The Sign of Changing the Water into Wine
John 2:1-12
In John 1:50 Jesus said: “You will see greater things than these!” Three days later, Jesus and his mother, Mary, go together, along with His first disciples, to a wedding in Cana and witness the first miracle or sign of Jesus’ ministry:
John 2:1-12: On the third day (the third day from the last recorded event) there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. (probably a relative of Jesus since Jesus and Mary were invited.)
3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. (The water jars were there because the Pharisees and the Jews would not eat unless they carefully washed their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; they would also utilize the water from those jars for the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots, especially during this one week celebration.)
7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. (no room for deception or trickery-fil them to the top with water!) 8 And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast." So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now."
11 “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum, (which would be Jesus homebase during His ministry) with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.”
The “first of his signs”
If you grew up in church and in Sunday school, you probably remember that “changing the water into wine” was Jesus’ first “sign” or “miracle” which He performed. A “sign” is first of all an extraordinary phenomenon: A sign calls your attention to something supernatural, something beyond human ability; you know very well that human beings cannot “change water into wine”, let alone 120 gallons of the finest wine. There were eyewitnesses who would be able to verify the fact that a miracle had occurred. (This sign was also a miracle, but not all signs are miracles.)
A “sign” also points beyond itself to a greater reality: The Lord brought wine into existence from nothing but water. None of the normal process was utilized in wine making: No grapes were gathered and pressed. No time was allowed for fermentation. No straining or stirring. Nothing was added. Jesus demonstrated that He is the Lord over Creation and the Lord of Creation had come to dwell with men in the flesh!
This sign manifested Jesus’ glory: Remember John 1:14: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” The first miracle reveals the essential nature of the person of Jesus Christ and He gloriously reveals Himself to many witnesses. He also reveals the essential character and nature of the Father. God is “tabernacling” (pitching His Almighty tent) in the light and life of Jesus in His ministry. His nature is still very much veiled like that of the Old Testament, but the works of this God-man Jesus display the veiled God of the Universe in a form consistent with man’s ability and fragility.
THIS Sign caused some to believe! “And his disciples believed in him.” We know that the disciples who were present with Him came to a point of decision and became absolutely committed to Jesus. They would be OBEDIENT to His Word and serve Him and His Mission. They would follow Him in His fellowship of persecution, suffering and death. They would be truthful witnesses to Jesus as they wholeheartedly surrendered to Him, KNOWING AND BELIEVING in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. They threw themselves upon the Lord in self-abandoning faith and trust in the person of Jesus Christ.
Quotes to understand during the miracle
Jesus’ mother points out to her son: “They have no wine.” It may very well be that as a relative to the couple, Mary had a part in the planning or food preparation at the event; this may be why she may have been one of the first to notice the wine shortage. The wedding feast was the bridegroom’s responsibility and with the responsibility came social disgrace if the provisions for the feast fell short in some way. Cultural shame would have resulted and a loss of reputation and honor. Mary most likely had a strong concern for her relative.
Jesus’ response to her is this: "Woman, what does this have to do with me?” First of all, Jesus’ response to her with the expression, “woman”, is NOT disrespectful as it would be in our culture. He is rebuking Mary, but not in a disrespectful or sinful manner. Rather, “woman” would be used frequently as a term of respect. But there seems to be a bit of dissociation with His earthly mother in its usage, and we’ll see that in a moment. The MEANING of the question would be this: “What do I have to do with you in this matter”? Or “What do we have in common in this matter?” In a sense, Jesus is assuring Mary of His presence, not as her Son, but as the ONE who would reveal Himself at His time of choosing, not hers.
That is why Jesus immediately follows with the words, “My hour has not yet come." This phrase alerts the reader “to anticipate the arrival of Jesus’ time at a later point in the narrative. In the framework of the entire Gospel, Jesus’ “time” refers to the moment at which God is fully glorified in him: the hour of his death…In this present instance, Jesus does not want to be forced to a public manifestation of his identity on another’s terms. Later, Jesus’ brothers similarly urge Jesus to make himself know publicly, failing to perceive that the time to do so had not yet come, and attempts to arrest Jesus fail for the same reason.”
“Jesus’ solution…is to perform a miracle “behind the scenes”. His timing is perfect, and the host is spared any embarrassment. By acting discreetly, Jesus avoids stealing the spotlight from the groom and his bride… Indeed, “the guest who was not likely to contribute any money, who fellow-guests were likely to be expensive to entertain, gave the most valuable present of all: valuable for its quality, its quantity, its timeliness, and its non-reciprocating character.” (“John”, by A. Kostenbergerp.95)
Mary does not respond to Jesus, but instead responds to the servants: “Do whatever he tells you." This demonstrates that Mary understood more about Jesus than we sometimes give her credit. As His caretaker for thirty years, she had no doubt realized that Jesus was the Messiah and that He possessed extraordinary power from God. She had been impregnated by the Holy Spirit, visited by angels, shepherds, wise men, she had heard the testimony of John the Baptist and others concerning Jesus, and she witnessed Jesus’ sin-free life for 30 years: You know the way we sometimes refer to a child as a “PROBLEM CHILD”? Jesus had been a NO-PROBLEM CHILD! He had supernatural wisdom, astounding even the religious leaders so He would know how to solve this problem and save the host of the party any embarrassment in this “shame-based culture”. So she tells the servants present: “Do whatever he tells you." “Do whatever he tells you."
The Significance of changing water into the best wine
There is great significance in following instructions, but essential when following the Savior.
The significance of changing mere water into the best wine is incorporated in the response of the master of the feast after sampling the exquisite wine: “But you have kept the good wine until now." In Christ, God supplies every good and perfect thing in abundance. He does not merely make things better, but He is making all things new. The abundance in Christ is not found in the water but in changing it into extraordinary wine.
“But you have kept the good wine until now." God does everything “on time”, at the RIGHT time. The master of the feast had not kept the best wine until last. The “groom” had kept the good wine until now. (The LORD JESUS is our Groom. The Church for whom He died is His Beloved Bride. Whenever my Crossroad students have had to give their favorite name for the Church, it is always “The Bride of Christ.”) The master PLAN by God Himself all along was to bring salvation full and free, by grace alone through the Son of God, our beloved Lord Jesus.
The focus historically in Israel (and in human nature generally) had been on the six water jars and their practice of purifying the outsides of vessels and the outsides of their bodies while their hearts remained unclean. Jesus is appearing in God’s perfect providential and sovereign plan, in HIS TIMING, in order to provide salvation and life in abundance so that men and women could have NEW HEARTS and NEW LIVES, and to be able to love God WITH those hearts and lives, and to be able to love their neighbors in the way that God has loved them.
“But you have kept the good wine until now." In God’s timing and in God’s abundant way, the New Wine points to the wine of the New Covenant. God HAS kept the best until last: the appearance of His Son in order to save. Water was used for the purification rites in Jewish culture, but Jesus would wash sin away by the pouring out of His Blood, the Blood of the New Covenant would be His own Blood. The wine points to the cleansing that would be, NOT BY WATER, but by the Blood.
There are no shortages in the Kingdom of God’s Son. There will be no shortages at the wedding feast of the Lamb of God and the bride of Christ. The celebration will not be for one week, but forever. There will not be a hint of shame or dishonor. All things will be new, and not merely better, but the best, only on account of the Lord Jesus, the Christ.
It’s significant that Jesus would perform His first miracle at a wedding feast. The love and joy that are so evident in the marriage covenant is characteristic of the love that Christ has for His Church; that He would give His love and life in exchange for her, bringing joy to all who believe in Him.
The miracle reminded me of the great marriage in Revelation 19: 6 “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"--for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."
OUTLINE:
I. Jesus performed the “first (beginning) of his signs”.
1. A “sign” is an extraordinary phenomenon: not all signs are miracles.
2. A “sign” points beyond itself to a greater reality:
3. This sign manifested Jesus’ glory: John 1:14:
4. THIS Sign caused some to believe!
II. Quotes to understand during the miracle:
1. “They have no wine.”
2. "Woman, what does this have to do with me?”
(Woman, what do I have to do with you?)
3. “My hour has not yet come."
4. “Do whatever he tells you."
III. The Significance of changing water into the best wine.
1. God supplies every good thing in abundance.
2. God does everything “on time”.
3. The New Wine points to the wine of the New Covenant:
All things will be new, and not merely better, but the best, only on account of the Lord Jesus, the Christ.
