Marriage at Cana-The Finest and the Best

By Mary Vee
John 2

From A Servant's Journal 

I am a servant. Have been my entire life. 

This past week I, along with many of the other servants, have been called to help prepare for the wedding. The master is getting married. 

Even I can see how excited the bridegroom is. He wants all his friends to come. He invited everyone from the city, and, of course, he hopes to impress the bride's father. 

We've been busy preparing for his big wedding every hour these past weeks. Oh, I know, in your day it's the bride's job to arrange and prepare for the wedding, but not in mine. Nope, it's the bridegroom's job. We servants have been up before the sun and working long after it sets to keep up with the extra work.

Each day the bridegroom leaves instructions for the preparations then tends to his matters which sometimes takes him away from the grounds. When he returns, he expects everything to the last detail completed exactly the way he wants.

The bridegroom is not rich. I'd know that. He'd give us more if he had it, because he is a fair man, but he doesn't have a lot.

This morning the bridegroom kept his head, mostly, although I could tell he is a bit nervous. He leaves instructions then goes off to dress for the ceremony.

Men and women pour into the grounds from all over the city to attend the wedding. I'm not allowed to watch the ceremony, but it seems everyone is happy, which means the bridegroom is happy.

At the end of the ceremony, the people move to the banquet hall and take their assigned seats. We servants have to work fast to get the food served to all the guests. The wine glasses empty faster than we can keep them filled! I run back to get more and see we'd run out.

One of the guests, a woman named Mary from Nazareth, happens to stand near me when I mentioned the problem to another servant. She turns to a man standing near her. I'd seen him before. The man is her son. Jesus. That's right. His name is Jesus, son of Joseph the carpenter. From Nazareth. 

I didn't mean to listen in on their conversation, but they stand close enough for me to hear their words. She says to him, "They have no more wine." 

What a strange thing for her to say because a carpenter's family doesn't have a lot of money, and I doubt they have extra wine at their home to share. Not only that, there isn't time for servants to go to their home and bring back any wine.

Jesus says, "Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come."

What a strange thing to say. What time did he mean? 

Mary turned to me and a few other servants near me. I step back thinking she would yell at me for hearing the conversation. Instead she points to Jesus, while still looking at us, and says, "Do whatever he tells you."

Jesus looks at the six stone water jars behind me. The ones used for ceremonial washing. Each holds twenty to thirty gallons of liquid. He says, "Fill the jars with water."

The majority of the guests had drunk enough wine to not know what they were drinking any more. Serving them water instead of wine, though, seems like a crazy idea. Still, we servants do what he says. 

We fill the jars with water. It took more than one of us to carry each jar back to the ceremony. I wipe sweat from my head and wait for the next instruction. 

Jesus says, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet."

In my head I know I will be punished for serving the master water, but I and the others with me obey the instructions. We carry the wine to the master and served him.

He takes the wine and tastes it. There is no way he knows where the wine had come from. He sips more and calla the bridegroom to come over. The master has a huge smile on his face and sips more wine while waiting then swallows. "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and saves the cheaper wine to serve after the guests have had too much to drink. But you--you have save the best wine until now."

The best wine? But it is water. Some has spilled on my hand. I taste it and am as shocked as the master at the delicious, fine wine taste. How could that be? This was water. I was one who filled the jugs. 

This man Jesus had changed the water we'd put into the jugs into the finest of all wines for the this wedding. I couldn't help but wonder who Jesus really is. Is He the Messiah?



Note: The Bible goes on to say this is the first of Jesus' miraculous signs. Here he revealed his glory, and His disciples put their faith in him.

Jesus loves us so much that He would never do or give us anything less than the best.

Come back for the next story.

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sources: 
*A Harmony of the Gospels for Historical Study, An Analytical Synopsis of the Four Gospels by William Arnold Stevens and Ernest DeWitt Burton, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1932
*New International Version, New King James Version. 
*My Bible College training.
*My notes and walk through classes I've taught in Children's church. Answers to student questions, etc.
*Pastoral sermons on this time
*Matthew Henry Commentary
*F. LaGard Smith Commentary
*My notes from my trip to Israel.