This phrase from John 2:5 is part of the account of Jesus turning water into wine. Mary told servants at a wedding to listen to the Lord. 

Implicit in this instruction is a belief that whatever Jesus said would be the right thing to do. And Mary was proven right – a wedding that had gone a bit flat due to the wine running out now miraculously overflowed with joy again.

More than a party trick, this was a revelation of Christ’s glory (v. 11). It suggested that this was no ordinary human being, but God Himself in human form. The result was that His disciples put their faith in Him.

And if Jesus Christ is God, then Mary’s instruction to “do whatever He tells you” carries even more meaning. His teaching and commands never lead us astray, but will always result in what is best for us. This is, after all, the same God of whom the psalmist said, “I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches…I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your word…Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law…how sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:14,16,18,103) Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands…Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me…Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” (John 14:15, 21, 23)

I have always regretted times when I have not obeyed the Lord. And when I have followed His will, I have experienced great joy and peace.

Jesus summed it up well in Mark 12:30,31, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…Love your neighbour as yourself.” To truly love the Lord naturally means seeking to obey Him with every fibre of our being, and that obedience will lead us to love others as well.

So may we remember John 2:5, and “do whatever He tells us”, in the Spirit’s power.