John 2:3

At some point during the festivities the wine runs out.  Jesus’ mother runs to Jesus and says, “Jesus, there is no more wine for the party!  Do something!” John 2:3 EFP

Now I’m convinced that this wedding is the victim of too many uninvited guests.  It’s not that it is totally unexpected, but I can see how it might not have been expected to this level.  People must have come out of the woodwork!  Everyone who is anyone was there and then some.  Perhaps the host had apparently invited everyone but had not expected everyone to show up.  Apparently there is plenty of food.  There are plenty of accommodations, plenty of chairs, and plenty of entertainment.  And there is plenty of wine, in fact so plentiful that there is not enough of it to outlive the festivities.  This must have been quite a party

It is fair to raise the issue of wine at this point.  There is a great divide of opinion regarding the type of wine being provided at this wedding.  Some would argue it was traditional wine, which is for the most part fermented to some degree.  Others argue it was more in the nature of grape juice, with no fermentation to speak of. The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin terms that refer to wine in the Bible, refer to both fermented and unfermented wine.  The people in the time of Jesus were quite adept at preserving “new wine” or “good wine,” which is a reference to wine that has not been fermented.  People drank a lot of grape juice.  People drank a lot of wine.  What kind of wine was the wine that ran out in Cana that day?  That answer is found in the resolution Jesus later provides to the problem facing the wedding hosts.

The point for now is that there is no more to drink and no way to acquire more refreshment without impacting the ambiance that is germane to a Jewish wedding feast.  We really don’t know why Jesus’ mother takes it upon herself to find a solution to a problem that was perhaps not even hers, but the fact is that she approaches her son and asks him to do something.  That’s not a bad thing.  You face a problem above your pay grade?  Go to Jesus and join with the words of Mary, “Jesus, do something!”  This narrative has a couple of story lines developing.  Stay tuned, the problem is in Jesus court.  His move is coming.