On this day in history, January 19, 1963, a major debut took place. On the popular United Kingdom TV show Thank Your Lucky Stars, at the bottom of a seven-act roster, the Beatles made their first television appearance. At the time the showrunners didn’t have much confidence in the group’s success. And all they had released was two singles. But this was the beginning of something huge. Beatlemania took off and the Beatles’ first full album spent an unprecedented 30 weeks at number one and was in the top ten for more than a year. No doubt part of their success was due to having such a great TV debut.
A debut is defined as a first appearance, especially to the public or to society. We talk about the debuts of musicians and athletes and actors. Their debut is something we pay attention to because of what it might mean for their later success.
Today we’re considering Jesus’ first miracle. You might call it his debut. What he did here is something completely amazing and beyond any natural man’s ability. Jesus changed water into wine. In a way, it was a smaller miracle than many of the things that Jesus would do. It wasn’t a life-or-death situation like with some of the dying people he healed. It wasn’t on the same scale as the feeding of the 5,000. It wasn’t as utterly astonishing as raising someone from the dead. But it was still a miracle that shows the great power of Jesus, that belongs to him alone. I have no more ability to change water into wine than I do to raise someone like Lazarus from the grave.
But the thing that really stands out about this account is not so much Jesus’ mighty power. It’s the way in which Jesus debuts his glory. He didn’t perform his first miracle on TV. He didn’t set out to wow the crowds and strike awe or fear into people’s hearts. No, everything about this account teaches us about who Jesus is. Everything Jesus does here he does for others, for us. Jesus debuts his glory in loving care.
We see this right from the beginning of the account, just considering where Jesus was. He had just begun his public ministry after being baptized by John the Baptist and being tempted by the Devil in the Wilderness. And here, just a few days later, he was at a wedding. Going to a wedding is a very normal human thing to do. People usually enjoy going to weddings, so maybe it doesn’t seem strange that Jesus would have gone to one. But is this really what’s important for Jesus? Shouldn’t he be doing something more important, like healing sick people or calling people to repentance? Does Jesus have time for parties?
But what we see here just from this situation is that Jesus cares for people. He attended a wedding. Was it because the bridal couple were really important people? No, their names aren’t even recorded. But Jesus went because of his loving care. And what’s really great about this is that this tells us something about God’s attitude toward marriage in general. We very rightly point to this event at all kinds of weddings as a reminder that God has given us the blessing of marriage and that he blesses with his loving care every marriage, in particular those that are forged in faith and lived according to his will. Jesus wants to bless your marriage.
We also see Jesus’ loving care in the way that he answered his mother Mary. Wedding celebrations in those days often went on for a full week, and sometime during this celebration the wine ran out. There are worse things that could happen. It’s not the end of the world. But still, it’s not a situation anyone wants to be in. For the debut of this newly married couple it would be a huge embarrassment. It likely happened because that was all the wine they could afford. It would probably mean an early end to the celebration.
Mary learned of this, perhaps among the first to find out, and what she did is a great example to us. She went straight to Jesus. And she didn’t really even ask a question. She just said, “They have no more wine.” She didn’t ask any questions. She didn’t throw out any suggestions. She had complete confidence that he would do something to help. And this is in spite of the fact that she had not seen him perform any miracles yet. You might ask, “What was she expecting?” and I think the answer is simply, “God’s help.” In what form? I’ll leave that to him.
At first, Jesus answer doesn’t seem to be loving care at all. It might seem cold, or even bordering on rude. He said, “Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My time has not come yet.” In our culture it probably would be considered rude for a son to call his mother, “woman.” But that wasn’t really the case for them. It wasn’t rude, but it was still strange. It doesn’t seem like what we would expect from Jesus. It doesn’t seem like loving care, but in reality it is. Jesus was doing two important things with this answer. He was testing Mary’s faith. Testing our faith doesn’t always seem like a loving thing. But it is. When our faith is tested, it is an opportunity to flee back to God’s word and to his own promises. Mary could have gotten upset. She could have argued. But she didn’t. She trusted. She told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
And Jesus was doing something else here too. For all of us he was teaching about how he hears our prayers. Should he give Mary special consideration, as his own mother. “Oh, dear mother, I wasn’t going to do anything. But since you ask, for you, mommy, I will.” There are a lot of people who believe that certain people’s prayers are greater than others because of who they are. But Jesus hears all prayers, including those of his own Mother, on the basis of his grace, not because we deserve for him to listen to us, but because of his loving kindness.
So we see Jesus’ debuting his glory in loving kindness in his attendance at a wedding, and in his answering his mother’s prayer, and of course we see it in the miracle he performed. Jesus had said, “My time has not come yet.” But he wasn’t saying that he was watching the clock tick down the last seconds. “Hold on. Three. Two. One. Now it’s my time!” He was talking more broadly about revealing his glory. This is similar to how he often told his disciples not to tell anyone about certain things until after he rose from the dead. He came to serve, not to be the center of attention. And so Jesus’ first miracle was done in such a way that even the master of the banquet didn’t know what had happened. When the servants, who knew what was going on because they drew the water, brought him the wine, he thought some mistake was made. “Why didn’t you didn’t you bring out the best wine before now?” Jesus was not going to bless them with mediocre wine. And it was in no small amount. Six stone jars holding 20-30 gallons each for a total of 120-180 gallons of wine, enough to provide for this couple and all their guests and probably for quite some time to come.
The miracle that Jesus performed here is a mighty miracle that shows his omnipotence, his power, and his divine glory. It’s certainly something that I can’t do and you can’t do. But the power of Jesus is really only half the story. In everything Jesus did he demonstrated how he uses his power and glory in his loving care. This is how he wants you to know him.
He’s a God who makes himself present. He’s present where we gather around the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. But he doesn’t limit his gracious presence to the inside of these doors. He’s also present with you, going with you, in every part of your life. He’s there to care for you in your sorrows and troubles. He’s also there with you in your greatest joys, in your celebrations, in your parties. He blesses your home. He blesses your marriage. He cares for you, as your Good Shepherd.
He’s a God who answers your prayers. The answers don’t always come in the shape you imagined. But maybe we could learn better from Mary to leave the shape and the time to him. And when he tests our faith remember that he does so in love, and go back to his promises, and let him strengthen our trust in him.
And he’s a God who uses his glorious power to provide. He provides for our physical needs. But even more, he provides for our spiritual needs. Where do we see this more than at the cross? There Jesus brings all his glorious power to bear in a way that is most humble out of loving care for us. No one was clapping and cheering and staring in awe, but there on the cross Jesus suffered for my sin and broke the chains of my death and defeated forever for me the Devil.
Jesus still uses his glorious power in loving kindness. He works miracles by the life-giving preaching of his Word, and by the new birth of Holy Baptism, and by his Supper, where by his power bread is his body and wine is his blood, for the forgiveness of our sins.
This is how Jesus wants you to know him. He is mighty, and powerful, and glorious. And he uses his glory for your loving care. Amen.
— Pastor Seth Georgson