This week's lesson was about the wedding feast where Jesus turned water into wine. You can find discussion questions, the weekly catechism question, prayer guide and other help for leading family worship on this week's Family Worship Guide. 

Here are a couple teaching points that we covered this week in SC Kids:

Mary trusted her son—Mary’s faith and confidence in Jesus was displayed in the way she approached her son for help. Weddings in Jesus’ day lasted seven days. It would be a terrible embarrassment to the host to run out of wine. So Mary called upon her son for help. Jesus initially objected, saying that his time had not yet come. But Mary, persistent and full of faith, simply directed the servants to do whatever Jesus said. Mary didn’t demand or tell Jesus what to do; she simply entrusted the problem to him. In a similar way, God honors our faith in him and our persistent prayers. Jesus honored his mother’s request. By doing so, he begins his supernatural ministry and reveals that he is no ordinary man. 

Jesus creates wine from water—Although Jesus initially told his mother that his time had not yet come, he decided to step out in power to honor his mother, rescue the wedding feast, and give a powerful picture of his divinity to those closest to him. Colossians 1:16 tells us that Jesus is the Creator, and that through him all things were made. Jesus demonstrated his power to create by changing the water into wine. When the master of the feast tasted the wine, he was impressed with the quality. Wine normally takes weeks or months or even years to be aged to perfection—that is, unless it is miraculously made! 

Where Is the Gospel?

In response to the need for wine, Jesus told his mother, “My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4). Jesus understood the hour was approaching when he would miraculously provide the wine of the new covenant, in his blood, on the cross. Jesus was already planning to offer men the wine they could not provide for themselves. But that hour had not yet come. With a demonstration of his power in turning the water to wine, Jesus’ ministry was about to begin. And once started, it would move ever closer to the cross. It is no accident that Jesus’ first miracle speaks powerfully of the cross and the gospel. He wanted it that way. Jesus came to offer mankind the wine of his blood for the forgiveness of sins. He came for their participation in the great wedding feast yet to come. The new wine was for their great joy. Mary’s talk of the need for wine, at a wedding, pointed interestingly to the climax of Jesus’ mission—a wedding feast where Jesus would have a banquet with his bride, the church. Yet, while Jesus knew that the hour was coming when his blood would be shed and the greater miracle of salvation would be accomplished, he was not eager to hasten that day. His demonstration of power was largely hidden at the wedding feast, with only a few people aware of the miracle. Soon, Jesus’ ministry would explode on the scene as he demonstrated the power to heal the sick and drive out demons. It wouldn’t take long for the religious rulers to despise him and find a way to take his life.