John 2
John 2:1-25
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.“
6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.
7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.
9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.
10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.
15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables.
16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!”
17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE HAS EATEN ME UP.”
18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”
19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”
21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.
23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.
24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men,
25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
In verses 11, 22, and 23, there is a reference to believing that is associated with manifested glory. A glory that was there all along, producing no reason for believing, began to yield faith at the moment when it became obviously observable. Apparently, however, belief in who Jesus is based only on the manifesting of His glory isn’t sufficient to sustain over time and reason to doubt. For this, there would need to be a way of not just observing manifested glory but actually producing it from its residence inside.
There are those who are but waiting for a “work” or “movement” of God to have an increased belief in who He is. Others, however, are waiting for the Spirit’s timing to manifest the glory of God continually resident on the inside. For them, there is no effect of time or adverse circumstances on a belief fueled incessantly by His manifest glory within. It is from the latter that will come those “works and greater” that turn the hearts of unbelievers into those who initially believe in who He is but become believers in where He desires to abide, responding favorably to His knocking.
Jesus had a calling in His life. A purpose for which God had sent Him. I can’t help but think of Mary in this passage.
In the natural, Jesus did not raise Himself. He had earthly parents, and I couldn’t help, but think of Mary, how she raised Him, molded Him, prompted Him, encouraged Him. We don’t see a lot of that in the Scriptures, but in this instance, that is what I saw. Mary knew Jesus‘s identity. She knew He was sent from God, and apparently she knew He could turn this water into wine. When the opportunity arose she was there to encourage Him and believe in Him!
It really made me think of our role in helps ministry. We are not all called to be preachers, Evangelous, pastors, missionaries etc., but we are all called into helps ministry for the kingdom of God. We are all called to help further the good news of Jesus. Sometimes it may be as easy, as believing in the person that is called to the five fold ministry enough to support them, encourage them, pray for them, and be there ready to help them. It was a sweet thought to my spirit this morning.