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Water and Wine

by Adam Bennett  
11/27/2008 / Christian Living

After a long drought in my town we are on the highest level of water restrictions we've ever had. That means we have to pay special attention to ensure our use of water is sensible.

It's a matter of taste, but I think turning it into wine as Jesus did (see John 2:1-11) might be the very best possible use for water. From thinking about this miracle in the last couple of days I have a few reflections.

First, I think it's notable that Jesus' first public exposure didn't take place in the temple or as part of a religious festival but in a wedding reception. Through this I'm reminded that Jesus is not isolated to religious confines but is central to all of life.

Similarly, I like that Jesus chose to transform water to wine in stone jars which were normally used for, "the Jewish rites of purification." (v.6) Jesus didn't think much of these Jewish washing rituals (See Mark 7:1-8).

So, in addition to being immensely practical, I wonder if Jesus was pointing to a new era of living faith in contrast to legalism.

This would resonate with his teaching that, "Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved." (Matthew 9:17 ESV)

Next, we could observe the excellence and abundance of Jesus' provision. Excellent, because the wine he made was judged to be the 'good wine' (v.10) and abundant because he made a lot of it ... around 700 litres of it.

Jesus does not make half-gifts. When he spoke to the woman of Samaria he said that, "whoever drinks the water that I give him will never thirst again" (4:14) and when he fed the five thousand we are told that people ate, "as much as they wanted." (6:11)

Finally, I'd observe that Jesus' interest in our lives is not restricted to 'important' things. No-one was going to die of thirst necessitating his intervention, but nevertheless he cared enough to intervene.

That doesn't mean Jesus exists to meet our every whim (I guess I'll still have to visit the bottle shop), but we can be confident that he cares about us - small and big things alike.

Copyright Adam Bennett 2009. More articles are available at http://godward-thoughts.blogspot.com/

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