“That’s not my problem.” Have you ever said that? I sure have. That’s kind of what it sounds like Jesus is saying in today’s key verse. But Jesus demonstrates in so many ways how He not only has the ability, but the desire to take on our problems. There’s evidence in the details of this story that modern readers might miss, and today we’ll look at a few of those that demonstrate Jesus’ compassion for human concerns.

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Mary comes to Jesus concerned about the wine running out during the wedding, which suggests she had some personal connection or investment in the family hosting the wedding. Hospitality is a major part of Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Successful hospitality and event hosting could bring great honor. Failure to provide adequate hospitality could ruin you socially and financially. Weddings in that culture had some aspects of reciprocity, and folks could actually hold you legally responsible in some cases for failure of provision. Running out of wine was a big deal. Mary had good reason to be concerned.

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When Mary comes to Jesus, she simply says, “They have no more wine” (v. 3). Jesus’ response is recorded in our key verses today. There’s a couple of things to unpack in these verses. First, what’s translated as “woman” was a respectful term in their culture; more like “Ma’am” than how it sounds to us. What is interesting to notice here is, though polite, this is not typically a term that a Jewish boy would have used to address his mother. And the phrase translated, “why do you involve me,” is an idiom meaning, “our priorities differ” or “this isn’t our concern” in the original language.

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This doesn’t make Mary flinch. She says to the servants, “do whatever He tells you.” Mary carried a unique awareness on some level of who Jesus was that others couldn’t see yet. Mary had witnessed enough to know Jesus could do something in this situation. She had encountered angels, endured the miraculous conception, received the Magi to worship her toddler, and found her young son confounding teachers in the temple.  

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Mary doesn’t command Jesus to do anything. Jesus also doesn’t jump in right away. He does seem to question her on timing and purpose. Some describe this interaction as a gentle correction and redirection of His mother because of how Jesus calls Mary by a polite honorific but not an affectionate term for a mom. Their relationship is changing in some ways as Jesus heads into full-time ministry. As He steps fully into ministry, His actions will follow the Father’s timing and purpose, not family expectations. Jesus tells us clearly several times throughout this Gospel that He can do nothing apart from the Father. Jesus wants Mary to think about what His purpose really is. The angel said He was going to be Immanuel, not a wedding caterer, after all.

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Whether or not Mary understands the big picture, she still trusts Jesus to act. This is a spot we can find ourselves in, too! We can trust Jesus with our requests and needs, even when we can’t see or understand everything. We can also learn from Mary as she brings Jesus the need without prescribing the solution. She waits expectantly as she directs the servants by saying, “Do whatever He tells you,” but she didn’t have the answer for how the problem would get solved.  

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Then, Jesus does something beautiful – He turns water into wine. In the process, He blesses His mother and saves their friends from ruin. Even in this, there’s a deeper significance. Jesus took water used for purification rituals and transformed it into wine, which later would become symbolic of His blood and sacrifice on the cross. He’s making the old way a new way before their eyes, but they don’t yet have eyes to see it.  

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Jesus gets no credit for this act. On a human level, showing off what He did would embarrass the hosts by announcing their lack of provision. It’s a quiet sign witnessed by very few people, thus avoiding premature large-scale attention on Jesus’ ministry. In His divinity, Jesus reminds Mary that this is not why He has come, and that He must wait on God’s timing. In His humanity, Jesus honors his mother perfectly and blesses their friends immensely. The miracle in Cana is another place where Jesus shows us who He is and how well He loves us as He meets people in their point of need, even when it doesn’t have eternal impact.

Two challenges for us today…

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First, where do you default to “that’s not my problem,” or jump in too quickly, instead of asking God how He wants us to respond? Jesus models staying in step with the Father. We should strive to do the same by asking God to lead us through where we invest our time, resources, and energy.  

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Second, where can you imitate Mary by bringing Jesus the problem without demanding a specific course of action? Sometimes the journey we’ll go on will include hard things, rock bottoms, ugly bits, and scary moments. God works through them all. So, where can we relinquish control of the journey we’re on today to simply say, “Jesus, this is the problem, and I need you in it”?