‘That’s a side I haven’t seen before!’  Have you ever said that about someone?  It’s when you see them act in a different way to what you have seen before.  We think of Jesus as healer and miracle worker, as one full of love and compassion.  And he is!  However there is another side.

 

Some time after the wedding in Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine, he went up to Jerusalem for the Passover.  What he sees in the outer courts of the temple grieves him.  This is his Father’s house.  This part of the temple is where everyone could come and worship God. It was where men and women of all races were welcome.  However, it was now like a market.  Sheep, cattle, cages of doves and tables for the merchants, filled the space.

 

Suddenly we see a different side of Jesus.  He makes a whip and drives the animals and merchants out. 

 

“Do whatever he tells you”.  This is what Mary said to the servants that day.  She was attending a wedding in the small town of Cana, along with Jesus and his disciples.

 

Having an abundance of food and drink is important at any wedding.  However the wine had run out at this one.  Mary was concerned.  Although she expressed the need to Jesus, notice that she never told him what to do.

 

Why did Jesus respond to Mary, even though he said it wasn’t time for him to begin his ministry?  Was it because she was his mother?  No doubt that is partly true.  Yet Jesus later says that anyone who does the Father’s will is like his mother or brothers.  Jesus responds to our concerns and needs in the same way he responded to Mary’s.

 

What an invitation!  ‘Come and see’.  This is the invitation given by Jesus to Andrew and his friend.  They were followers of John the Baptist, but now John is pointing them to Jesus.

 

The words are simple and yet profound.  Jesus is inviting them to come with him. Not only that, he is inviting them to come and see.  This little word ‘see’ in the original language means more than just seeing with our physical eyes.  Jesus is inviting them to understand and experience who he is and what his presence really means.

 

When we have met Jesus like this, we long for others to know the difference he makes in our lives.  This is what happens.  Andrew invites his brother Simon Peter.  The following day Philip invites his friend Nathanael.  ‘Come and see’.