Imagine that the Bible was lost and somebody today was given the task of recording, to the best of their ability, the deeds and words of the Son of God. They were to give an account of the good influence that Jesus had had in people's lives. What do you think would have been recorded as the first instance through which Jesus showed his greatness? Imagine that there would be a poll among the Christians of the 21st century where they were to answer the question: how does Jesus show you that he is the greatest?

One thing that probably wouldn't make the top ten: Jesus showing up at a small town wedding, making water into wine. But that's what the apostle John reports as Jesus' primary miracle, when he revealed his glory to the disciples, when he showed them his greatness.

Why couldn't Jesus have found a better purpose when he performed his first miracle? Why couldn't he have intervened in some of the many political conflicts of the time and put an end to war? Why couldn't he have done something with the world's food supply and put an end to world hunger? Why did he choose a small town wedding where he had to provide some more wine? These people had been partying for days and they had probably had enough to drink already. Why does Jesus choose to provide wine at a rural wedding when he would reveal his glory?

This story tells me that Jesus' concern is to help individuals and make them happy.

How different this is from so many religious ideas about who Jesus is and what he does. Some people have thought that a follower of Jesus should abstain from marriage. Some people seem to think that a good Christian must not be too lighthearted, but that a good Christian must be very serious. How very different the real Jesus is. He comes to a wedding. And he decides to perform his first miracle to help people enjoy themselves and have fun.