Friday, April 26, 2024

Dustin R. Smith on John 2:4 and the Depiction of Mary

  

The Mother of Jesus in Cana

 

The first of Jesus’ seven signs within the Gospel of John occurs at the wedding in Cana (2:1-11). In this story, the main characters are Jesus and his mother. Jesus’ disciples and the wedding participants are minor background characters, while Mary takes the dominant role opposite Jesus. As soon as the supply of wine runs out, her first action is to bring the matter to Jesus’ attention. Jesus responds by asking her why the lack of wine should involve the two of them asserting in the process that his climatic hour has not yet come. This short interaction between Mary and Jesus strongly suggests that she anticipated a particular response from him, resulting in the answer with which Jesus replied. In turn, Mary commands the wedding servants to obey anything that Jesus tells them to do. The story continues with Jesus giving specific instructions, leading to the miracle of the water turning into an abundance of good wine, the first of Jesus’ signs. The narrator indicates that the disciples expressed belief in him after the miraculous sign took place, but the mother of Jesus seems to indicate her belief in Jesus’ ability to intervene and supply the wine prior to the act occurring.

 

Within Jesus’ interaction with his mother, we detect some noteworthy influences of personified wisdom’s activity from Jewish wisdom literature. We have observed that Wisdom is characterized as having female disciples. We have observed that Wisdom is characterized as having female disciples in the context of a proverb where Wisdom prepares her own wine (Prov 9:2-3). Lady Wisdom sends forth her maidens, and it is fair to assume that they function as delegated agents carrying forth her agenda. Wisdom offers a hospitable invitation that specifically includes a summons to drink of the wine that she has mixed. (Prov 9:5; Sir 24:21) The author of the Fourth Gospel carefully notes that it is precisely when the wine ran out that Mary spoke of the incident to Jesus. Since the Johannine Jesus is the embodiment of Lady Wisdom—the mixer of wine—Jesus would certainly be able to produce more. The overwhelming amount of wine Jesus produces further reflects the impact of traditions surrounding Lady Wisdom’s lavish provision. (Sir 1:6; 6:19; 24:19-21; Wis 7:11, 14) Mary knew exactly who Jesus was, joining the likes of John the Baptist and Nathaniel who recognized Jesus prior to him personally interacting or speaking with them. Since the ideal disciple is one who believes in Jesus before witnessing miraculous signs (John 20:29), Mary distinguishes herself from the disciples present at the wedding, who only express their belief after the sign takes place. Mary effectively functions as a disciple/maiden of Wisdom who expresses her faith in Jesus as incarnate Wisdom, the mixer and provider of wine. By recognizing the impact of personified wisdom traditions upon the story of the wedding at Cana, we can grasp the key role that the author gives to Mary, an ideal Johannine disciple. (Dustin R. Smith, Wisdom Christology in the Gospel of John [Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf and Stock, 2024], 192-93)