I’ve written about the wedding in Cana before, when Jesus turned water into wine, and not just a little cheap wine, but gallons and gallons of the finest wine. I love this picture of His generosity and concern for even the little things that trouble us. He most certainly cares for us.
I want to revisit this moment in Jesus’ life because of the interaction between Mary and Jesus at the beginning of the story.
The next day Jesus’ mother was a guest at a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother spoke to him about the problem. “They have no more wine,” she told him.
“How does that concern you and me?” Jesus asked. “My time has not yet come.”
But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
John 2:1-5
Mary doesn’t ask Jesus, Would you like some more wine? Is it your will for the people to have some more wine? She states the facts. There is a need. And she knows Jesus can meet it. I can picture her turning around and walking away, calling back over her shoulder to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” That’s “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). It’s a picture of faith.
A lot of times we don’t approach God with faith, with any expectation that He will respond to us. Instead we ask with a kind of resignation. Please, Lord, meet this need. You probably won’t, and that’s ok, but I just thought I’d ask. In contrast, Mary isn’t afraid of Jesus’ answer. She’s confident that He will respond to every need in His own faultless way.
I don’t know if Mary expected Jesus to make more wine, or if she was simply certain that whatever Jesus did next would be kind. When we have a need, do we believe in, count on, rely on the mercy and love of the Father? Do we trust that even if our request is premature, He will respond to us? Are we certain that whatever He does, God is kind?
Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it. Hebrews 4:16
There’s not really much point in prayer if we don’t think our requests make any difference. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, He said, “Your heavenly Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” (Matthew 6:8). He also told them to keep on asking (Matthew 7:7) and He used the parable of the persistent widow to illustrate the “need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up” (Luke 18:1). Our needs cause us to turn to God, to look for a source of help outside ourselves. When we can meet our own needs, we don’t really need God. But when we can’t, that’s when we need faith that allows us to leave the concern in His capable hands and wait for Him to respond.
It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. Hebrews 11:6