Blind Faith: 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!

Sometimes, when reading the gospels, I challenge myself to look for examples of faith. Sometimes seeing faith is easy, and it is really easy when the gospel writers come right out and say it. However, other times, we must look at the details of the event to see faith present. When looking at the miracle at the wedding in Cana, we see some of the greatest faith demonstrated in the whole gospel record.

Firstly, Mary has faith that Jesus can solve the problem. It is unlikely that she knows how He will do it, but even after Jesus sidesteps the request, Mary clearly tells the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (v. 5)

Mary’s statement is pretty bold, and it shows that she had faith in His ability to solve the problem.

But when I look at this event, the greatest amount of faith is demonstrated by the servants. After Mary has spoken her instructions and has left, Jesus tells the servants, “Fill the waterpots with water.” (v. 7a)

The servants do as instructed. They filled the waterpots up to the top with water. Then they return to Jesus having completed step one, but what Jesus says next must have shocked them. Jesus tells them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” (v. 8a)

When they came to Jesus for step number two in the wine making process, He simply says that all the steps have been completed and it’s time for a taste test. The servants obey, and I wonder if while delivering the liquid drink to the headwaiter, they hoped he had gotten a little tipsy himself and wouldn’t get mad at their practical joke of serving him water. Maybe they believed something would happen, but they didn’t have a clue what.

Also, I wonder if the water-turned-into-wine miracle details happened before the servants poured the water-wine into the cup, or if it was immediately visible when they had filled up the waterpots. I wonder if God sent an angel to spike the well water and everyone who visited the well that night got a little buzz, even though the thought is quite ridiculous to think about.

I am inclined to think that the liquid poured into the cup looked like water but tasted like wine. The servants and bridegroom are commended for saving the best wine until last, but only the servants really understood what had happened.

Jesus, His disciples, and the servants were the only people who knew that what was being praised as the best wine had really started out as water only minutes before. With Jesus’ first miracle, the lowest people present were the ones on the inside, and this would be the start of Jesus’ miracles that focused on helping individual people, regardless of rank, popularity, or status. The passage concludes with John telling us that following this miracle, “[Jesus’] disciples believed in Him.” (v. 11)

This miracle teaches me that Jesus values sharing Himself with those at the bottom of the ladder and serving those at the bottom over the typical approach of serving those on top. Jesus knows that belief is a very individual thing, and He wants to emphasize that God values all of us regardless of where we are in the social hierarchy that society has created.

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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