THE MIRACLE MAKER
John
2:9 The
master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did
not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water
knew.
Don’t
misunderstand Jesus’ mission. Although he agreed to his mother’s request to
meet the needs of the guests at the banquet, he had not come into the world for
such times or needs. It was not for this purpose that he had come. We are not
to misunderstand this display of the miraculous.
Jesus is not a miracle maker, although his
accomplishments were miraculous to those who saw what he did. He never cured
the world of disease nor created the resources to end poverty or hunger. As the
Son of God he could have done this. But that was not his mission. As the Son of
God, the miraculous and the unbelievable were normal. They were abilities he
certainly had as God’s Son. But it was not his purpose for being in the world to
display these raw talents. Miracles were not clearest expression of his mission
nor his obedience to God.
Many have discounted this miracle and the others he performed.
Jesus was not the greatest magician. There was no sleight of hand, illusion or distraction
that preceded this miracle. No one switched the jars of water with jars of
wine. Jesus is not the forerunner to Houdini. Jesus is not merely available for
special occasions only. He is not the “go to man” when times are tough. When we
have gotten ourselves into trouble from poor choices and bad behavior, it’s not
his job to fix all our problems although he could.
Sure, you could change water and grapes into wine by
the process known for centuries. But you could never be able to do it in the
manner and with the immediate speed in which he accomplished the task. It is
not within our powers to do what he has done. It’s not within our power to do
what only God can do for us today. Nothing he did is within our nature to
accomplish. Bringing someone back to life is just not possible for us any more
than turning water into wine.
