A MIRACLE TURNED A HOMETOWN UPSIDE DOWN
This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him. After the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few days with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples. John 2:11-12 NLT
Before Jesus performed his first miracle at the wedding in Cana, family and friends had only related to Him one way. But after the wedding feast, after drinking the finest wine that had been fashioned out of water, the dynamics changed. Worship, the ideal human response to seeing a miracle happen, was born. John says that this is the first time Jesus revealed His glory. To see that happen, in person, had huge effects on Jesus’ personal relationships.
Mary saw her Son turn 180 gallons of water into 180 gallons of wine. She knew He could do it. She had suggested it. But knowing someone can do something and seeing them do it are two different things. As she and the others went back to Capernaum, something new must have been born in her heart. A new kind of worship. Could her other grown children feel it? Undoubtedly. Was it alienating? Most likely. This wasn’t the first time they struggled with their Brother.
The siblings of Jesus experienced His perfection all throughout their childhood. Holiness certainly caused friction. As toddlers, they felt it, as Jesus was praised for His obedience. As teenagers, they felt it, as the sparks that His divinity caused intensified greatly. Whether they felt convicted, or jealous, His holiness was polarizing. When Jesus went back to Capernaum after His first miracle, His fame came back with Him. Whatever issues His brothers had with Him probably grew to giant-sized. Especially as they saw their mother look at the Son of God with worship in her eyes.
The disciples were changed because of the miracle. John says that they believed. They were stunned by what had happened. Their hearts were on fire but they were only in the honeymoon stage of their relationship with Jesus and couldn’t imagine how their love and loyalty would be tested in the days ahead. Loving Jesus hadn’t cost them anything yet. Their worship was immature. They were like the Israelites having just crossed the Red Sea. They were like those who first ate manna that came from heaven. But they hadn’t been in a boat with Jesus during the worst storm of their career only to wonder why He wasn’t doing anything. They hadn’t seen Him arrested yet, only to fight the disillusionment that broken dreams bring. They hadn’t faced the stigma of following someone who had grown unpopular, who was in fact, despised.
The miracle of Cana was wonderful but it also ushered in a period of great change. For any of us who have seen God’s glory, we can testify that it changes up things in our lives. Some for the good. Oh, but not always.
You are the Lord of Glory, the giver of Grace. To live as one stunned by Your glory, bathe me with grace for the after affects. You felt them first-hand and know. Amen
For more from Christine Wyrtzen and Jaime Wyrtzen Lauze, please visit www.daughtersofpromise.org
Originally published Monday, 30 October 2023.
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