Following Jesus Made Simple
“Do whatever He tells you.”
John 2:5b (NLT)
The second chapter of John’s Gospel reveals the first of eight miracles Jesus performed recorded in John’s narrative. Six of these miracles are unique among the Gospels to John. The first was turning water in wine at a wedding celebration. Weddings in Jesus’ day were more than a single day’s event. They were festivals for the whole community that could last all week! Careful planning was made to ensure that plenty of provisions were ready for everyone to enjoy. To run out of wine was more than a social embarrassment. When Mary saw that the wine supply ran out, she took the problem to her son. What do you do with your problems?
I find a couple of insights from this first miracle. Our problems are really God’s opportunities in disguise. They give God the opportunity to work in our behalf and display His glory! So, what do you do when you face a problem or a provision beyond your ability to resolve? Here are a couple of suggestions we learn from what Mary did:
Tell Jesus.
Trust Jesus to handle the situation.
It’s interesting to me that Mary didn’t try to tell Jesus what to do about the problem or how to resolve it. She didn’t ask Him to perform a miracle. She simply trusted Him to help solve the problem and instructed the servants at the wedding feast to do whatever Jesus tells them. I love the simplicity of this. When we give our problems to the Lord, do we trust Him to work in our behalf and respond by doing whatever He tells us to do?
Sometimes what Jesus tells us to do doesn’t seem to make any sense. He told the servants to fill up six stone jars with water. These jars could hold 20 to 30 gallons! After filling them with water, Jesus instructed them to pour some of the water out and take it to the master of ceremonies. Why? What good would it have done to give the master of ceremonies some water when what he needed most was wine? It must have seemed absurd! Yet, without even questioning why, John said, “So the servants followed His instructions.” (Vs. 8)
We know the rest of the story. The water had miraculously turned into wine and not just ordinary cheap wine. It was the best wine of the festival! God had saved the best for last!
When you read this chapter take special note of verse nine. “When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over.” Only the servants who had obeyed Jesus’ instructions knew the real story! They not only witnessed a miracle in the making but participated in it as well! Whenever we align our lives with the will of God and do what Jesus tells us to do, we position ourselves for a miracle! These servants got to experience a miracle because they were available and humble enough to do what Jesus told them to do. It was just a small thing, but it took faith. They risked embarrassment taking the water to the master of ceremonies. They didn’t know the water would turn to wine. They simply obeyed what Jesus told them to do! What is Jesus telling you to do? Read John 2 and ask Him.