They told me later that His name was Jesus. But I had never seen Him before that day—the day of the wedding in Cana.
I knew there was something different about Him the moment I saw Him. The courtyard was filled with people, but somehow Jesus stood out from all the rest. It wasn’t His physical appearance—there was nothing remarkable about that. It was His bearing, a certain quiet air of authority about Him. The group of men near Him were listening intently to what He was saying. I wondered who He could be.
I worked my way through the crowd of guests, balancing my serving tray filled with pomegranates and figs, trying to avoid the jostling elbows. Demas, the head servant, came toward me, an anxious scowl creasing his forehead. Almost before he reached my side, his frantic words began tumbling out. “Ahiah, I’ve just come from the storeroom and we are out of wine! I can’t believe it! We checked the supplies and thought we had plenty laid by. What are we going to do?” I gazed at him in consternation. “Are you sure? We have two days of the feast still to go!”
Heads turned in our direction at this whispered exchange. Suddenly I realized that the Man I had been watching was standing nearby. It was obvious He and His friends had noticed Demas’ agitation and overheard our conversation.
The woman standing next to Jesus touched His arm lightly and said, “They have no wine.”
I wasn’t quite sure what He meant when He gently told her that His time had not yet come. But the woman seemed to know. She turned to us and in a quiet voice said, “Do whatever He tells you to do.”
Demas heard her words, and bowed politely, if briefly, in her direction. But the dilemma he was facing was uppermost in his mind, and once more his anxious torrent of words poured forth. “What will the bridegroom say when I tell him we are out of wine? This is terrible! What are we going to do?”
A calm voice stopped him. “Fill the waterpots with water.” It was Jesus. He gestured to six stone containers lining the edge of the courtyard. Demas looked at Him in amazement. So did I! Fill the waterpots? They were huge! And, besides, we didn’t need water, we needed wine!
The woman had turned away, and even Jesus was no longer looking at us, but was engaged in conversation with one of the other guests. But the woman’s words seemed to linger in the air. “Do whatever He tells you to do.” Slowly, almost as if he wasn’t sure why he was doing it, Demas signaled to some of the other servants. As they gathered near him Demas explained what we were to do.
We were all puzzled, but without question we began to obey. Not a word passed between us as we went quickly to the well and began drawing forth the water. We filled every one of those pots, clear to the brim.
When we had finished, I moved to Demas’ side and whispered in his ear that the task was done. Jesus had not seemed to be watching us, but almost immediately He moved toward us. Smiling just a little, He spoke again, and what He said was even more startling than His first command. “Draw some out now, and take it to the governor of the feast.”
Water? To the governor? But Demas didn’t question the Man. He filled a goblet from one of the water pots and handed it to me. I took it to the governor and watched anxiously as he tasted the water . . . wine? He turned and gave me a strange smile, then called the bridegroom to him and complimented him. “Most people serve the best wine at the beginning of a feast, but you have kept the good wine until now.”
The miracle was obvious. The water which had been poured into the pots only moments ago had undergone an amazing transformation. It was wine! Pure and sweet, the delicate aroma of fresh grapes drifted across the courtyard. So, we filled all the pitchers and began to serve the other guests.
That was the day I became a believer. Because of His concern for us and the wonderful miracle He performed, I can never doubt that Jesus is exactly who He says He is—the Son of God. How glad I am that I did what He said to do.
What would have happened if Demas, Ahiah, and the other servants in our story had chosen to ignore Jesus’ command? Do you think it is just as important for us to obey God’s words today? Obedience is the key to securing what we need from God. Are you using that key?
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