A Comment by the speaker during a recent exhortation caught the attention of many and aroused some enquiring thought. It was in connection with the instructions that Mary, the mother of our Lord, gave to the wondering servants when they were in a predicament over the lack of wine during the marriage ceremony at Cana. After bringing it to the attention of her Son, who with His disciples was among the company, Mary said to them, “Do whatever He tells you”,1 “And these”, our speaker said, “are the last words of Mary on record in the Scriptures”.
This left a strong impression that there may possibly be something more about Mary’s words than appears on the surface. And this seems likely when we recall that it is a feature noticeable in the Apostle John’s writing to state the simple facts and allow them to speak for themselves, and also that he has a definite design and purpose in view. He speaks of the miracles performed by Christ as “signs” which are included in his Gospel because of their special significance, and gives the testimony of eye-witnesses to confirm them. We find this to be so in the example under review, which he says “is the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him”.2 Of the other miracles recorded in John’s Gospel he says, “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name”.3
We have in these “key” statements a guide to help in finding out why Mary spoke as she did.
First we are to note that the miracle at the marriage in Cana is presented by John as the last of a series of incidents occurring within the period of a few days. He relates the experiences of eye-witnesses and records their statements to confirm the great Truth he proclaims in the Gospel. There are seven persons mentioned in his narrative, the last being Mary.
John the Baptist is presented first with his testimony of what he saw and heard, saying, “John bore witness, I saw the spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him, And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God”.4 Then there are the two disciples who heard John say when he saw Jesus among them, “Behold, the Lamb of God”. These men show their conviction, after conversing with Christ, by telling their companions that they had “found the Messiah”. Another, personally called by Jesus, also takes the information to a companion, and this one—Philip —states his discovery thus, “We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph”. (A long time is to elapse, and a direct request made to Christ to “show him the Father” before he can say, “The Son of God”.) Nathanael, on hearing Philip’s message to come and see, both saw and heard and was quickly convinced, saying, “You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel”.
This, briefly, is the situation on the third day when the last of the scenes is enacted, and introduces the testimony of the one that John says is “the mother of Jesus”, thus defining the relationship, and establishes the ground for her words that form her witness to the Truth about her Son. We can see this more plainly if we realize that Mary knew what had taken place during the preceding days, as the disciples would have told her. But she, unlike the others, needs no visible sign, or word, or convincing contact. So her testimony is presented in a different way.
Mary has always known the wonderful Truth about her Son, but delicacy and modesty prevent it being openly proclaimed. She knows that what she has kept and pondered over in her heart is the best evidence of all. And now she finds there is no further need for secrecy. An open announcement to the nation has been made; and it is possible for her to confirm it. This is done in a most effective way; by her words that show that she has absolute confidence in her Son and knows of His ability to intervene successfully in their difficulty; Mary has not previously seen any miracle performed by her Son, yet now she is anticipating an act that would reveal His Power. It is surely, she thinks, the great hour she has anticipated. Their Messiah is with them and soon all the nation will acknowledge Him.
So Mary makes no request to her Son: so great is her assurance that she considers it only necessary to draw His attention to the facts.
There is no suggestion of any doubt or inability conveyed by Mary’s last words. They speak for all time to all people of unfailing trust in Him of whom it was said,
“This is my beloved Son, hear him.”
References
1—John 2. 5. R.S.V.
2—John 2. 11.
3—John 20. 30.
4—John 1. 32.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One