When Jesus began His ministry on earth, people formed many ideas about who He was. They called Him a good person. A gifted teacher. A respected rabbi. An anointed miracle worker. A God-ordained prophet.
While these were accurate descriptions of titles He bore, they were not all-encompassing. It was only those who recognized Jesus as the Messiah—the living Christ—who had their lives change because of knowing Him.
Helping people understand Jesus’ true identity was the burning passion of the Apostle John’s heart. It’s the reason he wrote his gospel—to ensure people knew who Jesus really was, so they could embrace a life-changing relationship with Him.
You’ll only find eight of the many miracles Jesus performed recorded in John’s gospel, but each of the eight signs were chosen for a specific purpose.
The first miracle John records is the first miracle Jesus ever performed. It occurred when He turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana (John 11:1-2). In this story, we find three steps we can all take to experience the miracle-working power of Jesus.
First, we must celebrate Jesus’ presence in our lives. We see this at the start of our story, when the hosts are faced with the gravest wedding fiasco of their day—running out of wine. Mary was not shaken, though. Why? Because she knew who Jesus was—the Christ. So she celebrated His presence even amid trouble, calling upon Him for help.
This naturally led to the second step: accepting Jesus’ challenge of obedience. In John 2:5, Mary told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” When we adopt this spirit of following Christ, no matter what He tells us to do, we will reap what they did that day: a miracle.
In verses 6-11, Jesus asked for jars of water that He turned into the greatest wine the wedding party had ever tasted! Because Mary and the servants honored Jesus for who He was, celebrating His presence and accepting His challenge, they received the miracle they needed.
Friends, Jesus is Lord, and when we honor Him as such, both in word and deed, our life becomes more than what we could ask for.
I know this from experience. After years of working hard toward a career in baseball, God called me to lay it down and serve in vocational ministry. At the time He called me, I was a new Christian, but I knew who He was—Lord. So, I chose to celebrate His presence and accept His challenge. Now, I live in the miracle of an incredibly fulfilling life I never knew to ask for.
Living this way doesn’t mean we won’t face trouble, of course. But it does mean that our miracle-working Lord will be with us every step of the way.
How do you see Jesus? I encourage you to get to know Him as Lord. In every season, celebrate His presence and accept His challenges with obedience. Jesus’ way is always the best way!
