Save the best for the last!

A group of my friends and I were looking at the water into wine story in John 2 of the Bible recently, with the purpose of discovering, or rediscovering, what this event in history reveals about the person, the character, the nature of Jesus Christ. A few things stood out to me, once again pointing out to me the humility, the generosity, and the abundance of grace encompassed in the person of Jesus.

Jesus, his family, and many of his friends were guests at a wedding. They were enjoying the wedding feast when Jesus' mother became aware that the hosts had run out of wine. I don't know if you've ever hosted a big event, but, running out of stuff is really stressful! Mary was concerned for her hosts and, knowing Jesus had the ability to 'fix' things in ways that no one else could, asked him to please 'fix' this! He kind of scolds her for involving him in this, but she turns to the servants and says 'Do whatever he tells you' and leaves it at that. She seems confident that he will do something, despite his seeming reluctance, and she's right.

He sneaks off behind the scenes, where the servants are. He has them fill some jars with water, then tells them to pour out a glass and take it to the 'master of the banquet.' In the act of pouring, the water becomes wine. Not just any wine, but REALLY good wine! And, have you ever done the math on this? He made between two and three thousand cups of wine! Six jars times 20 (or 30) gallons times 16 cups in a gallon.... that's a lot of wine! He doesn't really do things half way, does he?

The 'master of the banquet' gets a taste of this amazing wine and is astounded.... Why would the groom save the best wine for the last? It was normal to put the best wine out first, and then, after there was a little buzz going, bring out the cheap stuff... The 'master of the banquet' didn't know Jesus was behind this. This is one of the things I noticed.... Only those who ALREADY had their eyes on Jesus knew that he had done this miracle. The 'master of the banquet' didn't know, most of the guests didn't know, the groom didn't know... That's interesting isn't it? Humble...

The 'master of the banquet' was so intrigued by this that he made a big show of it, to show the great generosity and moral character of the groom! He made no mention of Jesus. All credit went to the groom! And, I assume, the groom took the credit! He certainly didn't make a big scene about 'how did this happen??' 'It wasn't me....?' And, this is the second thing I noticed: Jesus let everyone thank the groom! Jesus flew under the radar. He didn't grandstand. He didn't MAKE SURE everyone knew who to thank. He didn't sulk or feel slighted, or wounded, or hurt, or angry, or jealous that someone else got the credit. He just went on with his day. Not seeking praise, or recognition, or a pat on the back...

The third thing: It didn't matter if you knew him or didn't, saw the miracle or didn't, thanked him or didn't, everybody got a really good glass of wine! Generous... Not leaving anyone out...

Is there a parallel here? Whether we know him or not, see the miracle or not, thank him or not, he poured out his blood.... Grace...