8
Easter Matters
this was an expensive wine, much finer than our friends might have ever purchased. So there we sat under the stars enjoying our simple home-cooked meal paired with one of the finest wines we’d ever enjoyed. Feeling grateful, we made a special toast to one another and the unexpected gift. As we embark on our journey through the Gospel of John, we begin with a similar story, a story about Jesus’s first miracle on earth. On this day, Jesus, His family, and His disciples attended a wedding feast where the wine ran out before the celebration ended. When Jesus’s mother made Him aware of this problem, He told the servants to fill six stone jars—used for the Jewish rites of purification—with water. He then told them to draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. The master, who had no idea Jesus was involved, immediately commented on the high quality of the wine. Jesus had not only turned water into wine but had also turned it into the finest of wine. We read that this sign, this unexpected gift, this first miracle, “manifested his glory” (v. 11). It would not be long before the people would realize that Jesus often turned religious customs upside down. Here we see Jesus filling plain water jars with fine wine. Maybe Jesus wanted to make the point that a person’s outer appearance is not always indicative of what’s inside. Maybe He wanted to encourage us to focus on our hearts and minds first, rather than our actions. We sometimes try to perform for or impress others with charitable or religious activities, but maybe He is saying, “Just come and be with Me and enjoy all that I have to offer.” Isaiah 55:1 says, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
