Bothering Jesus?

Would you dare interrupt Jesus? Can you imagine if he responded to one of your requests with “Really? What now?”

I don’t know about you, but I can’t even think about Jesus reacting to one of His kids with such a harsh and belittling tone! But I bet you’ve actually thought he reacted this way to his own mother. I know I did!

In John chapter two, Jesus is with his mother at a wedding reception. She notices wine is running out and heads right over to Jesus to do something about this awkward and embarrassing situation. His response, when we read it filtered into our English language and our social context, seems harsh and belittling:

“Woman, what do I have to do with you?” John 2:4

My friend Skip Moen wrote a full discourse on this one verse, with the emphasis on the term woman. In his breakdown of the Hebrew thought process and the actual translation, the revelation is that Jesus wasn’t being harsh or belittling at all. Here’s Skip’s very surprising explanation of the true context and meaning:

Jesus puts the same question before each of us. We come to him with some problem. It may not even be our problem. We may, like Mary, be looking for a solution for someone else. But when we place the problem before Jesus, he does not ask, “What do you want me to do?” He asks, “How does this thing bring us together?” The lesson is simple: the problem we see is only a window that opens a relationship with Him. It’s not about the wine. It’s about the willingness to enter into the problem together.

Oh my. I am completely taken aback at this new understanding! Let me tell ya, I’ve brought a LOT of my problems to Jesus. Heck, with the current economic situation, I’ve been in frequent prayer requesting personal intervention from my God and Savior. Much like my previous understanding of this verse, I was going to Jesus for a fix, a solution, a way out. I wanted him to intervene. Jump in. Rescue.

I now know and understand my role to come to Jesus in the joy of coming together through each situation, each circumstance, each trial, each need, each desperate cry. How exciting and, for me, what a huge relief! I can do more than cast all of my cares to him; I can also walk through every trial, difficult decision and challenge in an intimate coming together with my God, who is also my friend.

There’s a second lesson in here, too. Mary teaches us something huge about coming to the One who makes all things new and is very much in the business of meeting needs. Another friend of mine, Alan Smith, opened my eyes to another truth:

The thing that strikes me about the story is that Jesus is not the one who determined the quantity of wine that was created. That was completely up to the servants who went to fetch the water. How much wine did Jesus create? He created as much wine as the water they brought. His provision was proportional to their expectation.

Most people that I speak to who struggle to hear God’s voice don’t expect to hear God’s voice. They don’t bring much water so they don’t get much wine. If they want to hear God’s voice with more frequency, clarity, and specificity, they need to adjust their expectations accordingly.

This has application in many areas of life, but I’ve been thinking about hearing God’s voice and my observation is that this principle of expectation is extremely relevant to our experience of hearing God’s voice.

One story, two truths! Jesus wants to bring us into closer relationship through our difficulties and we can believe him for a provision that is proportional to our expectations. Awesome.

Do I trust Jesus that much? Do you?

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One Response to “Bothering Jesus?”

1. tommygeorge says:

   July 9, 2009 at 6:27 PM

   Anthony, thanks for sharing this! I was in need of something like this to 'chew on' in the back of my mind today, and this is definitely great 'food for thought'.

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