The first unofficial glimpse of why Jesus came occurred at a party, a wedding reception. A bit of a preview, actually, of things to come. You know the story—water into wine.
After a few elbows and nods from his mother, Jesus, with a grin, tells her that now is not the time. But Mary, the once-teenage mom, knew who her son was then, and you can bet she knows now. Just as Jesus was waiting for the time, so was she.
There’s nothing like a mother’s light push to get her son onstage. Maybe Mary has had a little liquid courage—remember, they were out of wine. Just saying. Regardless, it’s at a party that Jesus, at his mother’s urging, pulls back the veil just for a moment to save the day and give a peek at what is waiting behind the curtain for humanity: the Father’s affectionate goodness and the Son’s gracious heart.
Later in John’s gospel, Jesus said, “The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19). On this festive occasion, the Father is glad to honor Mary’s request, and the result is a party-saving batch of primo vino. The Father is good, and Jesus came to show the goodness of the Father.
