“Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come” (John 2:4).

On various occasions during His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus made the cryptic comment: “My hour is not yet come.” The first of these was at the wedding in Cana, as mentioned in our text. The second was when his brothers skeptically challenged him to make a public declaration of His plans at Jerusalem. “Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready” (John 7:6). As opposition to His claims increased, the authorities tried to stop Him, but “no man laid hands on Him; for His hour was not yet come” (John 8:20).

But then came the hour! When He entered Jerusalem for the last week before His crucifixion, He proclaimed: “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified” (John 12:23). As He sensed the shadow of the cross, He said: “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour” (John 12:27). Just before the last supper, “Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father” (John 13:1). He would, at this hour, be abandoned even by His disciples: “Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me” (John 16:32). Then, finally, He could pray to the Father: “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee” (John 17:1). From thence, He went to the Garden, then to the judgment hall, to the cross, to the tomb, and finally, in the spirit, even to Hades.

Because He did not shrink from that hour, there is yet another great hour coming: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” (John 5:25). HMM