That Does Not Make Sense

John 2:1 (NKJV)

(1) On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. (2) Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. (3) And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” (4) Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” (5) His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (6) Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. (7) Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. (8) And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. (9) When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. (10) And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now! (11) This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

It’s the beginning of a new year and I find it appropriate to look at the first miracle Jesus performed. A miracle, when looking at it initially, seems a bit perplexing. It would be easy to conclude from the verses that the first miracle Jesus did was to make “party drink?”

We don’t know why they ran out of wine. Was it poor party planning? Was there some kind of accident? Like an ox pulling a cart of wine that loses a wheel causing half of the wine to spill on the ground?

In any case, you might think that this lack of supplies at a wedding is unfortunate but not a catastrophe in the whole scheme of things. It doesn’t strike a person as a situation that needs a miracle. “So what? There will be just less to drink,” you might think. “Why would Jesus bother with such a petty problem? This does not make sense.”

However, the motivation for this miracle runs much deeper than this. It wasn’t about running out of wedding supplies, like driving a car and running out of gas. In the Middle East, there was an expectation or tradition that the guests were to be taken care of. The lack of hospitality to guests would bring shame to you.

Running out of wine at a wedding feast would have brought shame to the couple and it would have followed them all of their lives. Eventually, this shame would have followed their children as well. You might say that this shame would have become a curse. The marriage would be cursed before a day had passed.

Running out of wine at a wedding may not be the end of the world but a curse that passes to generations to come is a catastrophe.

Many people may think if you feel shame, “You will get over it. Don’t dwell on it and get on with your life. It will go away.” This kind of thinking is very naive. Shame is a highly destructive emotion that changes the course of a person’s life.

What makes a person a bully? The answer is shame. What does every person with an addiction struggle with? The answer is shame. What do emotional abusers use to have power over you? The answer is shame. The list goes on.

Jesus performed the miracle of changing water into wine to prevent a life long shame and curse on this newly married couple. That is no small thing.

It was an intervention of great magnitude.

To me this story is so fantastic on many levels because there is more to unveil. How about the miracle of how much wine Jesus made out of water? The whole subject of Jesus making wine is touchy because some people believe that Jesus did not make wine that contained alcohol and some do. I am not going to argue about alcohol content but I am going to compare the wine to what we understand wine to be today to illustrate some points.

Verse 6 says that there were six waterpots of stone that would hold 20 to 30 gallons apiece. That means a total of 120 to 180 gallons of wine Jesus created from water.

Today a standard bottle of wine is 750 milliliters. Twelve bottles or a case of wine would be a total of 9 liters or 2.378 gallons.

If Jesus made 180 gallons of wine, that would equal 681374.121 milliliters. Making a total of about 908 bottles of wine! A total of 75 cases of wine!

It makes one wonder how many people were at this wedding? Or maybe Jesus was trying to show that God blesses in great abundance? In verse 10 the bridegroom says that “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”

It was a lot of good wine but think of this Jesus created a miracle to keep the couple from shame and in the process probably made their wedding the most memorable to the guests because the best wine was served last. Instead of people remembering that their wedding ran out of wine they now remember their wedding for the best wine. They were probably now famous for their hospitality!

Think of the value of that wine. I did some research and found the best wine to purchase in Israel today is from Golan Heights and it is a Cabernet Sauvignon. In American dollars it is $226.07 a bottle.

Today, 908 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon wine would cost $205,271.56. Even if I were to translate the money value to the time of Jesus it would still be expensive. I think that this helps put into perspective the monetary value of the miracle Jesus performed.

In Israel there are about 200 varieties of table grapes but only about 20 of those can be made into drinkable wine. I would say wine is also considered a precious commodity.

What I appreciate about this miracle is that it was a miracle on many levels. It was a mental health intervention for the couple and family, it was provision of the greatest quality, it was provision of the greatest quantity, and perhaps the greatest monetary value. I am certain that if we could see what God saw we might see that the disciples may have received a miracle and the master of the feast may have received a miracle. We don’t know the extent of how this miracle may have changed the lives of everyone that was a part of this wedding celebration.

And before it was His time, God bent His own rules because of His great love for His people. They had a need and Jesus did not abandon them.

This story makes me think of my own healing shame experience. It happened about 7 years ago.

I have a very large portrait in our living room of me. It is a computer painting. The photographer has special software to create images that look like paintings. At the time of having the sitting for the picture I asked about the cost of such a portrait and my eyes just about fell out when the photographer told me the cost. I started to hear the Lord tell me to buy this portrait. I argued with the Lord because this did not seem logical or practical on many levels. “This does not make sense!” It seemed rather foolish. After constant nudging from the Lord I finally agreed to buy the portrait.

When I went to pick up the portrait the photographer took me into another room where the portrait sat and I stood speechless. Soon the tears began to well up in my eyes because I knew in that instant that this is how God saw me. For a good part of my life I had been listening to people who told me what an ugly, fat, stupid, waste of space, nerd, weirdo, dumb, doorknob, geek and freak that I was. These are the PG words. Often I was called these names with some other colorful words attached.

For the first time in my life I saw myself poised and beautiful. God wanted me to see myself the way He does. What a gift!

It is a funny thing because now people come into our home and see the portrait and go right to it. They stand in awe and tell me how beautiful, how gorgeous, how elegant, and how poised I am. It is the opposite message of all those negative voices that spoke to me all those years.

The portrait cost a lot of money but God showing me how He sees me is priceless! How do you put a price on that? It has brought healing to my shame. What makes it even more priceless to me is that God cared enough to want me to receive this gift. If I wouldn’t have bought the portrait I wouldn’t have received the gift. I had to get past my logical and practical thinking. I also had to get past my fear that others would think that I have poor financial judgement. And If someone does I am not going to worry about it. It is my healing and not theirs.

Everyday I see this portrait and I am reminded of how He sees me and in the end, that is the most important thing.

Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

If you are in need of a healing in your life, God may go about it in a way that seems unconventional. Is your heart open to receive how He might bring it? Mary, mother of Jesus, was. She told the servants “Whatever He says to you, do it.” She didn’t have an expectation of how Jesus was going to fix this problem. She was open to receive, however He was going to make it happen. In fact, it seems she left to go back to the wedding celebration; she left the whole matter to Jesus. God would do it for her. That is faith.

The Lord might require you to do something that doesn’t make sense. Are you prepared to do it to receive it? You might have to look foolish to people. Are you prepared to do it no matter how you look? It might require that you make some kind of sacrifice such as something you own, or your time? Are you prepared to give of it?

I believe the first step to receiving the miracle is to know what you are willing to do. You need to resolve in your heart what are you prepared to do in order to get your blessing. When Jesus knows your resolve then you have taken the limitations off of how He can manifest in your life.

In all your new year resolutions, make a resolve in your heart with Jesus. It will change your life.

In His Service,

George and Lorraine Halama

All contributions are tax deductible

Photo designed and taken by Lorraine