Mary, the Mother of Jesus

Changing the Way We Do Things

His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” John 2:5

At the wedding of Cana, Jesus and his newly chosen disciples probably participated in the bridal revelry: in a noisy procession, the bridegroom and his friends took the bride from her home to his father’s house, or the house he had prepared for her, where a feast was waiting.

The feast would last for about a week. Careful planning had gone into food and drinks. Yet somehow, the wine ran out. How could this have happened? Jesus’ mother, Mary, came to Him with the news, “They have no more wine.”

Jesus’ response to her seems almost rude and indifferent: “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4 NASB). Addressing her as “woman” was not rude; in fact, it was polite and formal. He was indicating a change in their relationship.

His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Did she expect Him to do a miracle? Maybe not. There’s no mention of her husband Joseph, so she was probably a widow who depended on her eldest son in emergencies. Was this considered an emergency? Jesus had recently begun His ministry. Was it time to perform a miracle and demonstrate He was the long-awaited Messiah?

He told the servants to fill empty purification jars with water. They may have thought he was crazy, but they obeyed. As they carried the jars, their noses surely detected the aroma of wine. Without touching the water or the jars, Jesus had miraculously transformed the water into wine—the best wine.

When we have no wine—when we’re totally empty—do we come to Jesus for help? What do we expect? Do we expect Him to take our old purification jars, our old ways of doing things, and fill them with something new?

Like Mary, we should be willing to accept the method Jesus chooses. And like the servants, we should be prepared to obey whatever He tells us—even if it means changing the way we’ve always done things.

DIG DEEPER:

Read Luke 1:26-55. What can we learn from Mary’s response to news that would change her life forever?

Read Mark 2:18-22. Why didn’t Jesus use the wineskins that had been emptied during the wedding feast? How did He later tie old wineskins to traditional religious practices? Do you have any such practices that need to be changed so the Lord can bring new things into your life?

Read Isaiah 55:1-9. Before Isaiah says that God’s ways are not our ways, what are some things he says we need to do? Are you diligently listening to the Lord?

See also Transform in Dig into Words.

Nancy J. Baker