John 2: 8
“Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’
They did so…”
Once again the servants at the wedding are confronted with a challenge. They have been told by a guest to do whatever her son says. Her son, a man with his own entourage, tells them to fill the water jars used for washing. When they return from the work of hauling water to fill the jars they look expectantly at Jesus. “Now what?” is the implied question. The “Now what?” turns out to be a simple task, but a potentially embarrassing one: Take some of the water to the master of the banquet.
Again the servants prove their worth. They take what they know to be water and serve it to the person in charge of the banquet. They must have expected the master of the banquet to question their sanity! “Why are you bringing me this wash water to drink?” he might have said. Instead, a miracle happened…
Q: Getting to the miracle in this story involved a lot of work. How is the faithfulness of these servants in obeying Jesus a model for modern day Christians?
How many times do we need to be told to do something that doesn’t make sense, but after we finally obey, find a blessing beyond our expectation?
Servants were used to being directed and obeying. Are we?
DJ,
Welcome!! So true! I’m often found muttering, “But this doesn’t make any sense…!” Yet in the eyes of our God it does, because he sees what we cannot see except by faith.
Blessings!!
They understood their position, servants. They were not to question, but to be submissive to their master, acting according to his will not their own.
There is a passage in our bible where God says ” Be still and know I am God.” I believe mature Christians have the ability to live this great, simple but difficult command. BE STILL!
Living this is beyond me today, but I will continue working on it and pray one day, this will be a dominating characteristic of my life. My desire is to quickly, “know He is God” (the blessing of obedience), allowing Him to exercise His will in and through me on a regular basis.
I wonder if the thought entered their minds,..”well we’re screwed now,..the King will have our heads for this”, or “Who does this guy think He is ordering us around like this”,..may never know but what we do know is that they did what they were told to do just as we should do no matter the circumstance,..Jesus has instructed us to make disciples of all people and that takes perseverance and action,..the servants acted on Jesus instructions, just as we need to.
As I learn from Jesus I have come to find out that I have a long way to go to be like Him,..but everyday with the cross in my heart I find myself looking for an opportunity to serve this water Jesus provides.
Well put John.
As I read this question today, the comments from 2018, and some of the comments found in research a few more questions came to mind:
Depending on the condition of your heart, if you were to be in the presence of Jesus, would you “pick up on” His spirit. Or did everyone pick up on it but some accepted it and other dismissed it?
Regardless, in this scenario, Jesus was just a guest, and he was telling another house’s servants to do something that would potentially amplify an already socially devastating situation. I have to believe that these servants demonstrated more than obedience; they demonstrated faith. This could have cost them their life, their livelihood, and most certainly how their master viewed them for the rest of their servanthood. I believe that the servants saw in Jesus the “greater master.” To me, this is how the faithfulness of these servants in obeying Jesus is a model for modern day Christians. We live a life of many external voices calling us to go in many different directions. But the Bible tells us “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” I don’t believe that God calls us to follow Him in blind obedience, but rather follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit through prayer, scripture, and a willing heart. John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” I see modern a day people either trying to control the world around them or the world within them, but it always ends in disappointment because we just don’t have the ability. The servants at the banquets recognized that they just did not have the ability to fix the wine issue, but something about Jesus told them that He did. If I could remember to approach all my problems in this manner I would be a much more content person.
Chris,
You have taken this topic to a new level which I find very interesting. Did the servants obey because they sensed that Jesus was someone special?
There is a powerful point here. Jesus was and is someone special. He is the King. He is the Creator. He is God. He was also a man, and that fact is the most challenging of all. Our God is not distant and unknowable. Our God is Jesus. He walked among us.
Being in the presence of God, even in the form of a man, is to be in the presence of the most powerful being in the universe.
The example that comes to mind are the high tension power lines that carry power from the power station to our houses. These lines do not look much different than a garden hose but the power inside is very different. So different that if you get too close to a power line, the mere proximity to the power can be felt. It can even kill.
Imagine then being in the presence of the living God. Imagine the sensation of power emanating from Jesus. Imagine the man, Jesus, turning his attention to you and saying, “Now draw some [water] out…” The force of his will, of his being, of his nature is directed at you.
Wow. Imagine living like this every day.
That is a very vivid illustration (and fitting to boot). I can relate to it because I have been around such things. Thank you for that, I will be thinking about this all day!