Thank God for Women, But… (Part 7)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6.

When Jesus arrived on the scene, He could have schmoozed the “good ol’ boy network” to help His ministry along. But Jesus performed two early acts which quickly set Him apart from the religious system and its leaders.

The first occurred in Cana:

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”  (John 2: 1-5)

Jesus and His disciples (probably Peter, Andrew, Philip and Nathaniel) traveled a couple of days journey to Cana. There they attended a wedding, along with His mother, Mary.

Now, at the time,  Jewish weddings were feasts which lasted up to a whole week. The married couples and their families were expected to provide food and refreshments for all of the guests.

Because no mention was made of Joseph, we must assume that Mary was a widow at the time.

But who told Mary about the wine problem?

Unlike today’s Western cultures, the Jewish society of Jesus’ day was largely a gender-divided system. And just like in the Temple, women were expected to congregate with other women at weddings, apart from the men. This was especially true for widows.

So, if Mary knew about the lack of wine, she heard it from a woman. Possibly, the bridegroom’s mother or the bride’s mother or even the bride.

Thus, Mary sought a solution from Jesus for the problem which was being discussed amongst the women.

Mary walked over to Jesus who was congregated with the men and mentioned the wine problem to Him. He addressed her in an unusual way. He used the Jewish word, gyne, which is translated into our English word, woman, to address Mary. He did not address her with the common Jewish word for mother, or meter.

Why did Jesus use the word, woman, instead of mother, when He addressed Mary?

Remember: Jesus was the living Word in the flesh. If anyone understood the importance of the commandment to honor a mother, it was Jesus.

So, we must infer that Jesus used the word, woman, for an important purpose, okay?

What was His purpose for doing so?

I believe that Jesus used the word, woman, to let every female know forever that He performed the wine miracle, not because the person was His mother. But rather, because the person (a woman) asked Him.

With this first sign, Jesus announced to everyone: “Women are just as important as men to Me and have an equal standing before Me.”

(Continued in Part 8)