John 2:4
Jesus saith to her, `What -- to me and to thee, woman? Not yet is mine hour come.'
Genesis 23:15
“Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.”
“On the third day” – John 2:1. I could write a volume about all of the truth that I see in this lesson. Time doesn’t allow it in this venue. Another time perhaps. Allow me to focus my attention primarily to the interaction between Jesus and His mother, Mary. John 2:4 is a difficult passage to comprehend. What’s really going on there? First of all, a couple of observations: (1) Would Jesus rebuke or disrespect His mother in any way? Short answer: no. (2) What are the circumstances surrounding this exchange between Jesus and Mary? Jesus and His disciples are guests at a wedding in Cana. This was probably a family affair of some kind, possibly a near relative of Jesus was either the bride or groom. Mary was obviously acting as one in authority in this event. Had she assisted a brother, sister or cousin in the planning and carrying out of the marriage ceremony of one of their children? Probably something like that. If so, this was an important event to Mary. She had a strong desire to see the ceremony ‘go off without a hitch”. Isn’t that just like a mother? Yes. So, at a point when the ceremony isn’t nearly over, it comes to Mary’s attention that the wine is gone. There is no more. For the mothers who were hosting this event, this could have been quite embarrassing, for the family as well as for the young bride and groom. It is with this backdrop that Mary approaches her son, Jesus.
There’s an air of urgency in her statement, “They have no more wine.” Can’t you feel it? This is important to her. No eternal consequences here, just the concern of a mother, someone who has children of her own and can empathize on the deepest level with the family of the groom. Jesus will encounter people throughout His ministry who have a personal need that seems almost inconsequential in the eternal scheme of things but, in the moment, seemed overwhelming to the person with whom He was dealing. Here comes the good part. Listen to Jesus’ response. I’m going to carefully paraphrase Jesus’ words, so as to bring His heart into focus. Listen:… , “Dear woman, what is that between you and I?”, or, “Dear woman, such a small request. What is that between me and thee?”, or maybe, “Dear woman, why wouldn’t I? Such a small thing between us.” Did you catch it? Jesus is more than happy to honor such a small request from His mother. Wouldn’t you be? This speaks to the relationship that Jesus had with His mom. Beloved, because of what Jesus did at the cross, we do not approach the throne of our Father, God as strangers but, as children. We literally come before the throne with a blood tie to the King of Glory. As a teenager, I got my first job at a chemical company where my dad had worked for a number of years and where he still maintained many vital relationships. How many of you have had a similar experience?
“My hour has not yet come.” Jesus made statements like this often, mostly referring to the fact that the cross was the big, upcoming event in His future. How does that apply here? I think Jesus is simply telling Mary, “OK mom, but I don’t want to draw a lot of attention to myself.” or, “ I don’t want to make a big deal out of this.”
Why this interpretation? For me this offers a good bit of insight into the heart of the Lord. When we hear “Jesus loves you”, we can take that personally. Jesus loves us and cares about us. He cares about our ‘care abouts’. That’s why we can go to Him in prayer about our children, our money, our health, and our circumstances. None of these things have ‘eternal’ consequences, but scripture teaches us, that when we line our lives up according to His precepts (His Word), He will give us the desires of our heart Relationship. When a toddler comes to mom or dad, they come with arms waving above their head. The arm waving helps them to stay balanced as they waddle toward their parent. The arms up and waving also indicate that the child his coming to the parent with expectation. They are coming with the expectation that that the parent will lift them up and take them into their arms and bring them up close where they and give and receive one of those ‘big slobbery kisses’. You know the ones I’m talking about? Relationship. Faith works by Love. Of course you can come to Jesus, arms waving high above your head, as you try to maintain your balance. I can see Peter, walking on water, half believing what’s transpiring all around him in that moment. What does water feel like beneath your feet? About the closest thing I could compare it to would be walking on a waterbed. Wouldn’t that cause a little arm waving trying to maintain you balance? I can see Peter becoming a little overwhelmed by it all, you know: that sinking feeling. “What a mess I’ve gotten myself into.” Can you relate? I can hear Peter cry out, “Lord, save me.” Isn’t that where the prayer of necessity comes from: from someplace deep within our desperation?
What was Jesus response? Before He said something, He did something: He reached out His hand and caught Peter. Isn’t that good news? He saved Peter from drowning, He healed Jairus’ daughter, He raised Lazarus from the dead, He healed the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter. He opened blind eyes, He caused the lame to walk, the dumb to speak and deaf to hear. And it all began right here, at a wedding in Cana, where He turned water into wine at His mother’s request. Relationship. A few weeks ago, we discussed the Fruit of the Spirit. Love, Joy, Peace. Patience, Kindness, Goodness. Relationship. Faith works by, miracles come out of, healing comes out of … relationship. Selah.
.wb
Psalm 37:4
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 14:30
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Matthew 14:31
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him…
Psalm 55:22
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
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I Love the way this lesson is explained
ReplyDeleteThank You. Blessings. Trying to get back to this blog. This is one of my favorite entries.
DeleteJohnP here. I thought I just became a member, but I guess I'm just a follower. Oh, well!
ReplyDeleteNot a bad exegesis. Want to go deeper?
The wedding at Cana marks the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. As such, it anticipates "the wedding feast of the Lamb" (Rev 19:9), which is the culmination of all that Jesus came to do.
Now we go from the end of time to the beginning of time. When Jesus calls His Mother "woman," it harkens back to Genesis 3:15: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." This passage is referred to as the protoevangelium. It is the first hint of the Gospel, wherein the seed of a woman will conquer Satan. Only the virgin birth fulfills the requirement of seed of a woman, so the passage in Genesis contains the prophesy of Mary and Jesus.
There's more.
Now we jump to the end of Jesus' public ministry. On the cross He again refers to Mary as "woman." "When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,”
(John 19:26). What is the significance? First, it ties in with Gen 3:15. Secondly, it ties in with Cana: "Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” (NASB)
The cross IS His hour. So, now that His hour has come, Mary's concerns now become His concerns. In other words, with Jesus in His glory, His Mother now can intercede for us as she first did at Cana.
Notice in Jn 19:26, John is the only remaining disciple. He represents all of us--the Church. Jesus gives Mary to him and to us as mother and intercessor.