There has been a trend over the past few years in many action crime solving shows where the criminal mastermind is hidden and works through the shadows by getting innocent people, sometimes even law enforcement officers, to do simple tasks that ultimately have dire consequences. In one show, the terrorist had ordered a person to park under a certain bridge; another person had been told to take a package to that very same bridge. No one knew what was in the package, not even the next person who had simply been told that they were going to receive a package and needed to leave it at the front desk of a hotel. Along the way, countless number of people were involved, each doing one things that may not have made sense, but was essential to the success of the final plan. While storied have used this to build suspense and intrigue, and toward nefarious ends, let’s turn it around.
When Jesus and his disciples were at a wedding in Cana, the groom ran out of wine. After speaking with her son, Mary went to the servants and told them, “Do whatever he tells you to do.” Jesus then told them to gather all of the jars and fill them with water. If the problem was that they had run out of wine, why would they put water in all of the jars? Did any of the servants have even the slightest clue that he was going to turn the water into wine? If he had told them what he was going to do, surely they would have laughed at him and mocked him. After all, this was his first miracle. He had done nothing to this point of any extraordinary renown.
If the writers of today’s television shows can come up with an elaborate string of seemingly nominal events to bring about a calamitous act, then what more can the author of life do?
The servants’ faithful obedience to Jesus in filling the jars with water is a profound act that should not be overlooked. We may even call it an ignorant obedience. That is, they were obedient even in ignorance of why they were doing something or what the final result was going to be.
I do not believe that anyone can fairly say that the servants knew what Jesus was up to. How many times in your own life have you come into a similar situation? How often has someone asked you to do something (take a class, read a book, call someone . . .) and you’re first question was “Why should I?” or “What am I going to get out of this?” or “What’s the point?”
Faithful obedience, is doing and following, not because of what is being asked, but because of who is asking. The servants filled the jars, not because of what they were doing, but because of who was asking them.