January
9, 2003
MY
HOUR HAS NOT YET COME
"Jesus
said to her, 'Woman, what does your concern have to do with
Me? My hour has not yet come' " (John 2:4, NKJV).
"The
words, 'My hour has not yet come,' point to the fact that
every act of Christ's life on earth was in fulfillment of
the plan that had existed from the days of eternity. Before
He came to earth, the plan lay out before Him, perfect in
all its details. But as He walked among men, He was guided,
step by step, by the Father's will. He did not hesitate to
act at the appointed time. With the same submission He waited
until the time had come.
"In
saying to Mary that His hour had not yet come, Jesus was replying
to her unspoken thought,-- to the expectation she cherished
in common with her people. She hoped that He would reveal
Himself as the Messiah, and take the throne of Israel. But
the time had not come. Not as a King, but as 'a Man of Sorrows,
and acquainted with grief,' had Jesus accepted the lot of
humanity.
"But
though Mary had not a right conception of Christ's mission,
she trusted Him implicitly. To this faith Jesus responded.
It was to honor Mary's trust and to strengthen the faith of
His disciples, that the first miracle was performed. The disciples
were to encounter many and great temptations to unbelief.
To them the prophecies had made it clear beyond all controversy
that Jesus was the Messiah. They looked for the religious
leaders to receive Him with confidence even greater than their
own. They declared among the people the wonderful works of
Christ and their own confidence in His mission, but they were
amazed and bitterly disappointed by the unbelief, the deep-seated
prejudice, and the enmity to Jesus, displayed by the priests
and rabbis. The Saviour's early miracles strengthened the
disciples to stand against this opposition.
"The
gift of Christ to the marriage feast was a symbol. The water
represented baptism into His death; the wine, the shedding
of His blood for the sins of the world" "At the
first feast He attended with His disciples, Jesus gave them
the cup that symbolized His work for their salvation. At the
last supper He gave it again, in the institution of that sacred
rite by which His death was to be shown forth 'till He comes'
(1 Cor. 11:26).
"The
word of Christ supplied ample provision for the feast. So
abundant is the provision of His grace to blot out the iniquities
of men, and to renew and sustain the soul."-- The
Desire of Ages, pp. 147, 148.
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