The youth week of prayer 2008 second story

2. Always the Best
Wedding at Cana

Johannese 2:1-11
Remona St. John

Most of us in our lifetime will have been to a wedding, many of us have been to a few and we may get the opportunity to go to many more. Some of us will even have been part of a wedding, a flower girl, groomsman, maid of honour or even the bride or groom!

There is something truly beautiful about weddings and the gift of two becoming one; the blessing ceremony and of course the celebrations at the end. But despite all the time, the effort, the planning, the arguments and the costs (money), weddings can still go terribly wrong. No doubt you’ve experienced a few of those too. Those weddings where the limousine breaks down 60 kilometres (37 miles) away from the church; where families at war turn up and forget not to be at war that day or those weddings where 200 guests have been catered for but 300 guests are seated, ready and waiting. As sure as there are weddings where things go right, there will always be weddings where things go wrong.

Jesus attended a wedding; a small, local wedding so we could presume most of the guests grew up with each other and knew each other. It is likely they would have fond memories of playing ball games with each other as children, celebrating their graduations as students, and attending each other’s weddings as young adults. These guests knew each other and they knew each other well. They could well be thinking to themselves “What are Claude and Maria possibly going to do to top the iced cherubim sculptures at Lucinda and Elroy’s wedding?” So had anything gone wrong at this wedding it would have been scandalous, it would have taken no time for news to spread across town, because the whole town had an invitation and would witness first hand.

The guests are still in the midst of merrymaking, still celebrating, still guzzling down the wine when disaster strikes and the wine runs out. (John 2:3).

Now running out of wine isn’t the end of the world by any means. According to the custom of the time the celebrations would have gone on for several days and it’s probable, considering the wine jars had run dry, they had been partying for some time already. It could well have been a fitting time to stop the celebrations and announce; “We would just like to thank everyone for making these last few days special, thank you all for coming, goodbye and goodnight”. But it would seem that, in the thick of the celebrations, the end was not in sight and nor was it desired. Rather than pack up and go home the preferred solution was to find more wine and enough wine to prevent the festivities from grinding to a premature halt.

Now considering He didn’t want to get involved when His assistance was requested in John 2:4, Jesus was incredibly generous. By having 6 large pots filled with water Jesus turned up to 180 gallons (almost 700 litres) of water into wine, an enormous amount.

But this wasn’t a gift of mere quantity. The Master of Ceremonies tastes the wine and with no knowledge of where it has come from, makes a point of calling the bridegroom aside to compliment him on the quality of this latest stock. This gift symbolises excellence. It was indeed the very best. Jesus had the ability to make this new supply of wine exactly the same as previous batches. Only the servants, his mother and his disciples would have been aware that any arrangements had been made. The new wine would have been served and nobody would have known that anything was different. Jesus could have produced run-of-the-mill, ordinary wine that would draw no attention and would meet the basic needs of the guests.

That simply isn’t in Christ’s nature to do things in an ordinary way. Christ’s love for us initiates a reaction in Him to give us nothing but the best. In Matthew Christ describes Himself as the father to rival any earthly parent. “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” Matt 7:11 Jesus could do nothing but give the best wine to the wedding guests.

Imagine if Jesus raised Lazarus (Jn. 11: 43-44) from the dead but Lazarus remained in a coma, or provided food for 3,999 persons, (Mark 8:1-10) then ran short (of food) and left one hungry. Or, if after He cast out the demons from the man of Gerasenes (Luke 8:26-33) some demons simply remained. Imagine Jesus doing only the bog standard—the bare minimum, and the basic essentials. His glory would never have been revealed.

While Jesus had made 180 gallons of wine of such quality that it would have the most inexperienced wine connoisseurs yearning for more, the wedding guests had already consumed a fair bit.

You may know what it’s like to attend a function or event where they serve a first-class meal. You experience fine tasting foods, created perfectly in every way and fit for a delicate appreciative palate just like yours. You know you don’t eat food this good every day so you make an extra effort not to disappoint your hosts, by finishing that last forkful (or six), even though you are already full. Then before your eyes, out comes the dessert. The aroma is breathtaking; the view astonishing, you salivate at the very idea of just one lick, but you could kick yourself because there simply isn’t room to hold it.

Now the good wine had arrived. Some of guests at the wedding had drunk themselves full of the bridegroom’s original supply of standard wine. “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wines after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” John 2:10. Then out comes the miracle wine. I’m sure most found room, made time, let the old wine settle before indulging on the better wine. But it is possible that many had had as much as they could. There could well have been some that were so filled they couldn’t find room to even taste the new wine. So full were they that they didn’t experience for themselves the miracle that had taken place, the special gift that Jesus had given.

While Jesus is giving His best to us, pouring out His choice wine, it is our responsibility to ensure we have room to receive it. For each of us it may be a different type of clutter that keeps us from receiving ‘the best’. Maybe we are focused on our careers so when the good wine comes along we’re too busy. For others it may be our spouses, so caught up are we with making our relationships run smooth we’re filled with standard wine and have no room for the best. For some it is college, friends, television and that’s just the start. Each day we sip a little of the good wine but rarely is there room to “Taste and see that the Lord is good…” Psalm 34:8

There is ample supply of wine to go around. Blessings from God are regular and can easily meet and supply the demand. We must ensure our hearts and minds are open to receive the best, which is what Christ is offering us.

Jesus didn’t withhold the miracle wine until the end of the feast. To the guests it seemed as though the bridegroom had saved the good wine until later in the festivities, but that was not the case. The bridegroom didn’t save the quality wine until later, for he had none to save. It was not the bridegroom’s choice to serve the better wine later, nor is it for us to save our best until last

As a child growing up I had a habit of eating the food on my plate one item as a time. I’d start the meal with the worst thing on my plate. That was usually the cabbage;
I hated cabbage. So I’d eat my cabbage first. When I’d finished the cabbage I’d start on the rice and peas. I was never really keen on peas, so I’d pick them out of the rice,
put them to the side of the plate and then I’d start on the rice.

Then having saved the best to last I’d look longingly at my meat and lick my lips before tucking in. By this point my father, who was a trickster, would have finished his dinner and begun looking around for more. He would point out of the window telling me to take note of the flying saucers cruising over the back garden. Distracted I would look away momentarily, only to look back at my plate to see that my meat had gone and I could be sure to find my father licking his fingers in delight. I’d be left with a plate of peas that I didn’t want or like. It took me some time to learn that saving the best until last didn’t work for me.

God doesn’t want us to save our best until last. After all we don’t know what tomorrow holds. Look what he says in Matthew 6:34: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”. The servants poured out quality wine, first time! Jesus gave His best first time and He gives us the best of Himself every time. In the same way we are not to give our best first and then slacken as time goes on.

“As men set forth the best wine first, then afterward that which is worse, so does the world with its gifts. That which it offers may please the eye and fascinate the senses, but it proves to be unsatisfying. The wine turns to bitterness, the gaiety to gloom. That which was begun with songs and mirth ends in weariness and disgust.

But the gifts of Jesus are ever fresh and new. The feast that He provides for the soul never fails to give satisfaction and joy. Each new gift increases the capacity of the receiver to appreciate and enjoy the blessings of the Lord. He gives grace for grace. There can be no failure of supply. If you abide in Him, the fact that you receive a rich gift today insures the reception of a richer gift tomorrow.” Desire of Ages pg. 148

Jesus is looking for consistency from us, in our college work, in our places of employment, in our homes, in our churches and most importantly in our relationship with Him.

Many wives, after years of marriage don’t continue to honour their husbands as the men who once courted them with love, affection, time and attention. Many churches don’t continue to honour and support their Elders/Deacons/Youth Leaders after years of hard labour in their ministries leave them tired; their excitement and zeal having long since waned. Even teachers can fail to credit a student’s thesis as being all his/her own works when it starts off strong and with conviction, then fades into a weak and wordy conclusion in the end. And we fail to honour Christ when the zeal and passion we once had for Him, has slipped into a quick mumble over food at the dinner table, and a hasty prayer just before going to bed.

As Jesus’ gifts are new every morning so we should wake each morning determined to give our best effort in everything we do, with constant supply. In our spiritual relationship, in our households and in all areas of our lives, we need to be giving our best consistently. When things around us are evolving, one thing that must remain constant is our commitment to the Communion Service, our regular reminder that Jesus gave us the best gift He could have given. He gave us His body and His blood; and that gift bought us eternal life. The wine at the wedding symbolises Christ giving His blood so that we might be able to have forgiveness for our sins. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28)

While the story of wedding at Cana is founded upon many more elements of symbolism what should be noted is the more simplistic theme of the generosity of our Lord. God gave the best and most generous gift He could have given, His only Son, Jesus Christ.

And Jesus keeps giving and giving. The wedding in Cana, Jesus’ first recorded miracle, was just the tip of the iceberg in regards to the gifts that He had given and would continue to give man.

For Jesus, “the wedding festivities pointed forward to the rejoicing of that day when He shall bring home His bride to the Father’s house.” (Desire of Ages, p. 151.) Jesus our bridegroom invites us to live with Him for eternity and dine with Him at His table forevermore. Your decision must be to decide whether this is an invitation you choose to accept?