Introduction
In many Christian circles, many take issue whenever the topic of drinking wine is discussed. It is a very controversial subject to say the least. My view is simple. The bible states, do not be drunk with wine, but be fill with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18) However, in our culture wine plays a very big part in happy hour, in the party, on the vacation, on shopping sprees, whenever eating occurs, just traveling, in the home, on a cruise and even in some parts of denominational churches.
I have made the observation that people want to get you drunk to make you feel like you are having a good time. This occurs quite often when you are during any of the aforementioned activities. People get joy out of drinking wine. In many circumstances, people lose their inhibitions after drinking wine. It enables them to relax without getting drunk.
Jesus’ first miracle on record has intrigue me, because of the controversy over drinking wine in todays’ society. Jesus supplied the wine via a miracle and it was the best wine. What does this miracle mean for the twenty-first century church?
The Wedding of the Wine (John 2:1-2)
The wedding itself is very inconspicuous. We do not know any of the wedding party. Who were the bride and the groom? What two family were about to be join together? Who is the father of the bride or the mother of the groom? There isn’t any indication as to who these people were. The wedding feast was customary. It would have a social mishap to not have enough wine for the guests. This may be a plausible theory as to why the names of the wedding party were not mentioned. We do not know the wedding party, but we do know that Mary, the mother of Jesus was in attendance. Jesus was there also along with his disciples who were invited.
The only other thing we know about the wedding of the wine is that it was the third day. The first two days did not require the power of God as it laid dormant in the Son of God.
Could this wedding and wine be symbolic of the joy that God would give to the world after the death of Jesus? Since he died for the sins of the world, would this be a symbol of Him lying dormant in the grave until the third day? Would this be symbolic of Him having all power in His Hands? Should the “whosoever” (John 3:16) at the wedding party begin to sing:
“Joy to the world, The Lord is come, Let earth receive her king, Let every heart prepare him room, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and heaven and nature sing!”
Woman of the Wine (John 2:3-4)
The woman of the wine is Mary, the Mother of Jesus. There are some theologians that Mary may have been related to the bride or the groom. Cana was about seven miles north of Nazareth. It could be plausible since we know Mary’s hometown was Nazareth.
It is a biblical fact that she moved back to Nazareth after leaving Egypt after King Herod died. This could account for Mary, Jesus, and the disciples receiving an invitation to the wedding. It may also account for Mary’s concern for the lack of wine as well as Jesus doing the miracle. This all could have been a family matter.
What is also intriguing about the woman of the wine is that she knew that Jesus could fix the problem. The problem was the lack of wine. Mary made Jesus aware of this specific problem, “They have no wine.” Why did Mary go to Jesus about a wine problem at a wedding party. There are two thing that appears wrong with this situation.
The first thing is why would you go to a “preacher” (JESUS) for the wine? Secondly, how did Mary know that Jesus could fix this peculiar problem? The only answer to the first question would be that it was a family matter.
The second question can be answered by stating that Jesus performed many other miracles prior to the miracle with the wine. (John 21:25)
The Wonder of the Wine ( John 2:8-11)
The wonder of the wine is the miracle of the wine. Jesus’ mother got involved with the problem. She alerted Jesus about the problem with the wine. In the beginning, Jesus was apprehensive about solving the problem with the lack of wine. In John 2:4 it states, “And Jesus *said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
Mary was forceful and she had given instructions to the servants prior to the miracle being performed. The servants were obedient and followed the instructions of Jesus. Jesus turned the water into wine. The quality of the wine was the best at the wedding feast. This is Jesus first miracle as the “Son of Man.”
The wonder of the wine not only fixed the problem at the wedding feast, but it was also symbolic of the blood that Jesus would shed for the sins of the world. Therefore, the wonder of the wine fixed the problem for the perfect sacrificial lame to be offer up one and for all for the sins of the world. Jesus who was sinless gave his life for your sins and my sins.
In contrast, anyone that received an invitation to the wedding feast was joyful, especially after the miracle with the wine. We can also state that as Jesus died for our sins, God is giving you an invitation to be at the wedding feast of the Lamb. Accept Jesus today to open up the best wine of salvation!
