.
After a careful analysis of the context of this story we can affirm categorically, that there was no wine left in the stone Jars or even in the Jugs when the wedding was over.
Not a single drop was wasted.
God provided exactly what was needed.
As He always does.
May the Lord continue providing in your lives exactly what you need; no more no less.
Rev.
Jose A.
Luna A servant of Christ Jesus.
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