9. A Sign of Service
The story of the first miracle of Jesus as it is told in the Gospel of John is a fascinating one. John tells us that the changing of water into wine at a wedding in Galilee (John 2:1-11) was the first of the signs through which the identity of Jesus was revealed (vs. 11). But John's account shows that this was more than simply one of a number of miraculous signs Jesus would perform in his ministry.
The information John gives us indicates that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was helping relatives or friends with the work of the wedding feast (she is mentioned separately from Jesus and his disciples who were invited to the wedding), and that as a result Mary knew when the hosts had run out of wine. This is when Mary asked for Jesus' help:
When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." … and said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you" (John 2:3, 5). The fact that Mary could command the household servants shows that she was not just a guest, but involved in the organization of the wedding feast. John's account continues by telling us that Jesus had the servants fill large jars of water and that the water was then miraculously turned into wine. We might think that a wedding feast with a great many people present was a good setting for the first miraculous sign given by Jesus, but his own words make it clear that this was not his plan. When asked to help with the situation Jesus exclaimed "Woman, why do you involve me? … My hour has not yet come" (vs. 4). Jesus' reply makes it clear that this was not a planned miracle – it was not a thought-out and prepared-for sign – and as such we must consider it separately from many of the miraculous signs Jesus was to give later.
In complying with his mother's request for his help, Jesus was able to use the power at his disposal as a sign of his true identity, but we must not lose sight of the fact that he complied not out of any urgent need to identify himself, to save someone's life, or to help someone in great distress – the usual reasons for his miracles. He helped simply because he was asked. Jesus used the miracle as a sign, but it was not given as a sign – rather it was given as an act of service. It was a sign of service. When Serving Comes First There is certainly a lesson in this for us. Jesus' response at the wedding in Cana teaches us that if we are to follow him successfully, we must learn to think as he did – to think outside of what we might call the "service box." We know there are many different kinds of Christian service, as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12:5. Recognizing this, it is common for people to think of themselves as being servants in a particular context – usually where we feel our gifts are. (One need only look at a few Christian Twitter profiles to see this mindset of "serves in this organization" or "serves at that church"). But the first miracle of Jesus showed that we must always be willing to accept the need for service wherever we may find it – even if it might seem to conflict with our preconceived ideas of what our personal calling is.
We should notice that in this situation Jesus did not politely decline by saying "I was sent to preach" or "I have come to save those who are lost" (which he did stress on other occasions, as we will see), but simply that his time for miraculous deeds had not yet arrived (vs. 4). Even so, Jesus allowed himself to comply with his mother's request because the request had been made. His first miracle teaches us that we must never look at our personal Christian service as being only an expression of the gifts we were given. The New Testament clearly shows that while our gifts are preassigned, our opportunities for service are not!