It Ain't a Party Till Jesus Shows Up!

When my wife Jessie and I got married almost 17 years ago, we did it on the cheap.  She was in the middle of graduate school and I had just graduated from college – which I had paid for on my own with different jobs and student loans - and landed my first full-time youth ministry gig that paid me a whopping $20,000 a year with no benefits. 

So, we had our reception in a church fellowship hall.  Which, of course, meant no alcohol.  We had great food, a great DJ and had a lot of fun.  But when you’re in your early 20’s most of your friends that show up for your wedding expect to find some liquid courage to help them get out on the dance floor.  And so her friends brought some boxes of Franzia and my friends brought a cooler of beer, and would hit the parking lot every once in awhile.  We all had a great time and nobody got out of control.  It was definitely a fun celebration.

In Jesus’ day, and throughout the Bible, wine was an important part of many celebrations.  In John 2, we find Jesus in the very early stages of his public ministry at a wedding where the wine had run out.  It’s not entirely clear if Jesus’ mom Mary saw this as a problem or an opportunity or both, but in v.3 she brought it to his attention.  Despite Jesus telling her, “My time has not yet come (v.4),” Mary prepared the way for Jesus’ first miracle by telling the servants at the wedding to get ready to do whatever Jesus told them to do.

This isn’t a post about whether or not Christians should consume alcohol.  This is a post about the greatness of Jesus and reality of the ushering in of the Kingdom of God when he began his public ministry. 

Jesus told the servants to fill some water jars to the top.  These water jars were part of the ceremonial cleansing rituals of the Jews, and they were probably pretty nasty.  There’s no doubt that they were absolutely used at some point in the celebration by the guests to wash their hands.  And remember, sanitation and cleanliness at this time are nothing like what we have today.  There’s also a good chance that these water jars were also used to wash feet.  Feet that traveled dusty roads filled with all manner of animal excrement and other nastiness.  Disgusting.

But more than that, these water jars were a symbol of the dead religion of many of the Jews.  The dead religion that Jesus preached against.  The dead religion that got Jesus in trouble because of the times and places he healed people and performed miracles.  The dead religion that got Jesus in trouble for loving the unlovable and touching the untouchable.  The dead religion that made everything about keeping the rules, and forgot about the matters of the heart. 

In v.9, we’re told that Jesus turned the water into wine and that when the master of the banquet – kind of like the head of the catering crew – tasted it that he was astonished by the quality of the wine.  In fact, in v.10 he said to the groom, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 

It ain’t a party till Jesus shows up! But what Jesus did wasn’t just to prolong the party and make people happy.  Jesus did this to reveal his glory – a glory that is greater and richer and far more wonderful than anything that we can ever imagine. 

Jesus took a cesspool of dirty water – a symbol of dead religion – and turned it into a symbol of the abundant life that he came to give to those who would trust him.  We can settle for the comfort and familiarity of dead religion that leaves us thirsting for the true Living Water and hungering for the Bread of Life.  We can settle for the self-righteousness and smugness that comes from dead religion that robs Jesus of the glory that He longs to display in our lives. 

People are repelled by dead religion, but they are drawn to the abundance and goodness of Jesus.  And it makes me wonder, does my life reflect this?  Is my life a living testimony to the abundant life that Jesus gives or a testimony to dullness and drudgery?  Is my life a living testimony to the glory and greatness of Jesus or is it a testimony to smug self-righteousness?

How about you?