Please explain what Jesus meant when He told His mother that His time was not yet come.
No doubt, you are referring to the wedding feast at Cana where the Lord Jesus and His disciples were invited to attend the wedding. Let’s read John 2:1-4, “And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.” A wedding feast would typically last for days, so we find that sometime during the feast that the wine had run out. Oddly enough, Mary, the mother of Jesus, took it upon herself to inform her son of this. Perhaps she felt bad for the host of the feast. There may have been a lack of money which prohibited them from buying enough wine for all their guests. Obviously she expected the Lord to do something about this.
I want to read the Lord’s response to His mother in verse 4 from the Amplified Bible. That says, “Jesus said to her, “[Dear] woman, what is that to you and to Me? My time [to act and to be revealed] has not yet come.”” The Lord was not being disrespectful of His mother. Calling her ‘woman’ was not harsh. In fact, he used the same word when addressing her tenderly while hanging on the cross as we read in John 19:26, “When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!” This does seem to be a mild reproof of His mother for trying to direct Him in His working of miracles.
Now let’s read verse 5, “His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” What a great practical lesson for us is found in this verse. Mary steps out of the picture, instructing the servants to listen to and obey the Lord. Many people pray to Mary as a way to God. Yet we see here the example that Mary tells the servants to be in direct contact with Jesus, as she fades from the situation. Mary is not a mediator to God. There is only one mediator as we read in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
Back to our portion in John 2, we see in verses 6-10 that the Lord Jesus did turn the water into wine after all. He commanded that six water pots, which contained 20 or 30 gallons each, be filled completely with water. He then instructs the servants in verse 8, “Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast.” When the ruler of the feast “had tasted the water that was made wine,” he declared that it was the best wine that had been served! The Lord had determined that it would be beneficial to perform this miracle here at the wedding feast. But, He could not do this because of His mother’s request; it must be done to the glory of His father and to the benefit of His disciples. John 2:11 tells us, “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.” This miracle showed the Lord’s glory and it confirmed the faith of His disciples.
Often, wine is used as a type of joy. We read in Ecclesiastes 10:19, “A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry…” The Lord delights to bring us joy when there is no hope of joy. When all hope is gone and there is nothing but despair, Christ is the only way. It is the Lord that can bring happiness through the forgiveness of sin. No one else can. Nothing else can. Speaking of redemption, we have these precious words from Jeremiah 31:13, “I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.” Won’t you put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and allow Him to give you eternal life and joy unspeakable? (182.5)