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The Spirit of Prophecy Volume 2
Jesus was able to do that which she had desired of him, and she was
exceedingly anxious that everything in regard to the feast should be
properly ordered, and pass off with due honor. She said to those
serving at table, “Whatsoever he sayeth unto you, do it.” Thus she did
what she could to prepare the way.
At the entrance of the dwelling there stood six stone water-pots.
Jesus directed the servants to fill these pots with water. They readily
obeyed this singular order. The wine was wanted for immediate use,
and Jesus commanded, “Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of
the feast.” The servants beheld with astonishment, that instead of the
crystal water with which they had just filled those vessels, there flowed
forth wine. Neither the ruler of the feast nor the guests generally were
aware that the supply of wine had failed; so, upon testing it, the ruler
was astonished, for it was superior to any wine he had ever before
drank, and vastly different from that which had been served at the
commencement of the feast.
He addressed the bridegroom, saying, “Every man at the beginning
doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that
which is worse; but thou hast kept the good wine until now.” In this
miracle, Jesus illustrates the truth that while the world presents its
best gifts first, to fascinate the senses and please the eye, he gives
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good gifts, ever fresh and new unto the end. They never pall upon
the taste, the heart never sickens and tires of them. The pleasures of
the world are unsatisfying, its wine turns to bitterness, its gayety to
gloom. That which was begun with songs and mirth ends in weariness
and disgust. But Jesus provides a feast of the soul that never fails to
give satisfaction and joy. Each new gift increases the capacity of the
receiver to appreciate and enjoy the blessings of his Lord. He gives,
not with stinted measure, but above what is asked or expected.
This donation of Christ to the marriage supper was a symbol of
the means of salvation. The water represented baptism into his death,
the wine, the shedding of his blood for the purifying of the sins of the
world. The provision made for the wedding-guests was ample, and not
less abundant is the provision for blotting out the iniquities of men.
Jesus had just come from his long fast in the wilderness, where he
had suffered in order to break the power of appetite over man, which,
among other evils, had led to the free use of intoxicating liquor. Christ
did not provide for the wedding guests wine that from fermentation