John 2:1-12

Author: Angie Hunt

Jesus Changes Water Into Wine

2 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

Key Verse

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

Devotional

I have a confession to make. When I was assigned this passage of scripture to write about, I was disappointed. “Why couldn’t I get the feeding of the 5,000, or walking on water, or the raising of Lazarus?” I thought to myself. Then, as he always does, God taught me a lesson through his Word.

Jesus, his mother, and his disciples were attending a wedding in Cana. We don’t know who’s wedding it was, only that it might have been family, based on who was invited and how insistent Mary was that Jesus help them. When the wine was gone, Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them. She knew he would help. Mary wanted Jesus to help the bridegroom and his family, but Jesus used this opportunity to accomplish something else.

Who knew that Jesus turned water into wine? It wasn’t the family or the other guests. It was only the servants and his disciples. Was Jesus motivated by getting credit for making such good wine? Did he tell the servants to make sure the bridegroom knew where the wine came from? Of course not.

How many times are we concerned that someone knows about what we’ve done? Or making sure the “right” people know how we’ve served or given to someone else? Jesus was only motivated by his love for his Father and his love for people. How many times are we motivated by what we get out of it? Does it make me look good?

If we are to live as Jesus-followers, we are to imitate him, our Rabbi. Jesus was never concerned about making sure “important” people knew about what he’d done. The good things he did were to show his Father’s love to people, not display his power or goodness. May we do the same.

Discussion Questions

1.      What is your motivation for serving others?

2.      Is it hard for you to do good deeds in secret? Do you feel compelled to “let it slip” that you’ve done something? Read Matthew 6:1-3 to see what Jesus thought of that.

Call to Action

Serve someone this week without anyone knowing about it. Don’t announce it to anyone, and don’t even let the person you are serving know it was you.

Angie loves Jesus, her family, coffee, and the mountains.  She and her husband, David, and their two sons, Jonah and Austin, have worshipped at Saturn Road since 2003, and she serves as our Financial Administrator.