Days With Jesus
Day 4 God Goes to a Party!
John 2:1-12

Jesus attends a MARRIAGE
A wedding is one of the biggest societal celebrations and one of the greatest moments in a person’s life. A first-century Jewish wedding could last a week, and to be invited was an honor. Jesus was probably a relative of the bride or groom and arrives with his disciples as a relationship-building activity. Give high value relationships high value priority! Jesus showed his approval of marriage by participating in this celebration, where he drank wine and danced. While never approving of drunkenness, addiction, or inappropriate behavior, Jesus wasn’t afraid to celebrate God-glorifying moments either (Prov. 23:29-35; Rom. 13:13; Eph. 5:18)! This wedding parallels the first wedding which God oversaw in the Garden of Eden. Marriage may be celebrated differently by cultures, but it was crafted by a singular Creator (Gen. 2:21-25; Mark 10:5-9)! By attending this wedding and many Jewish festivals, Jesus often invested in moments of joyful celebration as a foundation for living. People enjoyed being around Jesus because he was enjoyable to be around! Christians should have a reputation for being joy-creators not joy-killers (Ps. 100:1-5; Rom. 12:15; Phil. 4:4)!

Jesus creates a MIRACLE
It was the groom’s responsibility to provide for the festivities including the food and drink. Since the beginning of time, wine has been associated with celebrations and was a vital part of weddings. To run out was not only embarrassing and insulting to the guests, but the groom and family could be sued for not holding up their end of the wedding agreement. Relational and cultural difficulties are often given by God to test where we seek a solution. Possibly because more people came than expected, they planned poorly, or didn’t have the finances, they run out of wine early. As Mary may have been a relative helping at the wedding—and Joseph may have been dead by this time—she asks her oldest son for a solution. When in crisis, seek Christ! While not being manipulated by his mother, Jesus has six large stone jars—holding 25-30 gallons each—used for ceremonial cleansing, filled with water, which he turns into 150 gallons of the best wine on earth! This was done to save a family embarrassment, celebrate with friends, honor marriage, and prove his divine credentials to his disciples. Jesus can make the mundane miraculous!