From Water to Wine

The first miracle of Jesus as recorded in Scripture, was at a wedding in Cana of Galilee: "On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee" (John 2:1a). We are told simply that "the Mother of Jesus was there" (v. 1b). The text also adds that "both Jesus and His disciples (just five so far) were invited to the wedding" (v. 2). It would appear that the bride or the groom was either related to Mary or a friend of hers, as she was in charge of the kitchen staff, bringing food and wine to all the guests (vv. 3ff).

They ran out of wine; shear disaster at an event of this magnitude! Mary came to Jesus and said simply, "They have no wine" (v. 3). Jesus responded bluntly, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come" (v. 4). That seems a little harsh at first glance, especially considering He is speaking to His mother, but what Jesus was telling her is that it was not yet time to reveal Himself to the masses.

His mother turned to the servants and said, "Whatever He says to you, do it" (v. 5). Great advice! When you are walking with Jesus and hearing His call, and His still small voice speaks to your heart and mind, do it. Whatever it is, do as Jesus directs you. Don't hesitate. Just say, "Yes, Lord," and follow everything He asked of you.

"Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece" (v. 6). Note two things here: (1) These waterpots were certainly clean because they were used for holding the water used in purification ceremonies. In certain situations of life, the Law of Moses required the Jews to perform a ceremony of purification to make them clean again. The water used for this was held in these waterpots.

(2) These waterpots were made "of stone" (v. 6a). Stone does not absorb the liquid they contain. It does not absorb the taste of any liquid, thus ensuring that there could be no mistake concerning what was contained in these six large waterpots. Water in; Wine out! No mistaking that by these servants "who had drawn the water" (v. 9b). They knew the truth!

"Jesus said to them, 'Fill the waterpots with water.' And they filled them up to the brim" (v. 7). When Jesus reveals what He wants you to do, fill it up to the brim! Pour yourself completely into whatever He asks of you. Never do things just partway when it comes to serving the Lord Jesus.

"And He said to them, 'Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.' And they took it" (v. 8). Again, the servants immediately did what Jesus directed them to do. No hesitation. Immediate action should be taken by us as well.

"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. 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!'" (vv. 9-10).

It was the best wine, the finest wine, that Jesus made from water. He does nothing partway. His work is the best. But take note, with this first miracle, He did not reveal who He was to the masses. Only He, His five disciples who were there, Mary, and the servants knew. No one else! His time had "not yet come" (v. 4b).

"This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him" (v. 11). The purpose was accomplished. He revealed Himself to just a few. The masses didn't know what happened. His disciples did know, and they "believed in Him" (v. 11b). Their faith was growing. Believe in Jesus and watch Him grow your faith. Amen.

The Miracle at Nain

Jesus and His disciples left Capernaum and began to make their way toward Jerusalem. Look at Luke 7:11. "Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd."

Jesus had just healed the servant of a centurion at Capernaum (vv. 1-10), and now He is about to step up His game. He and His disciples, followed by a large crowd of curious onlookers, came to the "city called Nain" (v. 11a). "And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her" (v. 12).

Nain is a small city, "a village," might better describe this town. It is one of those small towns where everyone knows nearly everyone. So a large number of people, "a large crowd... was with her" (v. 12b). Nearly all came to the funeral of this beloved widow's son. So crowd meets crowd, greatly multiplying the number of people who witnessed this miracle first hand.

"When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, 'Do not weep'" (v. 13). Jesus felt a sincere concern for this widow because of her great misfortune and suffering. As a widow in that society and at that time, she already had little to no means of earning a living, but now her only provider, her only son, had died and was being carried out of the city to the cemetery to be buried.

Then Jesus "came and touched the open coffin" (v. 14a). In that day, this was the final opportunity to view the body for closure to the loss of this young man. But Jesus touched the coffin, "and those who carried him stood still"(v. 14b). Then Jesus spoke to the young man who had died, saying, "Young man, I say to you, arise" (v. 14c).

And what happened? There are too many witnesses for this to be denied. "He who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother" (v. 15). Jesus raised this young man from the dead! He restored him to life and restored him to his mother, so that he could again provide for her needs.

"Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, 'A great prophet has risen up among us'; and, 'God has visited His people'" (v. 16). Verse 17 concludes, "And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region." Rightly so. It was true. God had visited His people in His Son Jesus Christ. Trust Jesus. Follow Jesus. Jesus meets needs; your needs! He will even perform a miracle, if need be, to take care of you! Amen.

Were There Not Ten?

Luke 17:11-19 tells a fascinating story about ten lepers. "Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off" (vv. 11-12). We last saw Jesus in Capernaum on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee where His ministry was headquartered out of the home of Peter. It was there that He healed a man who had leprosy.

Because of the common belief of that day that leprosy was extremely contagious, all who suffered from the disease were housed in separate villages of their own. Not only did they live apart from society, but if they went anywhere and came across people, they covered their face with their cloak, crying out, "Unclean, unclean." But that is not what happened here.

Instead, the scripture says, "And they lifted up their voices and said, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!'" (v. 13). They likely covered their faces with their cloaks, but they did not holler out, "Unclean, unclean." They knew who Jesus was, or at least, they knew He had the power of God to heal. So their approach was to call out to Him, "Jesus, Master, have mercy in us!" (v. 13).

"When He saw them," Jesus responded, "Go, show yourselves to the priests" (v. 14a). An interesting response indeed! He saw their faith, their strong belief that Jesus could heal, and He told them simply to fulfill the Law of Moses by going to the priests. Leviticus 14:1-32 gives the requirements of the law to be fulfilled by anyone healed of leprosy, but the interesting thing is that they are required first of all to have been healed already. These men left Jesus and headed to see the priests before being healed. However, "as they went" in faith, "they were cleansed" (Luke 17:14b).

"And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks" (vv. 15-16a). And it is noted that "he was a Samaritan" (v. 16b). When Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, they took some of the Jews to other conquered lands and brought other conquered peoples to northern Israel and settled them there. That resulted in intermarriage between these Jews and the foreign peoples, creating a mixed race known as the Samaritans. Because they are not full-blooded, the Jews despised them.

Note how this man not only returned to thank Jesus for his healing, but he came giving God the glory "with a loud voice" (v. 15b). He wasn't ashamed of his faith. He wanted all to know what Jesus had done for him. And he laid prostrate before Jesus, both giving thanks for his healing and worshiping Him. That is how we all should respond when our prayers are answered.

Note here that Jesus paid close attention to what had just happened. He was grateful for the one who returned to thank Him, but He noted, "Were there not ten?" (v. 17a). "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" (vv. 17-18). Ninety percent of those who were cleansed went their own way and did not follow the Lord Jesus. Ninety percent!

Only one in ten truly reinforced his faith in Jesus by returning to Him and following Him. And to that one, Jesus said, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well" (v. 19). Oh, to live for Jesus! That is the way we all should go. Amen.

Got to Tell Somebody

There are many twists and turns in this short story about Jesus healing a man from leprosy. The story is found in Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45, and Luke 5:12-14. Let's pick up the story in Mark: "Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, 'If You are willing, You can make me clean'" (v. 40).

A man who was suffering from leprosy came to Jesus, took a knee and bowed down before Him to honor and perhaps even worship Him. Yes, to worship Jesus. It would appear that this unnamed man had at least some understanding of who Jesus is. He had some measure of faith, however small that faith may be. This is revealed in the man's statement: "If You are willing, You can make me clean" (v. 40b). He at least knew that Jesus, and Jesus alone, possessed the power to heal him.

Jesus recognizes even a little faith and He encourages that faith to grow. "Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I am willing; be cleansed'" (v. 41). Jesus didn't hesitate. He reached out and touched this man. He laid His hands on him and healed him. People would have gasped because of the fear of this disease.

Actually, Leprosy is a long-term infection which, if left untreated, can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. The nerve damage can cause an inability to feel pain, resulting in loss of a person's extremities through repeated injuries or unnoticed wounds. Though it spreads between people, extensive contact is necessary. Of people who contract the bacteria, 95% do not develop the disease (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia).

"As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed" (v. 42). In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, this man was cleansed! He was healed! Such is the power of Jesus. He has such compassion. But Jesus "strictly warned him and sent him away at once" (v. 43). What is this about?

Jesus said, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them" (v. 44). Jesus knew that the people would want to make Him king, but it wasn't His time yet. So He sent him away quickly to present himself to the priest to fulfill what was commanded and make the necessary offerings. He was to let that be his "testimony to them" (v. 44b).

"However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction" (v. 45). I can just imagine that this man tried the best he could to keep quiet, but it didn't work. As he tries to keep quiet he kept thinking, "Got to tell somebody." "Got to tell somebody." "I got to tell somebody!" And so he did.

How about you? Do you feel the same? Do you have to tell somebody about what Jesus means to you? Well, now we can feel free to spread the good news of Jesus. Go and tell somebody about Jesus. Amen.

What a Word This Is!

Luke 4:31 begins, "Then He (Jesus) went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths." Capernaum, just off the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, was the home of Peter, as well as the other fishermen, such as John and James. It was the headquarters of Jesus' ministry. "Sabbaths" (v. 31b), being plural, indicates that He had spent some time there, at least a few weeks, teaching the people in the synagogue. As He taught them we are told, "And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority" (v. 32).

Luke continues, "Now in the synagogue there was a certain man who had a spirit of an unclean demon" (v. 33a). The demon spoke with the voice of this man, "And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!'" (vv. 33b-34). Note here that the demon refers to himself as "us," "we," and "us" again (v. 34). So it would appear that there were multiple demons possessing this man.

Jesus responded with the voice of authority and "rebuked him, saying, 'Be quiet, come out of him!' And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him" (v. 35). Mark clarifies, "And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him" (Mark 1:26).

Everyone was astonished! "Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, 'What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out'" (Luke 4:36). Mark adds, "What new doctrine is this?" (Mark 1:27). "Doctrine" (v. 27) refers to "teaching," so it could be translated, "What new teaching is this?" What Jesus did in casting out these demons was new to the people in the synagogue. They had never seen anything like this before.

The authority with which Jesus acted gave further proof to the people that He was none other than the Son of God, our Savior and Lord. Luke closes, "And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region" (Luke 4:37). Mark says, "And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee" (Mark 1:28). With this show of authority and power, it was no wonder that His fame spread everywhere. He is the One we must believe in and trust by faith. Amen.

The Endless Buffet

What a day it was; a day no one would ever forget. Jesus, assisted by His twelve disciples, offered up the first buffet, an endless buffet. Bread and fish for everyone! All you can eat! And it was no small crowd: "A great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased" (John 6:2). They followed Jesus because of all the healing and miracles He performed. Why not follow Him wherever He went?

"Jesus went up on the mountain" and "sat with His disciples" (v. 3). We are then told that "the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near" (v. 4). Why this comment? It seems to come out of nowhere. But it makes sense to mention this here for two reasons: (1) it helps explain the great numbers of people that had gathered because most were headed for Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover; and (2) these people were anticipating a great feast, and so a great feast Jesus gave them.

"Seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, 'Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?'" (v. 5). He was testing Philip "for He Himself knew what He would do" (v. 6). Philip responded and pointed out, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little" (v. 7).

The answer came quickly. "One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, 'There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?'" (vv. 8-9). It didn't seem to be an answer at all. The lunch of one boy, a boy who planned ahead albeit, to feed thousands of people! Hardly. But for Jesus it was simple.

Jesus told His disciples, "Make the people sit down" (v. 10a). It is noted, "Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand" (v. 10b). In that society only the men would be numbered. Add in wives and children, and you probably have at least fifteen thousand people being fed by Jesus.

"And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted" (v. 11). All you can eat! And there were leftovers: "So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, 'Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost'" (v. 12). And when all was said and done, "they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten" (v. 13).

Jesus meets our needs, whatever those may be. Not only does He heal various diseases and cast out demons, but He also feeds the hungry. A very timely message with food becoming so costly. Note what the people concluded about Jesus: "Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, 'This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world'" (v. 14). He is the Son of God; He is the Creator God who loves you, watches over you, and cares for you, meeting your every need. Trust Him. Amen.

The Nobleman's Son

Jesus "came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine" (John 4:46a). We are told that this is "the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee" (v. 54). So the first two miracles of Jesus as recorded in Scripture were both done in Cana of Galilee. The first, of course, being at the wedding reception when He turned water into wine. The second now is the healing of the nobleman's son. Let's pick up the story from here.

We are told "there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum" (v. 46b). "Nobleman" in New Testament Greek referred to hereditary rank or to certain dignitaries. Literally, it refers to "an officer of the king's court" (studylight.org/commentary/john/4-46.html), or an officer serving in the court of Herod Antipas.

This man's son was sick and they feared he would soon die. So this nobleman sought out Jesus because of His reputation for healing the sick and making them well. He was right to come looking for Jesus because He was the only one who could help the boy.

He came to Jesus and "implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death" (v. 47). But Jesus replied, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe" (v. 48). Jesus responded in this manner because so many people just wanted a show to entertain them, nothing more, like Herod (Luke 23:8).

The nobleman passionately replied, "Sir, come down before my child dies!" (v. 49). Seeing the passionate concern for his son and understanding that this man wanted no entertainment, but only His help, Jesus told the man, "Go your way; your son lives" (v. 50a).

Jesus honored what little faith he had and healed his son. But "the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way" (v. 50b). He believed Jesus at His word! His faith was growing! On his way, "his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!" (v. 51).

What joy filled this man's heart! He could only respond one way. His faith grew several times that day. "Then he inquired of them the hour that he got better. And they said to him, 'Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.' So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, 'Your son lives.' And he himself believed, and his whole household" (vv. 52-53).

What joy filled that household! This great miracle of Jesus convinced this man and his entire household, servants and all, to believe in Jesus. He is indeed the Christ, the Savior in whom we must put our faith. Follow the footsteps of this nobleman and his family. Trust in Jesus, that is all! Amen.