The Christ of the Common Man

The Christ of the Common Man

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”  Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. 

John 2:1-11

As we continue meditating on the inaugural miracle which Christ performed, let us take a few minutes to contemplate the people who witnessed it. There was the couple, the servants, the disciples, and the guests, including the master of the feast. We may even go so far as to include Mary, the mother of Jesus. What can we conclude about this group? By all accounts this must have been a collection of ordinary people.  Had this been a wealthy household, there would not have been such a deficiency of wine. Also, at this point, Christ was at the beginning of His ministry. He was still a ‘construction worker,’ for all intents and purposes. Therefore the invitation was from common people to a common person. It was within this collection of common people that Christ performed His first miracle. Why? I believe it sets the tone for the rest of His minstry. Mark declares to us that, ‘the common people heard Him gladly.’ Paul points out to the Corinthians that, ‘not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called.’ This gives hope to those of us who consider ourselves to be just ‘regular folks.’ Christ is the Savior of the ‘common person.’ We may rejoice greatly today, that He came as a ‘common man,’ and that He both began and continued His ministry among ‘the common people.’ Here is a Christ Who ‘condescends to those of low estate.’ He has not passed us by. For that we praise and magnify Him.  If you have not yet embraced Him as He is freely offered to you in the Gospel, here is the Christ for you.  No matter what your station in life, ‘believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.’

Our Loving Lord and God,
we rejoice in You today, and in Your Wondrous, Saving Work.
We praise You, that You do not despise us in our low estate,
but raise us up and make us heirs of God, and joint heirs with Your Own Great Self.

 Where the Bush is Burning
Tomm Tice