Deep Thoughts

I read John chapter 2 for my New Testament class on Monday. The first 11 verses tell the story of Jesus turning water into wine. Read it and look closely at verses 6 and 7. The total amount of water the servants had to carry by hand was about 150 gallons. That's a lot. But look at what it says at the end of verse 7. "And they filled them up to the brim." (Emphasis added.) Not 7/8 full. Not almost to the top. Not just enough. To the brim.

So here the Savior gives a simple commandment that requires work; the servants obey to the fullest extent possible, doing all that they can; miracle happens. See the lesson?

There are quite a few other principles contained in these 11 verses. To name a few other cool things...

1. Jesus Christ can take something good (water) and make it the best (wine).
2. Only those who are engaged in the work see the hand of God, but those around them can still be blessed. (Notice the seven different groups of people at the wedding, and which ones witnessed the actual miracle and which ones just enjoyed the blessing.)
3. Even Jesus did what His mother asked.
4. "Mine hour is not yet come" means that His official ministry hasn't begun yet, which is why His followers are referred to as "disciples" and not apostles in verse 2.
5. This miracle was an act of creation. Jesus spoke and things happened, just on a smaller scale than, well, the world.
6. Jesus will only do what only Jesus can do. The servants could draw the water from the well and serve it, but only Jesus could perform the miracle. So He did just that and allowed the servants to be part of the process.

I'm sure there's a lot more, but those are my deep thoughts for the day.