#84 - Joby Martin // Bringing Our Anxieties to Jesus

The first of Jesus's miraculous signs offers profound insights on bringing our needs to God, regardless of how small they may seem.

• Jesus performs His first miracle at a wedding in Cana by turning water into wine
• Running out of wine at a first-century wedding would have brought severe social shame to the bridegroom
• Mary approaches Jesus with this problem despite Him having performed no previous miracles
• Mary's actions demonstrate we should bring all our needs to Jesus, even temporary physical ones
• Paul instructs believers in Philippians 4:6-7 to counter anxiety by making requests known to God
• The promise isn't necessarily changed circumstances but "peace that surpasses all understanding"
• We're invited to cast our cares upon God because He cares for us
• Instead of carrying burdens that weigh us down, we should carry them to Jesus in prayer

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Chapters

• 0:01 Podcast Introduction
• 0:20 The Wedding at Cana Story
• 2:00 Mary's Response to the Problem
• 3:28 Bringing Needs to Jesus
• 4:16 Paul's Advice on Anxiety
• 5:45 Episode Closing

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

Speaker 2: 0:20

Welcome back to the Daily Blade. This week we are gonna be in John, chapter two. It is the first of Jesus's signs in the book of John. We're going to be studying this event this entire week, chapter 2, verse 1. I'll read the event and then we'll unpack it.

Speaker 2: 0:36

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana, in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him they have no wine. And Jesus said to her woman what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants do whatever he tells you. Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification. Now, there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants fill the jars with water. And they filled them to the brim. And he said to them now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. And so they took it. And when the master of the feast tasted, the water now become wine and did not know where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water now become wine and did not know where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. The master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor one, but you have kept the good wine until now. This the first of his signs. Jesus did at Cana, in Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him. After this, he went down to Capernaum with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days. Again, this is the first of the signs that Jesus does in the book of John.

Speaker 2: 2:00

Now, the thing I want to point out here is that Jesus is at a first century wedding, and the reason that Mary is freaking out is because hospitality in the first century is of the utmost importance, and so the way it would work is this first big wedding feast that was happening. It was an opportunity for the husband to prove to his new in-laws and to everybody in the town that he had what it takes to provide for his new wife and his new family, and so the fact that this brother was going to run out of wine would have shamed him in the eyes of his new in-laws, it would have shamed him in front of his own wife and it would have shamed him in front of the entire town. And so this isn't just like a minor detail In the first century. This is a really, really, really big deal. And so what does Mary do? Mary has a physical, temporary need, because Mary feels sorry for the host of the party, and so the reason that Mary goes to Jesus is because, even though Jesus has not done any miracles yet, jesus in and of himself is a miracle, because she has treasured all these things in her heart. And Mary still obviously remembers that she had not had sex with Joseph and yet found herself pregnant with the son of God, and his name is Jesus. And so she knows that Jesus has the ability to do something about this because he is God. And so here's what she does, mary when faced with a temporary physical need being out of wine, she brings that need to Jesus. So why do I bring this up? Because we have been told to bring our needs to Jesus, even if it's not the biggest deal in the world, even if we know that it's a physical need, even if we know that it is a temporary need. We are to bring our needs to Jesus.

Speaker 2: 3:48

Paul talks about this in Philippians 4. Verse 6, he says Do not be anxious about anything. So let me ask you, men, are you anxious about something? Anxious about work, anxious about your marriage, anxious about your children, anxious about your finances? Is there anything on this planet that you are worried about that you are fretting over, that keep you up at night? Well, paul says don't do that. And you say well, paul, how in the world am I just going to not be anxious?

Speaker 2: 4:16

And Paul tells us how to not be anxious. He says but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. In other words, if there is something that you are worried about, that you were anxious about, that you were fretting over, no matter how big it is or how small it is, what we are supposed to do is bring that worry or that anxiety or the thing that we are fretting over, we are to, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let our requests be made known to God. That we are to say God, can you help me out here? God, can you help me do something about this?

Speaker 2: 4:56

And then Paul makes a promise in Philippians 4, 7, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Now, god may or may not change your circumstances, but what he promises you is that when we lean into him, when we cast our cares upon him, the Prince of Peace, then he can give us a peace that transcends all understanding. The way Peter says it is this cast all your cares upon God because he cares for you. So, men, what is the thing that you have been carrying around lately? And you are not meant to carry it around? Instead of carrying that thing around that burdens you, why don't you carry it to Jesus in prayer?

Speaker 1: 5:45

Amen. Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go. If you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review. Stay sharp.