APPROACHABLE
Jesus has issued the invitation, “Follow Me!” He leads his new friends to Galilee. They were going on a retreat.
“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” John 1:43
This decision was intentional of Jesus’ part. He had just spent 40 days in a wilderness fasting and praying and communing with God. His spiritual hearing was in tune with His Father’s will. He knew where He was going and He knew whom He would take with Him. He was going to take these four men away from the stares and the scrutiny of the religious snobs. He would not take any of the teachers of the Law, the Sadducees or the Pharisees. These were common folk Jesus was taking on this adventure. They were hard workers. They didn’t have any preconceived notions as to what or how a Rabbi should act. Andrew, Simon, Phillip, and Nathaniel were whom He would start with. The new group faced north and headed out toward Galilee. This area is His stomping ground. Joseph the carpenter from Nazareth had raised him. Jesus would have learned the family business. Villagers had seen him carry wood into the carpentry shop. And now he had brought his new friends into his domain. They were from the region of Galilee also. Andrew and Simon were fisherman. They were brothers from Bethsaida. They had fished the waters of the Sea of Galilee their whole lives. Fishing was their family business. Philip was also from Bethsaida of Galilee. Nathaniel was from the town of Cana in Galilee. These five had formed a group. They had a leader, and now they were getting to know each other. They were feeling their way around this new friendship. Trying to find out similarities and differences. Jesus was navigating this group thru the unchartered water of this relationship. He would become Rabbi to them, but first he had to gain their trust and their kinship. Jesus knew His way through relationships because He was there at the beginning of all relationships. The first family was created through Him and by Him and for Him. Relationships were an investment. Jesus knew this. It was why He came into this world. He came to build a bridge back to His Father, so man’s relationship with God could be restored. Jesus was willing to spend the energy needed to build community. He would start with these four. He would spend time with them here in their familiar territory, letting them share with Him all that was comfortable to each. Here in Galilee, Jesus would begin to give them a proper perspective of who He truly is, what He can accomplish, and what His heart’s desire is.
They had been in this northern region of Galilee for three days now. They get invited to a wedding in the city of Cana. Nathaniel’s hometown was Cana. This wedding was probably a relative of Jesus’ because the bible mentions Mary being there.
“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.” John 2:1-2
I stare at the word, “invite.” Did the bride and bridegroom recognize they had invited the very Son of God to their wedding? That would be paramount to inviting the President of the United States to your child’s wedding, except on a grander scale. This is the Son of God they were inviting! I love that picture that these verses paint for us. Jesus was approachable. No way would this bride and bridegroom be able to invite the Roman emperor Tiberius, who was now ruling over Judea, to their wedding. Number one: he wouldn’t come. Number two: the Roman military wouldn’t let you get close enough to be able to even issue the invitation. Here we have Jesus Christ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords being invited and then attending a wedding in a rural village.
Our Savior is approachable.
We can take every problem to Him no matter how big or how trivial.
A problem occurred at the wedding. They ran out of wine. This would be a disgraceful event for the bride and the bridegroom and their families. It would certainly be something to write about in the local gossip paper. Running out of wine at a wedding would not be something that would not go away any time soon. It is tantamount to SportsCenter’s not Top Ten Plays that airs every Friday. Those clips lie on in infamy year after year and decade after decade. This was an embarrassing issue but Mary knew someone who could do something that would correct this problem. Once again, Jesus was approachable. This problem wasn’t too trivial for Him. It wasn’t too embarrassing for Him. It was what it was and Mary approached Jesus with this issue.
Two things stick out in my mind as I read these first few verses in John chapter 2.
- Jesus was invited
- Jesus is approachable
If we want to see Jesus work miracles in our lives we must invite Him into our events.
No problem or issue is too big, too trivial, or too embarrassing that we can’t approach Him with.
It’s time we take everything to Jesus. He is the only One who can correct our mistakes.
“Jesus is approachable.” So true. What a good reminder to go to Him and invite Him in.