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JESUS THE MESSIAH |
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His Life and Times |
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No. 37 The Marriage Feast in Cana of Galilee Part 2
Everything that is connected with the marriage in Cana of Galilee is strictly Jewish - the feasts, the invitation of the stranger Rabbi, and its acceptance by Jesus. Let us think about the scenic details of the narrative. It is also strange that the biblical town of Cana has not been definitely pinpointed as to where it was, but it is thought that it was five miles or less from Nazareth. The most probable place for it, though, is where the modern village of Kefr Kenna lays. It is a few miles northeast of Nazareth on the road to the Lake of Galilee. If this is where the ancient city lay, we could picture it almost the same as what the modern village looks now. The city was on the slope of a hill with its houses rising terrace upon terrace, looking north and west over the large Battauf plain, and south upon a valley. This valley would be defined as where the hills rise that separate it from Mount Tabor and the plain of Jezreel. As a person approached the town of Cana through the valley, he would come upon a fountain of crystal clear water around which the village gardens and orchards were clustered. These produced in great abundance the best pomegranates in Palestine. Cana was the home of Nathanael-Bartholomew, and it would seem very likely that since Jesus had come early with his mother for the wedding, he might have passed the time talking to Nathanael while waiting for the monumentous event. We could only imagine the excitement of Nathanael at having Jesus spend some special time with him for a few days. It is also supposed that Joseph may have died by this time since there is no mention of him. With the miracle that Jesus performed at the marriage in Cana, the first period of His life would now be ended, and a new one would begin - that of active consecration of His whole life to now being about His Father's Business. This seems to be the threshold of passing from the old to the new, just as one does when they enter into the marriage covenant. They depart from the old way of life and enter into a new way, where they are joined together with another person and they don't have a right anymore to just put their own selfish desires before their spouse. We pass through the court of the house in Cana and reach the covered gallery that opens into the great reception room that is so festively adorned. The servants would have been moving about in the gallery and arranging the water pots 'after the manner of the Jews for purification' - this would be the washing of hands before and after eating, and also the vessels that were being used. Purification was one of the main points in Rabbinic sanctity. This subject is by far the largest and most elaborate of the six books into which the Mishnah is divided. There are also many references to this subject in other parts of the Talmud, with two special articles being written on the purification of hands and vessels. The tractate written on the purification of vessels covers thirty chapters. Having this knowledge, it is much easier to understand now why Jesus so denounced the gross hypocrisies of all the ordinances that had somehow come to take the place of the 10 Commandments. These things had so taken root with the people, though, that they considered it either ignorance or blasphemy to mess with any of them. It seems that many of these ordinances were not carried forth at occasions such as weddings, though. At any rate, John tells us that six stone water pots were ranged in order in the gallery outside the reception room. Some of the pots held between 10 and 15 gallons of water, and some of them held 17 to 25 gallons. We need to remember, though, that neither the pots nor their size had anything extraordinary about them. For such a wonderful occasion as this, the family would have either made or borrowed the largest and most beautiful stone vessels that they could. The vessels were probably not filled all the way to the brim, though, according to the Talmud. It also seems to have been the practice to set aside some of them to be used exclusively by the bride and more distinguished guests, while the rest were for the general company. The spacious dining room would literally have been lighted by lamps and candlesticks that were all over the place until it looked brilliant. The guests sat on low couches or chairs with tables in front of them. There were pillows and cushions that were covered with tapestry to make them comfortable. The bridal blessing would be spoken and the bridal cup emptied. The feast then proceeded with a festive evening meal. With Jesus there, it probably didn't turn into anything that was indecent in any way - just a time of light merriment. It may have been that Mary felt badly because the wine ran out because she knew that the wedding couple had not made plans for her, Jesus, and all of his disciples to be there. She may have felt partly responsible for them running out of wine to start with. Also, the gift of wine on such an occasion would have been regarded as a huge gift of charity. We also don't know what was going through Mary's mind at the time when she told the servants to do as they were told. Certainly she had never forgotten the circumstances that surrounded His Birth, and His staying in Jerusalem when they had taken Him at 12 years old. Then she surely remembered how they had found Him in the Temple with all the older men totally amazed at what He said. After Jesus quietly came home with them from the Temple, we don't know much more of what happened in His life. The Bible doesn't say, but it seems that He had not done any miracles during the first 30 years of His life at home in Nazareth. He seemed to have just lived in quiet submission and obedient waiting. Mary must have been thinking about all this and just had some inner feeling that Jesus would take care of things somehow. She must have learned during all these years that she could have total confidence in Jesus. She may not have even mentioned it to Him thinking that He would perform His first miracle there. After all, He had never performed one before. Mary had to unlearn many things from the previous 30 years also. She had been used to Jesus being there and she didn't have to share Him with anybody else. Now since the time had come for His Ministry to come into being, she would have to give up that flesh relationship in the way that it had been. Now Jesus was 'about His Father's Business' and that had no connection with His earthly relationship with His mother. He still loved her dearly because when He was dying on the cross, He told John that she was to be His own mother now. Even though he loved her dearly, He had to make her understand that now things were different and they would be that way for the remainder of His time on earth living as a fleshly man. There is nothing in the original language to make us think that He was harsh or derogatory in any way to her. He just had to convey to her that from now on they must by necessity have a different relationship. He had crossed the line now and there was no turning back. It's probably a certainty that Mary did not grasp all this when she told the servants to do exactly what Jesus said. In their zeal, they filled the water pots all the way to the brim, which they never did before. It's not known exactly when the water became wine, but it was probably as the servants obeyed what Jesus told them to do. This first miracle was a 'sign' that pointed to the deeper and higher things that were to be revealed. It also was the first manifesting of 'His Glory.' Everything that happened that day can be summed up in these simple but intense words: 'And His disciples believed on Him.' This 'sign' is the first of all the miracles that Jesus performed. These were to manifest His Glory - the glory of His Person, the glory of His Purpose, and the glory of His Work. For more information from this book, go to the Archives Page at my site www.cathydeaton.com There are other articles of interest there also. This text has been taken from the book Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah written by Alfred Ederhseim. This book has been used by permission.
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