the beverage of choice

Perhaps you've heard the story of the Wedding at Cana (see John 2:1-11 at bottom of blog). Jesus turned water into wine that day. In comparison to His multiple other miracles like healing the blind and bringing the dead back to life, this miracle used to seem a little lackluster to me. Especially since drunkenness is spoken against in the Bible more than once, I always wondered why Jesus' first miracle would be so controversial and so seemingly bland. Don't get me wrong, the changing of water to wine is a miracle--no easy task. I suppose my conundrum came from the fact that running out of wine does not create a NEED in my mind, where most of Jesus' other miracles filled the need for healing, etc. Why was this a miracle the Son of God would perform?

Turns out that in Biblical times, wine was often consumed in the place of water because the water was not purified, and thus was often unsafe to drink. (I could relate to this on a personal level since I have been in countries where I have not been able to drink the tap water). Also, the wine of that day had about half the alcohol content of wine as we know it today, and drunkenness was socially frowned upon, so they weren't drinking to get drunk. So by turning the water into wine, Jesus was purifying and cleaning the water so they could have something to drink. ...this is where I had the 'wow, God' moment.

The entire intent of Christ coming to earth--His purpose--was to cleanse and purify sinners (who would accept His salvation) from their sins. Purification. From the first miracle Jesus Christ ever performed until His last, He purified and made whole. This just hit me today that all along God was sending the message of Christ's power to cleanse us.

Also, Jesus is the Living Water (John 4:13-14: "Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."--meaning Christ provides ultimate fulfillment and satisfaction). Since Jesus is the Living Water, coming to quench the thirst, it is even more symbolic that His first miracle allowed just that--quenching thirsts.

Jesus often spoke in parables in the Bible. There was always a message behind the parables, but it was something His followers truly had to seek to understand. God wants us to hunger for Him. Those who diligently seek Him, will find Him in all His glory (Matthew 7:7-8) And what great glory it is.

As the Living Water, Jesus Christ is just that--a beverage of choice. It's up to you to choose.

John 2:1-11
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
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 that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come."
5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."
6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each.
7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." So they filled them up to the brim.
8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him.
9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom,
10 and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now."
11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.