Mary

When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Dear woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 3 – 4)

Why did Mary urge Jesus to perform His first miracle, if Jesus said His time had not yet come? This really is a spectacular event. Mary apparently in an empathetic moment, with the urging of the Holy Spirit, clearly tells Jesus, that His time had indeed come and was right now. It really adds brilliance to the verses that follow: “This, was the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.”

Mary has long been a subject of contention within the Christian Church at large, which is tragic. One side lifts her up perhaps higher than scripture can support her, and the other side, therefore, is reluctant to focus on her long enough to recognize her place as an outstanding example of faithfulness. I personally find it fascinating how highly favored Mary had to be.

At first one might think she was highly favored simply because she was to be the mother of Jesus, the Son of God, but that’s is a pretty shallow assessment of the situation. If God had simply announced that Mary was already with child or that He was going to perform this miracle without her full consent, evil would have turned it all around to portray it as a horribly invasive act of God. No, just as Jesus explained to John the Baptist that it was necessary for John to baptize Jesus, it was equally necessary that Mary actually give consent to mothering Jesus. To be clear, God did not need her consent, but He is a wise and loving god who honors our free will, which in turn gives us opportunity to glorify Him by exercising our God given faith.

Keep in mind that God truly is omniscient. He told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart for my holy purpose.” God knows who we will become and what we will do before we ever do it. Mary was not blessed and highly favored merely because God selected her, but rather because God knew the choices she would make and the faith she was capable of, as His creation. God knew that, when told she would be the mother of Jesus, she would respond faithfully, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” God knew that Mary would prophecy regarding her child while visiting the mother of John the Baptist. God knew that Mary would treasure the moment that she found her lost adolescent son in the temple listening to and questioning the teachers there. God knew that Mary would urge Jesus to perform the first miracle of His ministry at just the right moment. God knew that she would and could endure the crucifixion of her own dear son as the precious Lamb of God. No doubt God knew far more about Mary than we do through scripture.

And no doubt God chose her because, as she said in perfect faith to the servants, she also timelessly says to us in the moments that we might focus on her a little too intensely,

“Do whatever He tells you.”