One On One: 100 Days With Jesus--Ministry YearsSample

Wine: The One who showed us His glory 

The last time we saw Jesus, He was a sunburnt, wind-whipped, starving, victorious warrior—walking out of earth’s most treacherous landscape after 40 days of fasting. But that wasn’t even the worst of it. At His most vulnerable, Jesus fought Satan one on one for the right to be our Savior. It was an intense spiritual, physical, emotional, psychological battle and Jesus won hands-down. Satan limped away, mumbling something about a rematch. 

<Deep breath. Exhale.> 

Where do you go after such a trial? The best shelter is the company of people who love you. So Jesus went home to Galilee. It just so happened He arrived in time for a family wedding. 

Weddings were a community event in Jesus’ day. They began at night when the groom showed up at his bride’s house and escorted her back to his family’s home, parading through town so everyone could congratulate them and follow them back for a party—a party that lasted for days when the music plays and the food and the wine flows.

Except when it doesn’t. That was the problem we hear about from Jesus’ mother, Mary, who had some kind of responsibility at the party. Put yourself in her shoes; this was a crisis! So, she turns to her always-reliable Jesus. “Son, the wine is gone! Do something!”

Picture Jesus—lounging at the table, full of life and love for the people around Him.   He was having a great time. In days to come whenever He wasn’t preaching or teaching, you could find Jesus at some kind of party. The Pharisees criticized Him for enjoying Himself too much. 

At first, Jesus objects to Mary’s plea, but something in His tone told her He’d help. He cared about what troubled her—even a social faux pas like this. One look in her anxious face, another look at the potential disciples watching Him, and Jesus steps into His new role of miracle-worker. 

He told the staff to fill six large empty barrels with water—the 30-gallon kind used for ceremonial hand-washing. Then, they were to take a sample to the wedding host. Somewhere between those two instructions, without any big show, the water became wine. Imagine the staff’s surprise! 

(By the way, if you do the math— 6 barrels x 30 gallons = 180 gallons of wine. In today’s economy, if one bottle costs $30, then this was $27,000 worth of wine.) 

When the master of ceremonies praised the host for saving the best wine for now, imagine the sparkle in Jesus’ eyes when He looked into the shocked faces of His mom and then the disciples and finally, the servants. It’s enough to make Him throw back His head and laugh.

Yes, the best is yet to come. 

Tomorrow: One on one with Jesus through the night