“Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the water jars with water.”
So they filled them up to the very top. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,” and they did.
When the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper wine when the guests are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!” —John 2:6-10
How like Jesus to choose the jars which held the water used for the ritual and spiritual purifications as the receptacle of His first miracle–turning water into wine–between 120 and 180 gallons of wine to be a bit more specific. Indeed, nothing in Scripture is random. The servants simply were told to fill the jars with water–and fill them to the brim they did! Jesus Christ is in the business of giving abundantly out of His glorious storehouse, and His desire is for us to be prepared by faith to receive His fullness–no half jars of water would do! The psalmist states: “I am the Lord, your God, the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it!” —Psalm 81:10.
Paul also encourages us with these words:
“Now to him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” —Ephesians 3:20-21
No uncertainty, with complete confidence, Jesus calmly goes about His first miracle. All done in quietness–without any ceremony, pomp or splendor; without any gawking spectators or fanfare, the miracle was performed suddenly with great dignity and magnanimity. He wills the thing and then proceeds to work it without a word.
This confidence reminds me of the confidence He exuded when He stooped to wash His disciples’ feet:
“Because Jesus knew that the Father had handed all things over to him, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, he got up from the meal, removed his outer clothes, took a towel and tied it around himself. He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself.” —John 13:3-5.
Jesus was well aware of His sovereign authority, His origin, and His coming destiny, yet He begins to wash the feet of His disciples, taking the very nature of a servant upon Him. While all things are certainly not under our human power, as believers, we know where we come from and where we are going and that we carry, through the blood of Jesus, the high rank of children of the King. Having this confidence in Him, equipped with the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to serve freely as well–no service beneath us. We should no longer be wallowing in insecurity, desperately desirous of our works to be in the limelight, constantly drawing attention to ourselves and craving affirmation to stroke our pride. We can work in quiet confidence, even producing our fruit anonymously, living out our lives for an audience of One. Nothing goes without His notice, nothing!
“And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.” —Hebrews 4:13
Take It to Heart
What Jesus provides pales the world’s provisions. Nothing we are offered here satisfies or compares to what He holds out for His children. Just as the master of the banquet remarked on the miraculous choice wine, the products of miracles will always be the best of their kind. King David encourages us to:
“Taste and see that the Lord is good! How blessed is the one who takes shelter in him!” —Psalm 34:8.
Further Reflections
“There are joys that are unearthly in their power and in their sweetness.” —Amy Carmichael
“Christ does great things and marvelous without noise, works manifest changes in a hidden way, without any hesitation or uncertainty in his own breast. With greatest assurance imaginable, though it was his first miracle, he recommends it to the master of the feast first. As he knew what he would do, so he knew what he could do. All was good, very good, even in the beginning.” —Matthew Henry
“I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” —John 10:10
“Certainly the Lord watches the whole earth carefully and is ready to strengthen those who are devoted to him.” —2 Chronicles 16:9