January
8, 2003
THEY
HAVE NO WINE!
"On
the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and
the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples
were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine,
the mother of Jesus said to Him, 'They have no wine' "
(John 2:1-3, NKJV).
"Jesus
did not begin His ministry by some great work before the Sanhedrin
at Jerusalem. At a household gathering in a little Galilean
village His power was put forth to add to the joy of a wedding
feast...
"Again
He met His mother, from whom He had for some time been separated...
At
the marriage feast she meets Him, the same tender, dutiful
son. Yet He is not the same. His countenance is changed. It
bears the traces of His conflict in the wilderness, and a
new expression of dignity and power gives evidence of His
heavenly mission. With Him is a group of young men, whose
eyes follow Him with reverence, and who call Him Master. These
companions recount to Mary what they have seen and heard at
the baptism and elsewhere. They conclude by declaring, 'We
have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets,
did write.' (John 1:45)...
"It
was the custom of the times for marriage festivities to continue
several days. On this occasion, before the feast ended it
was found that the supply of wine had failed... As a relative
of the parties, Mary had assisted in the arrangements for
the feast, and she now spoke to Jesus, saying, 'They have
no wine.' These words were a suggestion that He might supply
their need. But Jesus answered, 'Woman, what does your concern
have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.' "-- The
Desire of Ages, pp. 144-146.
"His
mother said to the servants, 'Whatever He says to you, do
it.' Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, --containing
twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, 'Fill
the waterpots with water.' And they filled them up
to the brim. And He said to them. 'Draw
some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.'
And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted
the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came
from, the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he
said to him, 'Every man at the beginning sets out the good
wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior.
You have kept the good wine until now'
"This
beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested
His glory' and His disciples believed in Him" (John 2:5-11).
When
Mary said to Jesus, "They have no wine," she did
not know what Jesus would do. But Mary knew her son. She knew
that He had a way of solving peoples problems and she was
not disappointed at the wedding festival. Mary's
advice, "Whatever He says to you, do it!" is good
advice for us today.
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