"Oh Wow!"

Jesus was reluctant to let the cat out of the bag… he was reluctant to make himself known as the Son of God before the time was right. But his mother brushed it aside and instructed the servants to do whatever Jesus instructed them to do.

So it was that Jesus sent the servants to bring the six stone jars used for Jewish ceremonial washings, had them fill each jar with water and then asked the servants to take a sample to the master of ceremonies.

It was an amazing moment when he tasted the wine. The master of ceremonies called the bridegroom over and said, “Wow! Usually the host brings out the good stuff early on in the celebration, then when everyone has had a lot to drink, then he puts out the cheap stuff. But you have saved the best until now.” John 2:3-10

So what was the big deal?

In our first church there were a lot of young couples our age. One Sunday Bonnie and I invited two couples and their children to come to our home for lunch. Bonnie had brought out the good China and the table was set for a feast. She had prepared a delicious pork chop dinner. We all sat around the table, I said grace and passed the platter of pork chops. When the platter reached one of the guys, kind of a burley young farmer, he took the platter and used his fork to slide six pork chops onto his plate.

Bonnie and I had never seen anything like that in our lives. We looked at each other not only in disbelief but terror. We were both in panic wondering, “What if we run out of pork chops before everyone is served?”

How often have you thought, “Better to prepare more than enough than to run out of food?” That’s what happened at the wedding celebration Jesus was attending.

In our culture we have a relatively short ceremony followed by a reception. It may simply be some mixed nuts, mints, cake, punch and coffee or it may be a sit down dinner. But it’s over by ten o’clock and we all go home.

In Jesus’ culture weddings went on for a week. I would guess that guests brought in food but the host was responsible to ante up for a good wedding celebration. The wine was supposed to last for the duration of the party. The running out of the wine was not supposed to signal the end of the party.

What Jesus did was an act of kindness for his mother and the bride and groom. Jesus’ life is typified by acts of kindness. Jesus liked people. Jesus enjoyed being with people. Jesus cared about people.

My guess is that those servants who had poured in the water and dipped out wine were thinking, “Oh wow! Oh wow! Oh wow!”

But there is more…

III. Jesus revealed, for the first time, his glory – making himself known

This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him. John 2:11

In the story, Phenomenon, George Malley is a small-town mechanic whose life changed dramatically after being knocked unconscious by a bright light from the sky. When he woke up he gradually began to see that he had new powers of perception and understanding. He became a voracious reader on a variety of subjects. He had become a genius.