An Insignificant Miracle: John 2:1-12 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure

Focus Passage: John 2:1-12 (NASB)

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 *This word is present tense in the Greek, but it has been translated as past tense to conform to modern usage.said to Him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus *This word is present tense in the Greek, but it has been translated as past tense to conform to modern usage.said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother *This word is present tense in the Greek, but it has been translated as past tense to conform to modern usage.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 *This word is present tense in the Greek, but it has been translated as past tense to conform to modern usage.said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ And He *This word is present tense in the Greek, but it has been translated as past tense to conform to modern usage.said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the *Or stewardheadwaiter.” 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 *This word is present tense in the Greek, but it has been translated as past tense to conform to modern usage.called the bridegroom, ¹⁰ and *This word is present tense in the Greek, but it has been translated as past tense to conform to modern usage.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.

¹² After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.

Read John 2:1-12 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

In one of the most unusual miracles Jesus ever performed, when reading about how it happened, it almost seemed like Jesus really didn’t want to do it. This miracle is only recorded in John’s gospel, and very little is known about what happened outside of what John chose to include in his gospel. I’m not sure we even know who was getting married, but what we do know is that this marriage ceremony ran into a serious problem.

Well, in retrospect, the problem probably wasn’t that serious. If it were a life or death situation, then it’s unlikely Jesus would have been called in to help. This event happened before Jesus had done any miracles and there was no fame, glory, or even a track record to lean on.

Just because Jesus hadn’t performed any miracles didn’t stop Mary, Jesus’ mother, from bringing this problem to Him. John tells us the problem and what Mary did: “When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine.’” (v. 3)

And Jesus doesn’t really help the situation with His response: “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” (v. 4)

If we take this problem and place it next to the huge problems in the world, it looks incredibly petty. If we place this problem next to Jesus’ big mission for His life, this problem looks insignificant. Outside of a handful of people, this event running out of wine would be forgotten at most months or a few years after the event had happened, and even bringing it up weeks later would be for more humorous purposes. In comparison, Jesus’ mission has eternal significance, and one misstep could cause the entire plan of salvation to fail.

However, Mary is not discouraged. She tells the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (v. 5)

In Mary’s actions we see an incredible witness. Jesus may have not intended to perform a miracle here, but Mary pushes Jesus’ hand and she has faith in His ability to get them out of this socially awkward situation. Mary may not have expected a miracle. She may have simply know Jesus to be very intelligent and capable of solving unsolvable problems. In an odd sort of way, Mary’s request is a precursor to the tricks and traps of the Pharisees and religious leaders. It’s an unsolvable problem for those who don’t have merchant friends after the sun has set and the shops are closed.

But Jesus bends His plans to help this situation. While He may have been saving the first miracle to be a significant one on a bigger scale than this, what ultimately happens with this miracle is that Jesus shares a different and fascinating picture of God’s character. In this miracle, Jesus demonstrates God’s love for us when facing struggles, problems, and difficult situations, and He wants to help us where we are.

Jesus’ first miracle helped an unknown host with a socially awkward problem that seemed huge in the moment but was ultimately insignificant in the big picture. This says that when we face huge challenges in our own lives, God is willing to step in and help out when we ask. We might not think our problem is in His desire to solve, but Jesus is more interested in helping us, the individual, than on the details of the problem.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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