Jesus begins his public ministry in a Gentile village–Cana in Galilee. There, Jesus, his disciples, and his mother find themselves at a wedding feast–a feast that has gone horribly wrong. They have run out of wine. To us this could seem like a minor problem, but in an honor/shame culture, not providing bountifully for your guests would bring great shame upon your house.
There is one guest, however, who is unlike the other guests. And here at this fateful wedding the Son of God begins his earthly ministry (John 2:1-12). We learn here that Jesus is Lord of Creation.
Somewhere on the property were six big, stone jars full of water. They were used for religious purification rites.
Have you ever been to an event where everything is just going wrong? Maybe you’ve been the manager or boss of such an event, or you’ve worked such an event. You’re running out of food, you’re running out of seats, the AC isn’t working, and so on. This puts you a bit on edge, right?
Now imagine that you are one of these servants Jesus interacts with at this wedding party. You know the guy in charge is getting really nervous because the guests are not happy and the family is going to be really mad at him for not providing adequately for the guests. He’s angry, you don’t know what to do, and things are spiraling out of control quickly.
One of the guests comes up to you and tells you to draw some water and take it to the guy in charge. You’ve just looked and the jars are full of water. Your boss is already angry, and you are about to send him into orbit by reminding him that the wine is gone.
But a lady who appeared to be this man’s mother gave you a pretty direct command: Do whatever he tells you to do.
So you go over to the jar. You cake a cup, you dunk it into the water, and sure enough, up comes wine.
The evening has been saved! You immediately run to the guy in charge. He takes a sip, and he can’t believe his taste buds. He calls the groom over, the guy who hired him, and says, “Bro – this stuff is amazing! Where has this been all evening?!” Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.
Friends, there was one at the party who even the atoms and molecules must obey. He existed before water and grapes. He CREATED the water and grapes!
He spoke and the universe came to be. You know how the Book starts… God said, “Let there be light! And there was light…” I love what Gardner Taylor says about this verse… “God said, LET, and before he could get to the next word, all that was NOT started straining to BECOME.”
Here, at the wedding in Cana, John says that Jesus manifested his glory. Which is to say that he showed the small group of people who knew what happened how utterly unique he is.
And John says his disciples responded how? By faith. They believed in him.
What does this sign point us to? To Jesus, Lord of glory, and Lord of all creation. At whose voice water becomes wine, stormy seas become still, and death gives way to life.
So what Jesus is Lord of Creation? What does that mean to me and my life? Everything. It means you can trust him. It means we hear the whispers from Mary to do whatever he says and we trust that the One who rules all things is working all things out for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.
Jesus is Lord of creation.