Do Whatever He Tells You
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Do you recognize this short verse? It’s not a trick question, and it’s really ok if you don’t. It comes from the story of Jesus’ first miracle — early in His ministry, in a town called Cana.
There was a wedding. John’s gospel hints that Mary knew the family well. She was there, and Jesus and His disciples had also been invited. If Mary was a friend of the family, it’s likely Jesus knew the couple too.
But Jesus didn’t seem ready to reveal the depth of who He was. When His mother told Him the wedding party had run out of wine, Jesus basically said (if you’ll forgive my paraphrase), “Aw, Mom… this isn’t really my problem.”
Mary, being a mother, didn’t take no for an answer. She simply told the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” And Jesus turned pitchers of water into wine — not just wine, but the best wine anyone there had ever tasted.
I love this story because anyone who has ever been to a wedding can relate to it the stress of the bride and the bride’s mother that everything is “perfect”. But it also reveals so much about who Jesus is.
Good sons do what their mothers ask. Jesus loved His mother, and He obeyed His mother. It’s a glimpse of His humanity. The Messiah — born to rescue the world — was still humble enough to say, “Yes, Mother.”
A stressful moment ends with joy. Because weddings are fun… right?
Well, if that were always true, the Internet wouldn’t be full of “bridezilla” stories. The word bridezilla became official in 2003 joining the OED Dictionary — describing a cranky, demanding bride who wants what she wants because it’s her wedding.
I’m not suggesting there was a bridezilla at the Cana wedding. But that doesn’t mean it was stress-free. Running out of wine was a major embarrassment in that culture. Wedding celebrations could last seven days. Mary didn’t want the family shamed, and Jesus stepped in.
When Kathy and I got married in 2004, we wanted a small wedding. The first decision was who would officiate. We lived 120 miles apart and had two different pastors. In the end, we flew from Washington to California so one of my dear friends — my first Methodist pastor — could perform the ceremony.
When my daughter remarried recently, she took the easy route: courthouse, signatures, done. No fuss. No $500 cake. No cleanup. Looking back, it makes a lot of sense.
Jesus used weddings in other teachings too. In Matthew’s gospel, He tells the parable of the wedding banquet. The invited guests don’t show up, so the king sends servants into the city to gather new guests. It’s a picture of God’s Kingdom — everyone is invited, but we must accept the invitation and enter the celebration.
And Jesus taught that marriage itself is a covenant established by God — not just a social arrangement, not just a party, but a sacred joining.
Weddings may be joyful, stressful, simple, elaborate, or somewhere in between. But the wedding at Cana reminds us that Jesus shows up in the middle of real life — in our celebrations, our embarrassments, our family moments, and even our shortages. And when He shows up, ordinary water becomes extraordinary wine. The everyday becomes holy. And the people we love — like Mary — help point us toward what He can do…when we are listening.
Maybe, in an around about way, Mary was speaking to us to. If we are listening to the call of the Holy Spirit in our own lives, perhaps its time to surrender our will to His and “do whatever he tells you.”