Day 2: Jesus' Merlot Method
Examining the methods of Jesus is the next step in our workbook. After being given many verses to refer to, reflection over how Jesus went about being Himself was the order of the day.
Being raised in bible believing churches I've heard many different perspectives and ideas about scripture. I've heard many preachers raise a question that has stirred my heart, changed my viewpoint, and deepen my understanding of the bible. This being said, Spader raises a question about Jesus' motives that, while I have heard a take on, stumps me.
As one of the scriptures Spader directs us to, he asks why Jesus chose to do His first miracle at a wedding (John 2:1-3).
A perspective that I have heard before is that Mary, his mother, pretty much forced his hand when she told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do, inferring that he would fix the problem. Running out of wine at a wedding in this context was a huge embarrassment and social faux pax to be avoided at all costs, or so I'm told.
However, the fact that Spader asks us to reflect over this causes me to question that perspective... Jesus is JESUS, and He doesn't have to do what a human tells Him to do EVER, even if it is His mom. He must have decided that this was the right time for all of history to read about His first miracle...
But why a wedding and why with wine? My thoughts were akin to...
"Ok, what does a wedding symbolize in scripture? A union between a man and woman, which is an earthly symbol of the marriage of Jesus (the bridegroom) and the His Church (the bride). This must have something to do with why He chose this setting for his first miracle. But why did the miracle have to be with wine??
Ok, what does wine symbolize in the Bible? Ok, google biblical wine references.
Welp, that is no help at all. Half of the references are about people who over-indulge and are selfish gluttons, and the other half uses "new wine" as a symbol of prosperity and blessing from God. I guess that barring overindulgence, wine is a good gift of God.
Ok, define wine for a second. It is a pleasure that can be had on earth. As with all earthly pleasures, it should experienced in moderation lest it become an idol. God is the creator of all pleasures, and is always to be placed above His creation. In this wedding, they had run out of a pleasure, and Jesus had refilled the pleasure.
Maybe making more wine (much more actually, as this site supposed 2 modern day pallets worth) at an event that is the representation of His eternal marriage with the church is a message to believers that in Heaven, we will never run out of figurative wine?"
What do you think, reader? Regardless of the accuracy of my concluding thought, it's still a nice one. Why did Jesus choose a wedding, and why did he choose wine? He surely chose them with an intention, even if prompted by the goading of Mary.
Let me know your thoughts! Thanks!