This morning we start a series on “The Miracles of Jesus,” and we will fittingly start with His first miracle, the turning of water into wine. This event is recorded in John 2:1-11. The verse I will highlight is verse 5.
(John 2:5 MSG)
She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.”
First, let’s consider the context of this miracle. Jesus and His disciples have been invited to a wedding celebration. Jesus’ mother is there. She is friends with the family. At some point during the festivities, the host runs out of wine. This might seem like a minor problem to us, but in that region, in ancient times, running out of wine at a wedding was a major embarrassment. It was a sign that the host had not properly prepared or planned for the occasion.
Enter Mary, the mother of Jesus. She approaches Jesus and tells him about the situation, and Jesus initially responds by saying, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” In other words, Jesus is saying that it was not the right time for Him to begin His public ministry. Basically, He was saying, “Although I have the power to perform miracles, it is not my time to do so yet.”
I believe Mary was not sure what Jesus would do, but she knew He could do something. Jesus was apprehensive about getting involved. He had waited 30 years to begin His ministry. His cousin John had already baptized Him in the Jordon, causing some buzz, but surely the word of a miracle would quickly stir up crowds. His mother moved right past the apprehension and gave some of the best advice found in scripture. She looked at the servants and said, “Whatever he tells you, do it.” With this, Jesus accepted the assignment. At that moment, His public ministry and the countdown clock that would take Him to the cross started.
There were six stone jars in the area. These were jars normally used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each jar held twenty to thirty gallons, so they were not small. Jesus ordered the servants, “Fill the pots with water.” The Bible says, “they filled them to the brim.” Then Jesus said, “Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host.” When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn’t know what had just happened, but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom and said, “Everybody I know begins with their finest wines, and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you’ve saved the best till now!“
The Bible says, “This act in Cana of Galilee was the first sign Jesus gave, the first glimpse of his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” (verse 11). This is the first of seven signs recorded in the Gospel of John.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things:
1. God cares about things many people would not think a God would care about.
In the big scheme of things, this was not a big situation. We are not talking about someone on their deathbed, or someone who can’t see, or someone who can’t walk. At the end of the day, it was just a wedding, and during the event, they ran out of wine. This seems like a weird scenario for Jesus to get involved with, and especially for Him to perform His first miracle. But there are many things to consider here. The first I will point out is that while this may not seem like a big deal to us, it was going to cause an embarrassment for the family involved, and since Jesus was present, his mother asked Him to get involved, He did.
We serve a God who cares about us. We serve a God who is willing to manifest his glory in our lives, even in situations that may not seem like the supernatural is required. God does this simply because He loves us.
So while I teach the miracles of Jesus and help build up your faith for the impossible to become possible for you, I don’t want you to forget that God also wants to be part of the small things in your life. He will sometimes go out of His way to do things for you that you never thought He cared about, just to so you how much He loves you. These things are acts of His unearned and amazing grace!
2. Jesus will meet you right where you are, and He will never tell you to do something you cannot do.
In the story of Jesus turning water into wine, Jesus did not tell the servants to do something incredible. He did not ask them to believe for the impossible. He met them where they were. They were accustomed to filling the water pots normally used for washing, and He told them to do just that. In the process, the supernatural was manifested. We can glean a few things from this:
— God will only ask you to do what you can do. If God asks you to do something you don’t believe you can do, then the fact that God said it is evidence that you can do it. God is not going to bring His instruction DOWN to your perceived level of performance. God wants you to raise your level of belief to whatever He said. If God says you can do it, then you can do it.
— God expects you to do what you can do with a spirit of excellence. Even though the 6 jars were huge, each holding 20-30 gallons, when Jesus told the men to fill the water pots, the Bible says that they filled them to the brim! When we do what God tells us to do, and we do it to the BEST of our abilities, God will honor our excellence and step in to do what we can’t do. Where our power ends, His power will kick-in.
— God will meet you at the level of faith that you are ready for. Jesus told the men in the text to fill the jars with water. That’s all they were prepared to do. So He did not ask them to do more. But when you have someone like Peter, who was ready to get out of the boat and meet Jesus on the water, then God can speak the supernatural because you are ready for it. When Jesus said to Peter, COME, then Peter got out of the boat and walked on water because He was walking on the WORD.
— While I teach through this series, the Holy Spirit will speak things to you. When He does, at first, you may feel like you can’t do what He said. But the fact that He said it is PROOF that you can. God will NEVER tell you to do something He has not already empowered you, by His grace, to do. So if God said it, if He spoke it over your life, then stop debating and do as Mary said to the young men, “Whatever He tells you to do, DO IT!“
3. The supernatural is often manifested in the process of the mundane.
I have learned that often with God, you receive your breakthrough AS YOU GO!
I am reminded of the healing of the ten lepers (we will deal with them later in more detail). They were healed AS THEY WENT. In the same way, the water was not turned into wine with words from Jesus. Jesus did not pray a specific prayer. He did not pronounce any fancy declaration.
The water was turned into wine while the servants were doing what Jesus told them to do. The text is not clear as to the particular moment, but that is the point. We are blessed while we do what God tells us to do. Oftentimes, God’s power is manifested in our daily routine.
If you seek to please God daily by doing whatever He tells you to do, you will find that you will live a blessed life. You may not be able to pinpoint every blessing, but you won’t need to. You will wake up one morning to realize that you are from the person you used to be, and God’s blessings in you, on you, with you, and for you, will be so plenteous that you would have a hard to explaining them all. This is #TheGraceLife.
Every day, as you go, as you do, as you perform, as you walk with God, the power of God will be manifested in your life over and over again. You may not be able to point out every blessing because you will simply be walking in THE BLESSING to the point where goodness and mercy follow you (track you down) all the days of your life!
4. In the Kingdom of God, authority is derived from submission.
This miracle shows us how much Jesus respected His earthly mother. He was God in the flesh, but He humbled Himself to the earthly authority of His mother. He even yielded to her desire for Him to get involved in the wedding, even though His time had not yet come.
This teaches us how much God honors authority. Jesus was in authority, but He was also under authority, and His authority came from His submission. For you and I, this teaches us that our authority will also come from our level of submission. The more you yield to God, the more authority He will empower you to operate in on this planet because when you submit to divine authority, you get deputized to operate in the authority your submission gives you access to.
Jesus said, “I make decisions and my judgements are just, because I am not the one making the judgements.” He was basically saying, “I make perfect decisions, because I am not the one deciding. I only do what my Father leads me to do. I only say what my Father leads me to say. The Son can do nothing without the Father.” It was this type of submission that led to Jesus’ authority. If you submit to God the same way, you will be empowered by God to operate in divine authority.
5. Faith can interrupt timelines.
There was a timeline for Jesus to perform miracles. Jesus’ mother interrupted the timeline with her faith. In the same way, there was a timeline for Jesus to minister to the Gentiles. It was not supposed to happen until after His death, burial, and resurrection. However, a Roman Centurion and a Syro-Phoenician woman, both non-Jews, interrupted Jesus’ timeline with their faith. Jesus even insulted the woman, calling her a dog. But she did not let her feelings get in the way of her breakthrough. She remained in faith, and Jesus did something before its time. He healed her daughter, even though she was a Gentile.
My point is that as we learn about the power of God and how we tap into God’s power with our faith, we must also be reminded of the fact that sometimes our faith will rearrange timelines and shift things in our favor. What was supposed to take years can take seconds when God shifts times and seasons for us.
Jesus was not supposed to be performing miracles yet, but Mary released her faith, and her Son, our Lord, responded. As a result, the supernatural manifested. This is what can happen when you stand in faith. Don’t let a calendar, timeline, schedule, or pre-established plan stop you. Believe God. Open your heart. Stand in faith. The impossible can become possible for you!
6. God is a God of progression and not regression.
This first miracle points to a God of progression and not regression, to a God that makes the end of a matter better than the beginning thereof. When the man in the text tasted the wine that Jesus had converted from water he was blown away. He said, “Normally people put out the best wine up front. But you guys have saved the best for last!” (Rick Pina Version). My final point today is that our God is ever-increasing in your life. As you walk with Him and die to self, you will find that He is saving the best for last. Your latter shall be greater than your former! The best is yet to come!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for Your love and grace!
I believe this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
As I study the miracles of Jesus, my faith is reignited!
I learn from the Jesus turning water into wine. I declare that I will do whatever You tell me to do. I know Your power can be manifested in my life at any moment.
I know You care about things that I care about. I know that even the small things are big to You. So I do all I do with a spirit of excellence, knowing You will walk with me and grace me to experience Your best along the way.
I will step out in faith and act on whatever I believe You are telling me to do – through Your Word, through the Holy Spirit, or through circumstances – and I know that You will manifest Your glory in my life as I act out my faith. I put my faith into action. And as I go, THE BLESSING will be manifested in all I do!
Lastly, Father, I know you are a God for progression and not regression. My latter shall be greater than my former. I shall greatly increase. So I declare: GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
