Inspirational
When Your Wine Runs Out
Why would Jesus choose turning water into wine, in a wedding, as his first miracle?!
I’ve struggled with that question for years, especially because today, intoxication (drinking too much wine) is frowned upon. With technology, I’ve researched the subject and got an overwhelming volume of answers that can’t be understood unless simplified. I never got around to distilling them—for me to live by.
Up until last Sunday when our pastor preached about it.
And now, I see it clearly. I am distilling it (as I did for 20 years with 30-second ads from volumes of information) here so I will always remember.
Back in Jesus’ day, people were hard workers with so little time to have fun. A wedding feast was therefore a big deal; it stretched to a week.
Such was the wedding in Cana to which Jesus was invited. Wine was an essential element in the celebration; it was a source of joy, hope, and rest. But into the third day, the wine had ran out. What a catastrophe! The hosts would be shamed, the guests would be disappointed, and the feast would be a flop.
Worried, Jesus’ mother (John 2:1-11), tells her son about the problem. Jesus answered, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come!”
And yet, He turns water into wine enough to last the festivities.
The feast symbolizes the celebration of our new life in Christ. Just as wine was the customary drink at weddings, and just as a man and woman are joined in marriage, so are we with Christ after our life on earth ends.
Being united with Jesus in the Great Beyond will be a feast where joy, hope, and rest will never run out.
Remember the last supper? Jesus said (Matthew 26:28), “. . . this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.”
Yes, wine was generously poured in miraculous grace—from a wedding in Cana to the last supper.
In this analogy, modern man often runs out of wine (for various reasons). We feel empty, spiritually dry and depleted, becoming weak and tired. But, if we we have so much of Christ in us, we will never run out.
“What happens when your wine runs out?” asked our pastor. “It’s when a miracle takes place.”
Jesus will turn your water (troubles) into wine! When Jesus says to Mary, “Don’t worry about the wine; my hour has not yet come,” He means that our real need cannot be met by more wine (our material cravings on earth).
It could only be met when Jesus’ hour comes: when His body is broken for us and His blood is shed for us on a cross.
This miracle is not about alcohol consumption at all.
It is about our present: Jesus turns our struggles into wine and meets the deepest needs of our heart.
It’s about our future: In the afterlife, we will enjoy a grand feast with Him.
