Mother Knows Best

The next chapter in the series "The Bible Is for Feminists"

“Woman, why do you involve me?”

John 2:1-11

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, ² and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

⁴ “Woman,^[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

⁶ Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.^[b]

⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

⁸ Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, ⁹ and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside ¹⁰ and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

¹¹ What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Anyone who thinks that Christianity represents nothing more than patriarchy needs to read this Bible passage again and again. The miracle of turning water into wine is powerful, but it would not have happened if Mary hadn’t instructed Jesus to perform it.

This is the most significant example in the New Testament of a woman not waiting for a man to decide but doing so herself. Of course, Mary was blessed with wisdom from God; she used the gifts of feminine intuition and spiritual understanding to know it was the right time for Jesus to perform a miracle. But instead of seeing a woman who is afraid to speak up in a “man’s world,” we witness a gentle yet resolute woman guiding her son as He begins His earthly ministry.

And the rest is history.