Obedience as the Cure to the Lack of Joy
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
John 2:1-5 NIV Read More
In the Old Testament, and therefore throughout Jewish culture, wine was a symbol of joy. It was known to make people glad (Ps. 104) and when the people disobeyed God, He took their wine away (Hosea 9). So after we get a little introduction to Jesus and the disciples He has gathered, we see the setting of the land. Not saying this is only symbolic, because it really happened, but God uses a lot of real events to symbolize something else going on (ie. Exodus).
The world is in such an awful state that the most exciting and joyful of all events is without joy. A wedding, the remembrance of God’s design for families since Adam and Eve, an event that would bring the whole village out for a week of partying, is out of wine. This was such a big deal that some historians report that it was a crime punishable by law. Not only are the wedding couple and their parents going to be shamed, but somebody is going to go to jail.
For whatever reason, the news of no wine wasn’t made public but was known to Mary. She then told the servants to listen to Jesus, and they listen to her when she says it.
Jesus, of course, is sensitive to everything that is going on here. The joy is gone, and Jesus knows part of His life on earth is to bring the JOY, but not yet. It says that this was His first miracle, so we aren’t sure what Mary thinks He is going to do, but she feels confident that Jesus is going to sort it all out.
When we are without joy, our judgment is clouded. Since we usually, no matter how holy or stoic we are, make decisions based on what makes us happy, the lack of that happy doesn’t always lead to wise choices. In Alcoholics Anonymous they talk about the idea of HALT. Hunger, Anger, Lonliness, and Tiredness are a warning system that can alert you to temptation. It goes for more than just AA!
Mary’s advice is the best advice in the world. You out of joy? Do what Jesus tells you. It might not make any sense. It might be hard work. It might even be risky, but what Jesus says through the scriptures is the best advice in the world.
We know how this story ends, but those guys didn’t. They followed Jesus’ advice and ended up seeing His glory, but we’ll talk about that another day.
Extra Credit: If you are counting Jesus’ miracles that involve food, this would be number one. To get more about Jesus, dinner tables, and food, check out the One Life Podcast using the links below.
One Life Podcast on iTunes
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