Let the Good Times Roll by Chad Hess

In my Bible study with my AV team leaders, we just started looking at the book of John. We talked about how different John is from the other gospels. Many scholars believe that it was probably the last gospel written, and John probably tried to fill in some of the gaps from the other gospels. There are many stories that John leaves out, and there are also several things that John includes that the others leave out.

Matthew, Mark and Luke tell the story of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness as one of the starting points of Jesus’ ministry. In John, Jesus’ ministry begins with a party. In fact, John makes sure to point out that turning the water into wine was Jesus’ first miracle (John 2:11). This then makes it interesting that Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding. Jesus obviously wasn’t invited because he was hugely popular; he was a new teacher with a small following, who hadn’t done anything noteworthy yet. It seems that Jesus was invited because he was fun to be with. Jesus knew how to have a good time. And he began his ministry by quietly keeping the party going. His first act of divine power was to “keep the good times rolling”, or should we say, flowing. What a far cry from the somber, tight-laced killjoy that many people think of when they hear the word “Christian”.

I think there is a reason that Jesus did his first miracle at a party. It’s very similar to the reason why a God of infinite power choose to rest for 24 hours at the end of creation. I believe it was God’s way of reminding us that we need to rest and we need to have fun. There is something cleansing about a deep belly laugh among friends. There is something refreshing about good food and great conversation. There is something invigorating about a great party. It is so easy to get caught up in all the things that need to be done, that it can be difficult to make the time for fun. But it is important, and it is necessary. After all, Jesus didn’t come to give us a to-do list; He came “to give [us] a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10).

Chad Hess