Chapter 15 of Travels to John (Day 9 of NaNoWriMo) by Stacy Duplease of Stories by Stacy, LLC

Chapter 15

JOHN 2:4 WAS JUST LIVED OUT right in front of Daniel and he was swept away by the meaningful moment. He heard Jesus say,

“’Dear woman, that’s not our problem,’ Jesus replied. ‘My time has not yet come,’” (NLT).

Jesus was God and knew everything. He was omniscient, so her remark wasn’t a surprise to Him. He knew to expect it and knew His mother enough not to be surprised even though He knew what she would say.

Wait a minute. The twelve disciples were supposed to be here as well, Daniel remembered. His eyes traveled around the crowd of people and he found three different groups he assumed were made of the disciples. Daniel found it hard to breathe as he took everything in at once. Alright. He needed to get a grip of himself. He couldn’t afford to lose it now (whatever ‘it’ was).

Then he heard John 2:5, lived out,
“His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.’” (NASB).

Daniel always wanted to know her reaction in this moment. Was she put in her place? Or, was she trying to teach Him a lesson? Or, was she telling Him these people needed help and to get over it? Or, did she simply ignore what He said?

Now that he witnessed it, Daniel still wasn’t certain. It could have been all of the above or none of the above. Maybe if he understood the culture more, he would be more apt to comprehend the full scope of what she said and why.

John 2:6-8 states,
6-7 "Six stoneware water pots were there, used by the Jews for ritual washings. Each held twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus ordered the servants, 'Fill the pots with water.' And they filled them to the brim.
8 'Now fill your pitchers and take them to the host,' Jesus said, and they did," (MSG).

Daniel had two thoughts about those verses. One thought was about the servants and the other thought was about the water. What did the servants think when Mary said what she said? Did they have a clue about what Jesus was about to do? Did they know Jesus and/or Mary? Was it well or was it just in passing? Or, did they just know of them?

The servants knew Mary or of her because the servants responded to what she said Daniel observed. Why did they respond to what Jesus said in 2:7-8?

What the servants did to fill those enormous jars with water took work--and a lot of it. Each jar took 20-30 gallons of water.

Let's assume it was 20. That's 20 gallons multiplied by 6 jars equals 120 gallons minimum from a well or a watering hole of some type.

John doesn't tell us in the passage of scripture what specific type of watering source, how far it was, or how many servants there were present at the wedding party. Regardless, it took work and what did the water have to do with wine? Daniel was sure the servants wanted to know. They did all that work without knowing why.

Can you imagine? Daniel thought to himself. No. He really couldn't. What would he have thought if he did all that work as a servant for no reason other than being told to by Mary and then Jesus--and then being told to by both Mary and Jesus--and then the water turned not only to wine, but to the best wine. What would Daniel have thought if he was the chief servant and tasted the wine?

Daniel was swept away, astounded, and deeply touched by the care of what Jesus exercised when He did what He did for the people who put on the wedding party. They would have been destroyed socially and disgraced if they ran out of wine. Jesus, however, gave them plenty and not just of any wine, but the very best. Not just the best but the best for the last. Usually, people had the tendency to put out the best wine first and then put out the worse, poorer in quality, and watered down wine later as the people became tipsy. Consequently, Jesus made the people look really good because he cared for them.

And it just so happened to be His first miracle.

Only God could do that accomplishment. It was truly a miracle of turning water into wine.

Daniel witnessed this first miracle with his own eyes twice now. Once was from afar and once was from up close. He recognized he was forever changed by the event. He got to know Jesus more intimately by the moment and the more he knew Jesus, the more he loved and trusted Him--and the more his life was changed by Jesus. He couldn't live in the same manner again. To know Christ is to love Him and to love Him is to grow to become more like Him and obey and love the Father.


By Stacy Duplease
of Stories by Stacy