“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”
John 16:24
“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”
At the Cana wedding, Jesus revealed Himself as the wine of life, the one who brings true joy. His wine is always in abundant supply—some 180 gallons added to the wedding feast that day!— and it is always the very finest (see John 2:10). When Jesus shows up, He transforms our misery into ecstasy.
Wine is often used in the Bible as a symbol of joy: “wine that gladdens the heart of man” (Psalm 104:15); “A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry” (Ecclesiastes 10:19). But Jesus would later hold up a cup of wine to His disciples at a most sober moment, saying that it was His blood. What a dramatic picture that must have been for them, and still is for us, too. Temporary joy may come from wine, but the true joy Jesus wants for you comes from what the wine stands for—His precious shed blood.
When you’re at the end of your resources, go to Him. “Jesus sat around all the joy, sipping the coming sorrow so that you and I can sit amid all this world’s sorrow, sipping the coming joy” (Edmund Clowney, 1917-2005).
At the Cana wedding, Jesus revealed Himself as the wine of life, the one who brings true joy. His wine is always in abundant supply—some 180 gallons added to the wedding feast that day!— and it is always the very finest (see John 2:10). When Jesus shows up, He transforms our misery into ecstasy.
Wine is often used in the Bible as a symbol of joy: “wine that gladdens the heart of man” (Psalm 104:15); “A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry” (Ecclesiastes 10:19). But Jesus would later hold up a cup of wine to His disciples at a most sober moment, saying that it was His blood. What a dramatic picture that must have been for them, and still is for us, too. Temporary joy may come from wine, but the true joy Jesus wants for you comes from what the wine stands for—His precious shed blood.
When you’re at the end of your resources, go to Him. “Jesus sat around all the joy, sipping the coming sorrow so that you and I can sit amid all this world’s sorrow, sipping the coming joy” (Edmund Clowney, 1917-2005).
Scripture Focus
John 2:1-11
Insight
“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”(Henri J. M. Nouwen, 1994)
Bible In A Year
- Deuteronomy 30-31
- Psalm 94
- Acts 18
