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The Desire of Ages
In saying to Mary that His hour had not yet come, Jesus was
replying to her unspoken thought,—to the expectation she cherished in
common with her people. She hoped that He would reveal Himself as
the Messiah, and take the throne of Israel. But the time had not come.
Not as a King, but as “a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief,”
had Jesus accepted the lot of humanity.
But though Mary had not a right conception of Christ’s mission,
she trusted Him implicitly. To this faith Jesus responded. It was to
honor Mary’s trust, and to strengthen the faith of His disciples, that the
first miracle was performed. The disciples were to encounter many and
great temptations to unbelief. To them the prophecies had made it clear
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beyond all controversy that Jesus was the Messiah. They looked for
the religious leaders to receive Him with confidence even greater than
their own. They declared among the people the wonderful works of
Christ and their own confidence in His mission, but they were amazed
and bitterly disappointed by the unbelief, the deep-seated prejudice,
and the enmity to Jesus, displayed by the priests and rabbis. The
Saviour’s early miracles strengthened the disciples to stand against
this opposition.
In nowise disconcerted by the words of Jesus, Mary said to those
serving at table, “Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.” Thus she did
what she could to prepare the way for the work of Christ.
Beside the doorway stood six large stone water jars, and Jesus
bade the servants fill these with water. It was done. Then as the wine
was wanted for immediate use, He said, “Draw out now, and bear
unto the governor of the feast.” Instead of the water with which the
vessels had been filled, there flowed forth wine. Neither the ruler of the
feast nor the guests generally were aware that the supply of wine had
failed. Upon tasting that which the servants brought, the ruler found it
superior to any he had ever before drunk, and very different from that
served at the beginning of the feast. Turning to the bridegroom, he
said, “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.”
As men set forth the best wine first, then afterward that which is
worse, so does the world with its gifts. That which it offers may please
the eye and fascinate the senses, but it proves to be unsatisfying. The
wine turns to bitterness, the gaiety to gloom. That which was begun