The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Behind the Scenes" for Tuesday, 8 November 2016 with Scripture: John 2:1-11

The Upper Room Daily Devotionals in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Behind the Scenes" for Tuesday, 8 November 2016 with Scripture: John 2:1 On Tuesday[John 2:1 Greek: the third day, equivalent to Hebrew yom shlishi] there was a wedding at Kanah in the Galil; and the mother of Yeshua was there. 2 Yeshua too was invited to the wedding, along with his talmidim. 3 The wine ran out, and Yeshua’s mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 Yeshua replied, “Mother, why should that concern me? — or you? My time hasn’t come yet.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now six stone water-jars were standing there for the Jewish ceremonial washings, each with a capacity of twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Yeshua told them, “Fill the jars with water,” and they filled them to the brim. 8 He said, “Now draw some out, and take it to the man in charge of the banquet”; and they took it. 9 The man in charge tasted the water; it had now turned into wine! He did not know where it had come from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. So he called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone else serves the good wine first and the poorer wine after people have drunk freely. But you have kept the good wine until now!” 11 This, the first of Yeshua’s miraculous signs, he did at Kanah in the Galil; he manifested his glory, and his talmidim came to trust in him.
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[Jesus’] mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”[John 2:5 (NIV)]
I love weddings. I am sometimes asked to arrange the flowers or make bouquets for the event, so I am often one of the many busy people behind the scenes. People work hard to prepare for weddings, so I often wonder what went wrong at the wedding in Cana. How could they have run out of wine? Had someone miscalculated how much would be needed? Had more guests than expected attended? Had the wedding feast lasted longer than planned? We don’t know the reasons; but whatever they were, Jesus’ mother trusted him to solve the problem. It is good that her instructions to the servants were so insistent because Jesus’ request was very strange. Imagine their surprise when what came from the jars had mysteriously become wine.
Jesus solved the problem that no one else at the wedding could. When we encounter difficult problems in our lives or the lives of others, we would love a solution. As Christians, we know asking Jesus for help is the best way to fix our problems. Like Mary, we can trust that Jesus will guide us to do what is right, even if it seems strange or illogical. Jesus’ solutions will be better than ours.
The Author: Fiona Massie (Oxfordshire, England)
Thought for the Day: When I serve others, I can witness God’s miracles.
Prayer: Dear Lord, give us hearts to serve others, eyes to see when you are performing miracles, and a desire to behave as kindly as you do. Amen.
Prayer focus: NEWLYWEDS

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