婚筵似乎进行得相当顺利,直至有人留意到酒用罄了。耶稣的母亲得知了此事,便来催促耶稣帮忙。她是否曾经见证过耶稣所做的一些不寻常的事?又或许出于某些原因,她知道耶稣正在准备显明衪的身份呢?
我们可以想像,耶稣在四围视察,衪看到一些为洁净而安设的大石缸,每一口石缸的容量是20至30加仑(75-113公升)。衪便吩咐人把石缸倒满了水,然后暗中以衪的能力把水变为酒。
耶稣为什么要这样做?衪这样做或许是要让婚礼庆典可以继续下去,然而,应当还是另有原因的。据旧约先知的记载,神的国降临(当神使世界恢复完美的时候)的先兆,就是有丰富的美酒供应(参看以赛亚书 25:6-8中的例子)。
耶稣与衪的门徒共进最后的晚餐时,衪表示每当他们以饼和酒来记念衪,他们就是在预尝末日的大筵席了(参看马太福音 26:28-29;路加福音 22:30)。那筵席就像一个婚筵,在这婚筵中,天与地合而为一,基督与衪的教会也合而为一(启示录 19:9),并且他们永远不会分开。
主啊,我们盼望你使天地合而为一、使万物得以完全的那日子。阿们。
约翰福音 2:1-11
1第三日,在加利利的迦拿有娶亲的筵席,耶稣的母亲在那里。
2耶稣和他的门徒也被请去赴席。
3酒用尽了,耶稣的母亲对他说:“他们没有酒了。”
4耶稣说:“母亲,我与你有什么相干?我的时候还没有到。”
5他母亲对用人说:“他告诉你们什么,你们就做什么。”
6照犹太人洁净的规矩,有六口石缸摆在那里,每口可以盛两三桶水。
7耶稣对用人说:“把缸倒满了水。”他们就倒满了,直到缸口。
8耶稣又说:“现在可以舀出来,送给管筵席的。”他们就送了去。
9管筵席的尝了那水变的酒,并不知道是哪里来的,只有舀水的用人知道。管筵席的便叫新郎来,
10对他说:“人都是先摆上好酒,等客喝足了才摆上次的,你倒把好酒留到如今!”
11这是耶稣所行的头一件神迹,是在加利利的迦拿行的,显出他的荣耀来,他的门徒就信他了。
"The master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He . . . said, '. . . You have saved the best [wine] till now.'" - John 2:9-10
Things seemed to be going fine at the wedding party until someone noticed there was no more wine. When Jesus' mother found out, she urged him to help. Had she perhaps seen him do some extraordinary things before? Or did she somehow know that Jesus was about to reveal who he was?
We can imagine Jesus looking around and seeing some large jars that were used for ceremonial washing. Each of those jars held about 20-30 gallons (75-113 liters). So he had the jars filled with water, and quietly, by his power, Jesus transformed that water into wine.
Why did Jesus do this? It likely had something to do with keeping the celebration going. But there is more. In the writings of the Old Testament prophets, a sign of the coming of God's kingdom (when God would make things right in the world) was an abundance of fine wine. (For example, see Isaiah 25:6-8.)
And when Jesus ate his final supper with his disciples, he suggested that whenever they had bread and wine in memory of him, that would be a foretaste of the great banquet at the end of time (see Matthew 26:28-29; Luke 22:30). That banquet will also be a kind of marriage feast in which heaven and earth are joined, as are Christ and his church (Revelation 19:9). And they will never be parted.
Lord, we look forward to the day when you will bring heaven and earth together and make all things right. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳