His Honor - John 2:1-12 (part 1 of 2)

GROWING TO KNOW JESUS

The six disciples who now believed in Jesus began their lifelong journey with Him and learned more about Him from the start. People who read the whole gospel record might take these events for granted, but for the disciples, every day and every new event was full of wonders that were challenging to understand. John wrote down three amazing revelations of Jesus Christ in these early verses.

First Revelation: His Honor (2:1–12)

"The third day" refers to three days after Nathanael's call (John 1:45–51). John wrote that it was the fourth day of the week (John 1:19, 29, 35, 43), so the wedding happened on "the seventh day" of this "new creation week." John's gospel stresses that Jesus was following a divine schedule and doing what the Father wanted.

According to Jewish custom, virgins had to get married on a Wednesday, and widows had to get married on a Thursday. Jesus would have been expected to rest on the seventh day of John's special week, just like God did on the seventh day (Gen. 2:1–3). But sin had broken God's Sabbath rest, so both the Father and the Son had to work (John 5:17; 9:4). John actually wrote down two specific miracles that Jesus did on purpose on the Sabbath (John 5; 9).

We see Jesus as the Visitor, the Son, and the Host at this wedding.

Jesus as the Visitor (vv. 1–2). Our Lord was not a hermit like John the Baptist (Matt. 11:16–19). He went to social events even though His enemies used this to accuse Him (Luke 15:1–2). Our Lord entered into the regular events of life and made them holy by being there. It is smart for that couple to invite Jesus to their wedding!

His mother and six disciples went with Him. Adding seven more people may have made the situation worse, but if that were the case, the wedding feast must have been small. We have reason to believe that Jesus' family on earth was not rich, and it's likely that their friends weren't either. Maybe the lack of wine had something to do with the feast being cheap.

Did Mary invite Jesus and His disciples, or did Nathanael invite them (John 21:2)? Our Lord was not yet popular because He had not done any miracles. People probably didn't invite Him because they knew who He was. The invitation was probably because of His relationship with Mary.

Jesus as the Son (vv. 3–5). The groom needed to have enough food for the week-long Jewish wedding feast. For one thing, it would be embarrassing to run out of food or wine, and a family that did that could even be fined! So, running out of wine could cost a lot of money and make you look bad socially.

Why did Mary go to Jesus about the issue? Did she really think He would do something special to help? She definitely knew who He was, even though she didn't tell anyone else this great truth. She must have been very close to either the bride or the groom to care so much about how the party went or even know that there was no more wine. Mary might have helped get the meal ready and serve it.

Mary didn't tell Jesus what to do; she just told Him about the problem. Look at what Mary and Martha said to Jesus when Lazarus was sick (John 11:3.) Jesus' answer seems a little rude and harsh, but that's not the case. In John 19:26 and 20:13, "woman" was a polite way to talk to her. His question was a polite way of saying, "Why are you getting Me involved in this matter?" He was telling His mother that He was no longer under her care (Joseph was probably dead), but that He would now be doing what the Father wanted Him to do. Some years earlier, there had been a hint of this (Luke 2:40–52).

John now brought up one of the most important parts of his record: "the hour." The Father set a "heavenly timetable" for Jesus to follow. (See John 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; 17:1; and also John 11:9–10 for what Jesus said.) You will see how this idea of "the hour" grows as you read John's gospel.

Mary told the servants that she was okay with her Son doing whatever He wanted and that she trusted Him to do the right thing. We should all do what she said! It is important to remember that Jesus, not Mary, took charge and fixed the problem. Mary pointed to Jesus, not to herself.