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From Heaven With Love
Christ in the Old Testament gave the warning, “Wine is a mocker,
strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not
wise.”
Proverbs 20:1
. He Himself provided no such beverage. Satan
tempts men to indulgence that will becloud reason and benumb the
spiritual perceptions, but Christ teaches us to bring the lower nature
into subjection. It was Christ who directed that John the Baptist
should drink neither wine nor strong drink. He enjoined similar
abstinence on the wife of Manoah. And He pronounced a curse
on the man who should put the bottle to his neighbor’s lips. See
Habakkuk 2:15
. Christ did not contradict His own teaching. The
unfermented wine which He provided for the wedding guests was a
wholesome and refreshing drink.
As the guests remarked upon the wine, inquiries were made that
drew from the servants an account of the miracle. When at length
the company looked for Jesus, He had withdrawn quietly.
Attention now turned to the disciples, who had opportunity to
acknowledge their faith in Jesus. They told what they had seen and
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heard at the Jordan. News of the miracle spread and was carried
to Jerusalem. With new interest the priests and elders searched the
prophecies pointing to Christ’s coming.
Christ Broke Down Class Barriers
Jesus began His work by coming into close sympathy with hu-
manity. While He showed the greatest reverence for the law of God,
He rebuked the pretentious piety of the Pharisees, and tried to free
the people from the senseless rules that bound them. He was seeking
to break down the barriers which separated the different classes of
society, that He might bring men together as children of one family.
Jesus reproved self-indulgence, yet He was social in His nature.
He accepted the hospitality of all classes, visiting the homes of rich
and poor, learned and ignorant, seeking to elevate their thoughts
from commonplace life to things that are eternal. No shadow of
worldly levity marred His conduct, yet He found pleasure in scenes
of innocent happiness. The joy of a Jewish marriage was not dis-
pleasing to the Son of man. By attending, Jesus honored marriage
as a divine institution.