“When the wine gave out...”
(John 2:3)
It was the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and we are told the story of Jesus and the disciples going to a wedding!
We don’t know some particulars like why Jesus and the disciples were invited to the wedding. We don’t know who the bride and the groom were. We do know that it was a typical Jewish wedding of that day.
Jewish weddings were important and joyful occasions in the lives of the bride and the groom and their extended families, and the entire community joined in the celebration.
- Jewish weddings usually began on Tuesday nights, and the groom and his friends would go over to the bride’s house at night. On the way over, the groomsmen would be swinging their olive-oil lamps, having a fun time. The men would gather in front of the bride’s home, and she would come out to the front steps. Now for the first time, she would take off her veil and show off how beautiful she really was. This removal of the veil was a special event.
- Then the groom and the groomsmen would again walk down the streets with their olive-oil lamps swinging and they would go over to the groom’s house.
- This was followed by the signing of the marriage contract.
- Then began a seven-day party. Yes, a seven-day party. During those seven days, family and friends would bring their gifts and it would carry on for the duration!!
Throughout Scripture, wine was a symbol of God’s presence! It was a symbol of joy. Scripture says that wine is the oil of gladness!
And on the third night of the wedding party, the wine ran out!
Doesn’t wine often run out in our lives – we lose vibrancy, fulfillment and excitement! The wine sometimes runs out or low in a marriage. It also drains out of our churches and we go through the mechanics – doing the same things over and over again and we wonder where the life-giving Spirit, the vibrancy and excitement, have gone.
Jesus went to the water jars used for Jewish purification that night. There were six of them, each containing 20 to 30 gallons of water. He turned each of them into wine! Good wine!!
Tom Lane says, “If Jesus could transform common water into wedding wine, spit and dirt into new sight, troubled sea into pathway, well water into living water... could Christ transform the waters of my life, shallow, murky, polluted, stagnant, sour, into a shower of blessing?”
Could He?
Equipping Christ Followers to Go Into the Neighborhood,
Steve
