John 2:1-5 NASB95
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 said to Him, “They have no wine.” [4] And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” [5] His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
This is a fascinating story because obviously, Mary, through Christ, influenced the activity of God. Remember, it is recorded in the Gospel of John a number of times that Jesus said, “I do nothing on my own initiative.” As the Son of Man, Jesus only did those things he saw the Father doing, and therefore, even though Jesus told his mother that “His hour had not yet come,” the Father clearly said yes to Mary’s request.
I love the fact that it brings the Father pleasure for us to, through Christ, partner with sovereign God in “moving the pieces on the board” of human affairs. God uses our prayers because He loves for us to experience the joy of participating in all that He is and all that He does. It brings Him pleasure for us to experience such pleasure.
In trying to explain how Mary could influence Jesus to act “out of the season” or “off schedule, I’ve often heard teachers and preachers use this story to encourage us to cultivate intimacy with Christ. The reasoning is that because of Mary’s intimacy with Jesus, she had earned the right to move him to act “out of season,” or because of her intimacy, she had more of his heart and, therefore could influence him to act. I don’t believe this is what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us here. I do believe that through this story, the Holy Spirit is encouraging us to cultivate deep intimacy with Jesus, but not so that we can earn more favor or capture more of his heart. I believe because Mary was intimate, she knew his heart, and therefore believed that something as small (on the world scene) as a wedding Festival running out of wine was a BIG DEAL with God. Mary didn’t have any more of the heart of Christ than you do, for you have all of His heart. The cross is proof of that. What Mary did have was a better understanding of God’s ways, because of relationship, and therefore, she trusted in His goodness. For a Jewish bride-groom’s family to run out of wine at a festival there would be a great embarrassment and public humiliation. While not a world event, it meant the world to God, and having up close watched Jesus for many years reveal the nature of God, she had no question that Jesus would act. When Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come,” she just ignored him and told the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Spending time with Christ cultivating intimacy will not get you more favor with God but will allow you to discover ever deeper the God of favor.
