At the Marriage Feast
page l 1 l 2 l
-1-
Jesus did
not begin His ministry by some great
work before the Sanhedrin at
Jerusalem. At a household gathering
in a little Galilean village His
power was put forth to add to the joy
of a wedding feast. Thus He showed
sympathy with men, and His desire to
minister to their happiness. In the
wilderness of temptation He Himself
had drunk the cup of woe. He came
forth to give men the cup of
blessing, by His benediction to
hallow the relations of human life.
From the
Jordan, Jesus returned to Galilee.
There was to be a marriage at Cana, a
little town not far from Nazareth;
the parties were relatives of Joseph
and Mary; and Jesus, knowing of this
family gathering, went to Cana, and
with His disciples was invited to the
feast.
Again He
met His mother, from whom He had for
some time been separated. Mary had
heard of the manifestation at the
Jordan, at His baptism. The tidings
had been carried to Nazareth, and had
brought her mind afresh the scenes
that for so many years had been
hidden in her heart. In common with
all Israel, Mary was deeply stirred
by the mission of John the Baptist.
Well she remembered the prophecy
given at his birth. Now his
connection with Jesus kindled her
hopes anew. But tidings had reached
her also of the mysterious departure
of Jesus to the wilderness, and she
was oppressed with troubled
forebodings.
From the
day when she heard the angel’s
announcement in the home at Nazareth
Mary had treasured every evidence
that Jesus was the Messiah. His
sweet, unselfish life assured her
that He could be no other than the
Son of God. Yet there came to her
also doubts and disappointments, and
she longed for the time when His
glory should be revealed. Death had
separated her from Joseph, who had
shared her knowledge of the mystery
of the birth of Jesus. Now there was
no one to whom she could confide her
hopes and fears. The past two months
had been very sorrowful. She had been
parted from Jesus, in whose sympathy
she found comfort; she pondered upon
the words of Simon, “A sword
shall pierce through thy own soul
also” (Luke 2:35); she recalled
the three days of agony when she
thought Jesus was lost to her
forever; and with anxious heart she
awaited His return.
At the
marriage feast she meets Him, the
same tender, dutiful son. Yet He is
not the same. His countenance is
changed. It bears the traces of His
conflict in the wilderness, and a new
expression of dignity and power gives
evidence of His heavenly mission.
With Him is a group of young men,
whose eyes follow Him with reverence,
and who call Him Master. These
companions recount to Mary what they
have seen and heard at the baptism
and elsewhere. They conclude by
declaring, “We have found Him,
of whom Moses in the law, and the
prophets, did write.” John 1:45.
As the
guests assemble, many seem to be
preoccupied with some topic of
absorbing interest. A suppressed
excitement pervades the company.
Little groups converse together in
eager but quiet tones, and wondering
glances are turned upon the Son of
Mary, As Mary had heard the
disciples’ testimony in regarded
to Jesus, she had been gladdened with
the assurance that her-long-cherished
hopes were not in vain. Yet she would
have been more than human if there
had not mingled with this holy joy a
trace of the fond mother’s
natural pride. As she saw the many
glances bent upon Jesus, she longed
to have Him prove to the company that
He was really the Honored of God. She
hoped there might be opportunity for
Him to work a miracle before them.
It was
the custom of the times for marriage
festivities to continue several days.
On this occasion, before the feast
ended it was found out that the
supply of wine had failed. This
discovery caused much perplexity and
regret. It was unusual to dispense
with wine on festive occasions, and
its absence would seem to indicate a
want of hospitality. As a relative of
the parties, Mary had assisted in the
arrangements for the feast, and now
spoke to Jesus saying, “They
have no wine.” But Jesus
answered, “Woman, what have I to
do with thee? Mine hour is not yet
come.”
This
answer, abrupt as it seems to us,
expressed no coldness or discourtesy.
The savior’s form of address to
His mother was in accordance with
Oriental custom. It was used toward
persons to whom it was desired to
show respect. Every act of
Christ’s earthy life was in
harmony with the precept He Himself
had given, “Honor thy father and
thy mother.” Exodus 20:12. On
the cross, in His last act of
tenderness toward His mother, Jesus
again addresses her in the same way,
as He committed her to the care pf
His best-loved disciple. Both at the
marriage feast and upon the cross,
the love expressed in tone and look
and manner interpreted His words.
At His
visit to the temple in His boyhood,
as the mystery of His lifework opened
before Him, Christ said unto Mary,
“Wist ye not that I must be
about My Father’s
business?” Luke 2:49. These
words struck the keynote of His whole
life and ministry. Everything was
held in abeyance to His work, the
great work of redemption that He had
come into the world to accomplish.
Now He repeated the lesson. There was
danger that Mary would regard her
relationship to Jesus as giving her
special claim upon Him, and the
right, in some degree, to direct Him
in His mission. For thirty years He
had been to her a loving and obedient
son, and His love was unchanged; but
He must now go about His
Father’s work. As Son of the
Most High, and Savior of the world,
no earthy ties must hold Him from His
mission, or influence His conduct. He
must stand free to the will of God.
This lesson is also for us. The
claims of God are paramount even to
the ties of human relationship. No
earthy attraction should turn our
feet from the path in which He bids
us walk.
The only
hope of redemption for the fallen
race is in Christ; Mary could find
salvation only through the Lamb of
God. In herself she possessed no
merit. Her connection with Jesus
placed her in no different spiritual
relation to Him from that of any
other soul. This is indicated in the
Savior’s words. He makes clear
the distinction between His relation
to her as the Son of man and as the
Son of God. The tie of kinship
between them in no way placed her on
equality with Him.
The
words, “Mine hour is 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 had 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 the 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 the
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 enmity to
Jesus, displayed by the priests and
rabbis. The Savior’s early
miracles strengthened the disciples
to stand against this opposition.
In nowise
disconcerted by the words of Jesus,
Mary said to those serving at the
table, Whatsoever He saith unto you,
do it.” Thus she did what she
could to prepare the way for the work
of Christ.
Beside
the doorway stood six stone water
jars, and Jesus, bade the servants
fill these with water. It was done.
Then as the wine was wanted for
immediate use, He said, “Draw
out now, and bear unto the governor
of the feast.” Instead of the
water with which the vessels had been
filled, there flowed forth wine.
Neither the ruler of the feast nor
the guests generally were aware that
the supply of wine had failed. Upon
tasting that which the servants
brought, the ruler found it superior
to any he had ever before drunk, and
very different from that served at
the beginning of the feast. Turning
to the bridegroom, he said,
“Every man at the beginning doth
set forth good wine; and when men
have well drunk, then that which is
worse: but thou hast kept the good
wine until now.”
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. The words to Nathaniel
express the law of God’s dealing
with the children of faith. With
every fresh revelation of His love,
He declares to the receptive heart,
“Believest thou? Thou shalt see
greater things than these.” John
1:50.
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. The water to fill the jars
was brought by human hands, but the
word of Christ alone could impart to
it life-giving virtue. So with the
rites which point to the
Savior’s death. It is only by
the power of Christ, working through
faith, that they have efficacy to
nourish the soul.
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.
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
come.”
1 Corinthians 11:26.
And the sorrow of the disciples at
parting from their Lord was comforted
with the promise of a reunion, as He
said, “I will not drink
henceforth of this fruit of the vine,
until that day when I drink it new
with you in My Father’s
kingdom.” Matthew 26:29.
The wine
that Christ provided for the feast,
and that which He gave to the
disciples as a symbol of His own
blood, was the pure juice of the
grape. To this the prophet Isaiah
refers when he speaks of the new wine
“in the cluster,” and says,
“Destroy it not; for a blessing
is in it.” Isaiah 65:8.
It was
Christ who in the Old Testament gave
the warning to Israel, “Wine is
a mocker, strong drink is raging: and
whosoever is deceived thereby is not
wise.” Proverb 20:1. And He
Himself provided no such beverage.
Satan tempts men to indulgence that
will becloud reason and benumb the
spiritual perceptions, but Christ
teaches us to bring the lower nature
into subjection. His whole life was
an example of self-denial. In order
to break the power of appetite, He
suffered in our behalf the severest
test of humanity could endure. It was
Christ who directed that John the
Baptist should drink neither wine nor
strong drink. It was He who enjoined
similar abstinence upon the wife of
Manoah. And He pronounced a curse
upon the man who should put the
bottle to his neighbor’s lips.
Christ did not contradict His own
teaching. The unfermented wine that
He provided for the wedding quests
was a wholesome and refreshing drink.
Its effect was to bring the taste
into harmony with a healthful
appetite.
As the
guests of the feast remarked upon the
quality of the wine, inquiries were
made that drew from the servants an
account of the miracle. The company
was for a time too much amazed to
think of Him who had performed the
wonderful work. When at length they
looked for Him, it was found that He
had withdrawn so quietly as to be
unnoticed even by His disciples.
page l 1 l 2 l
-1-
