Water Into Wine Series

Water to Wine

September 2, 2007

Video Clip from The Miracles of Jesus:

Episode 2: 10:10 – 11:40; Discovery Channel - Produced by the BBC

The Wine Runs Out

Today, we are going to be looking at the first miracle of Jesus, where He turned water to wine, so if you’ve got your Bibles, turn over to John 2. Read along with me. Here we go.

1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

The Wine Runs Out

4 “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

John 2

So, we see a huge, huge problem come up at this wedding, and this is what it is. “When the wine was gone,” now that’s a problem, okay? “When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’ Jesus replied, ‘Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.’

His mother then turned to the servants and said, ‘Do whatever he tells you to do.’ “ So, here’s Jesus. His mom’s like, “You are going to do something.”

Jars are Filled

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

John 2

So, the servants come to Him, so Jesus says, “I’ll tell you what. See those six stone jars over there? Those water pots? They hold about twenty to thirty gallons each. I want you to fill each one of them up with water.” So the servants did so.

They filled them up. John notes that they filled them to the brim, all the way to the top. Jesus then said, “I want you to go and I want you to dip the water out of those jars, and I want you to serve it to the master of the banquet, the master of ceremonies, and then begin to serve it to the guests.”

Wine is Poured

They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.

Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

John 2

And this little miracle that happened that day, this first miracle of Jesus was very much a behind-the-scenes miracle that met a huge need that had popped up at that wedding.

As each cup was poured, as the water was poured into each cup, Jesus worked a miracle in that each cup of water was turned into a cup of wine.

The Miracle of Water Becoming Wine

Now, what’s really interesting to me about this miracle, because I asked myself at times, “Why not a more grand miracle for the first miracle? Why turning water into wine? Why not, you know, raising the dead and all the other things? Why this one?”

Think about who Jesus is for a minute. We are in chapter 2 of John’s gospel. In chapter one of John, Jesus is God come to earth as a message of light and hope. We see Jesus baptized by John the Baptist and Jehovah God speaks out of the clouds and says, “This is My Son in Whom I am well pleased.”

Now, we come to the Cana for a wedding party. Jesus has just gotten his ministry started. He has just called five of His disciples. Not all twelve of his disciples came to the wedding, only the first five. So far everything is behind the scenes and Jesus is expecting to be released into public ministry soon – but it hasn’t happened.

People had journeyed and come to this wedding expecting there to be plenty of food and plenty to drink. And then they ran out of wine.

Jesus’ mother looked at Jesus and said, “Listen, you are the Son of God. You have the ability and the power to do something about this situation – so do it.”

He is thirty years old, He knows His time is coming, He knows what He has been called to do. He knows He is the Son of God. He knows His purpose, but yet, He’s got the sense of waiting for the right time. And His mom’s saying, “Hey, it’s time to do something right now!”