Whatever He Says To You Do It
Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. 21 They will pass through it hard pressed and hungry; and it shall happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 22 Then they will look to the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and they will be driven into darkness.
Ro 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
Joh 2:1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." 4 Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come."
5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." 6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" 11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
Whatever He Says To You, Do It
When we last heard of Jesus, He was in the temple at the age of 12, we zoom ahead now to His first miracle. As we try to piece together the events of His life leading up to this miracle we know He was about 30 years old.
Lu 3:23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age,
He had been baptized by John, tempted in the wilderness for some 40 days, and at some point after Jesus returns from the wilderness, He walks by John the Baptist and a couple of his followers, and John utters those wonderful words, “Behold, the Lamb of God!.”
At this point, Jesus began gathering disciples. Andrew, Peter, Phillip, Nathaniel, and He and His disciples gets an invitation to the wedding at Cana. And the table is set for what John calls, “the beginning of signs.” (V11)
The first thing we note is that Mary, the mother of Jesus is in attendance at the wedding. No mention of Joseph, which leads many to believe that he had died sometime between our Lord’s 12th and 30th birthday.
This miracle is very important. The Gospel of John contains seven miracles that were carefully chosen to help reveal the person and the mission of Jesus. And in this miracle, we are going to be shown, among other things, the essence of glory......which is simply being a trusting obedient servant.
We know these miracles were carefully chosen because John writes in
Joh 20:30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
So at a wedding feast in Cana some 2000 years ago, Jesus does an incredible thing in front of many eye witnesses in order that you and I and others, who read this account may come to faith in Christ and have eternal life in His name.
Why a wedding? Well, there could be many reasons. Maybe a wedding was chosen because marriage is the institution that God loves. (Mal 2:11) Maybe a wedding was chosen because marriage is a supposed to be a picture of our unbreakable bond with Jesus. (We may break our bond with Jesus through disbelief and unfaithfulness, but He won’t) Or maybe just because weddings are something we can all identify with.
Although there are cultural differences in the celebration of a wedding, (I don’t think they were doing the chicken dance in Cana) most weddings are accompanied by celebration! Some more than others. The typical wedding feast of Jesus day went on for seven days.
But look what happens at this wedding.....they run out of wine! This is not some minor embarrassment! In this culture it was a serious offense to fail at proper hospitality! Mary, bless her heart, perhaps because she was poor herself, feels the pain of the host and says to Jesus, “They have no wine.”
This is the first recorded prayer to Jesus in the New Testament. “Wait a minute! “They have no wine!” That’s a prayer? Yes it is. And if you and I would learn to pray like that, it would revolutionize our prayer life. State the need to Jesus, and let Him take it from there.
Mary brought a perceived need to Jesus. That’s prayer. O Hallesby says that, “ prayer is telling Jesus what we lack.”
Jas 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
Ps. 102:17 says, “He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall not despise their prayer.”
Who are the destitute? They are the ones with lack. And we’re not talking about poor people here. We’re talking about lack in any area of need. Hallesby also says that intercessory prayer is to tell Jesus what others lack.”
And that’s what’s going on here with Mary at the wedding in Cana. She sees the need of the host, but she is helpless to meet that need. Prayer happens when we realize our helplessness, our lack, and invite Jesus into the situation.
So Mary sees a need, and prays, ....”they have no wine.” Note how Jesus answers her prayer. “Woman.” Woman? Whatever happened to “Mom?” or “Ma”?
Woman! This answer helps us and all humanity to identify with Mary, it’s like Jesus is saying.... “human being” And so His response is addressed to all who would pray to Him for all time. And He says, “Human being, what does your concern (your need) have to do with Me?”
In other words, how is your prayer request connected to My glory! How will the Father be glorified if I respond to this need and provide for it. We need to think about that before we bring our prayer requests to Jesus. Where is Your glory Lord in this need?
How do we bring glory to God?
In Jn 17:4, Jesus is praying to the Father and HE says,
Joh 17:4 "I have glorified You on the earth. (How?) I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.
In other words, “I have done everything that You have told Me to do.” “I have glorified You!
Mary knows that Jesus is the Son of God and she knows what brings glory to God. Listen to her response. She tells the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” It’s trusting God and His Word to the point of actively obeying it that brings glory to God! How do we know that? Well, sin is disobedience, and the Bible tells us that disobedience causes us to fall short of the glory of God!
Ro 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
You can’t separate glory from trust and obedience.
The answer to Mary’s prayer was not that Jesus turned the water into wine. The answer was providing her with the wisdom to tell the servants to obey, because that’s where the glory enters the picture...through servants who trust in the Word of the Lord.
Think of it. How many of you would’ve responded like Mary did? I think I might’ve said something like, “Hey, I’m your mother, don’t talk to me like that!” But I’m not His mother and I likely would’ve said something like, “Eeyor,” well, I prayed about it, but it looks like another unanswered prayer...and walked away.
Mary’s order to the servants had to be a supernatural revelation, that came to her as an answer to her prayer, there is no other explanation for her response. “Whatever He says to you, do it”....because in Jesus’ response to her prayer she was reminded that whenever a servant responds obediently to Jesus, God is glorified.
Jesus said in
Jn 15: 8 "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit;”
And fruit is a byproduct of active obedience or trust in God’s Word.
As a baptized believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are a servant. A slave to righteousness.
Your obedience has nothing to do with your salvation, that was all won for you by Christ and freely given to you by God when you were baptized and it remains yours as long as you stay in the faith.
First you become a servant....then faith wrought obedience and increasing trust follows. Faith without works is dead. Your trust and obedience DOES bring glory to God!
So, do you want to bring glory to God? Then, to the Law and to the testimony! As Isaiah writes! Once there, hear the words of Mary! “Whatever He says to you, do it.” It’s time to stop singing about the glory of God and time to roll up your shirt sleeves and produce some glory to God! Time to see some miracles in your own life. Whatever he says to you, do it!
Is this obedience always easy? Let’s ask the servants. “Hey guys, see those water pots over? Yea, the ones that the guests have been using to wash their hands in. What I want you to do is top em’ off with water, and then take a cup of that stuff over to your boss and have him sample it.”
“You talkin’ to me?” Is trusting and obeying easy? Jesus says.....
“What I want you to do is to carry that baby to term.
What I want you to do is move out of that relationship. Stop living together in sin.
What I want you to do is stay in your marriage. Don’t divorce.
What I want you to do is tithe to your church, so that there may be something in the storehouse to distribute to the needs of the saints.
What I want you to do is to learn to live for the sake of others rather than yourselves.”
“You talkin’ to me?”.....and the Bible says,
“And they took it........................” They took the cup of what had been slimy water and brought it to the master of the feast...their boss..
No, trusting and obeying is not always easy, but it always brings glory to God! Glory to the One who bought you with the precious blood of His only Son! And not only that, but look at verse 10.
“Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine and when the guest have drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now.”
If you settle for disobedience, if you refuse to let go and trust God....you settle for inferior wine. But if you just trust God and His Word, even when it doesn’t make sense from the world’s point of view, you ultimately end up with a superior wine.
Ps 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
The wedding at Cana.
It is fitting that Jesus would perform His first miracle at a wedding. It is fitting that it would be connected with wine, for as He sat with His disciples on His last day on this earth He said,
Mt 26:29 "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."
For the day is coming when believers will gather at the throne and celebrate the final wedding feast:
Re 19:6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!
7 "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."
8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'"
Blessed are those in attendance at this final feast. And know this, the Lord has been writing out invitations. It is His heartfelt desire that all attend. He’s not worried about the amount of refreshments and meals to have available. No need to hold back on the invitations to this feast. And so HE sends His servants out to invite all to the wedding.
Have you responded to His invitation? Or are you like those spoken of by Jesus in Mt 22. Those who “are not willing to come.” Those who “made light of it.” or those who were too busy with their farms and businesses.
Don’t delay. RSVP today! Yes, you’ve been disobedient. You have not trusted His Word or obeyed His commands. It’s called sin, and we’ve all fallen short of His glory.. But this same Jesus who turned the water into wine, paid for your sins with the wine of His blood on Calvary, and He offers free forgiveness to all who will receive Him. There is nothing that He will not forgive.
Come to Jesus. Experience the miracle of Cana in your own life, as you follow Him as trusting and obedient servants. Stop settling for Ripple when you can have Chablais. Take that step of trust today thereby bringing glory to the Father who loved you so much He sent His only Son to die for you! Whatever He says to you....do it.
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