WHY DID JESUS GO TO THE WEDDING?

          

 “Why would Jesus, on his first journey, take his followers to a party?

     Didn’t they have work to do? Didn’t he have principles to teach? Wasn’t his time limited?

     How could a wedding fit with his purpose on earth?

            Why did Jesus go to the wedding? The answer? It’s found in the second verse of John 2. 'Jesus and his followers were also invited to the wedding.'

            Jesus wasn’t invited because he was a celebrity. He wasn’t one yet. The invitation wasn’t motivated by his miracles. He’d yet to perform any. Why did they invite him?

            I suppose they liked him.

            Big deal? I think so. I think it’s significant that common folk in a little town enjoyed being with Jesus. I think it’s noteworthy that the Almighty didn’t act high and mighty.
 
            The Holy One wasn’t holier-than-thou. The One who knew it all wasn’t a know-it-all. The One who made the stars didn’t keep his head in them. The One who owns all the stuff of earth never strutted it.

              Jesus could have been all of these, but he wasn’t. His purpose was not to show off but to show up. He went to great pains to be as human as the guy down the street. He didn’t need to study, but still went to the synagogue. He had no need for income, but still worked in the workshop.
 
            He had known the fellowship of angels and heard the harps of heaven, yet still went to parties thrown by tax collectors.

            And upon his shoulders rested the challenge of redeeming creation, but he still took time to walk ninety miles from Jericho to Cana to go to a wedding.

            As a result, people liked him. Oh, there were those who chaffed at his claims. They called him a blasphemer, but they never called him a braggart. They accused him of heresy, but never arrogance. He was branded as a radical, but never called unapproachable.

            His faith made him likable, not detestable. Would that ours would do the same!”

By Max Lucado  (11/11) from When God Whispers Your Name Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1994)

The following is taken from Jim Cymbala’s book, FRESH WIND, FRESH FIRE published by Zondervan.com

            “There will come a day" [the Apostle] Paul says, "When all our work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work" 1 Cor. 3:13. The gold, silver, and precious stones will endure while the wood, hay, and straw will go up in smoke.

            Paul doesn’t say that the quantity will be tested. He said nothing about attendance totals. Everything will focus on quality.

            Warren Wiersbe made an interesting observation about this passage to the Brooklyn Tabernacle staff. ‘What’s the difference between these materials, besides the obvious - that one group is fireproof while the other isn’t? I think it’s significant that wood, hay, and straw are abundant…right outside your door, or only a few miles away at most.

          Any forest, any farmer’s field has an abundance of these. But If you want gold, silver, and costly stones, you have to dig for them. You have to pursue with great effort. They’re not just lying around everywhere. You have to go deep into the earth.’  

            To me, these words are profound. Spiritual ‘construction’ that uses wood, hay, and straw comes easy- little work, little seeking, no travail, no birthing. You just slap it up and it will look adequate – for a while. But if you want to build something that will endure on Judgment Day, the work Is much more costly.”

“If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”  1 Cor. 3:14, 15 (NKJV)

Tomorrow’s post:  WHAT IS A PASTOR?  Jean’s notes of message by evangelist, Steve Buza