An Earthly Ministry

When John the Apostle wrote, "And the Word became flesh and lived among us..." (John 1:14), we should understand that something other than the usual gospel fare is coming.  These words in the early verses surely serve as a prelude to John using the wedding celebration as the inaugural moment in Jesus' ministry.  Matthew used the Sermon on the Mount, Mark, healing stories, and Luke wrote about the preaching ministry.  These first three writers used material that takes us into the realm of the spiritual, but John takes us to a moment so earthy, you can almost smell the sweat of people dancing at the wedding.

 

As John presents the gospel narrative, the Wedding at Cana of Galilee is the first forum for the ministry of Jesus.  After Jesus turned good water into great wine, the Word says, "Jesus did this, the first of His signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.  (John 2:11)  As John puts this event in such a prominent place in his gospel account, he literally fleshes out an important part of the ministry of Jesus.  He reminds us of the way that Jesus was connected to the creation and the events of common folks.  The marriage celebration is certainly about something that connects us to the things of the earth such as wine and the things of life such a marriage and family. 

Jesus' ministry was not going to be so spiritual that His head would always be in the clouds.  His feet were firmly on the earth.  His hands bore the scars of the carpenter's shop.  He understood about joy and grief, laughter and tears, life and death.  Those who followed Him then were always being reminded of earthly things like weddings, livestock, the fruit of vines, fig trees, water, and light. His life would be lived out midst the things of the earth and those who followed Him would live out their lives on the same stage.  And, so it is for all of us.