On the third day 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. 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.7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.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, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.
One of the most frightening things I had to do in seminary was to preach in class. It was hard because it felt very fabricated. 8-10 guys sitting in a room listening to you preach who then are asked to give you feedback which is a nice way of saying, to rip you and your sermon to pieces. This was a dreaded experience.
Upon one occasion a fellow got done preaching his sermon and the professor commented: “Oh Bob, when you preach this sermon in your church, Bob, people are going to say to you afterwards, ‘Oh pastor Bob…that was amazing, we have never seen that in the text before.’ And you know why they are going to say that Bob? Do you know why they are going to tell you they have never seen that in this text, Bob? Because it isn’t there Bob…”
(Maybe that is a pastor’s joke.)
What is this account of Jesus’ turning the water into wine, about? Why is it in the Bible? Why would this miracle be the first? I have read about this passage, sermons and commentaries, that kind of thing, and I found it interesting, all the different ideas that people put forth as THE teaching of what this miracle is about.
Let me give you a few of them:
First, if you love Jesus you must love His disciples. (The disciples were invited with Jesus to the wedding, if you invite Jesus you have to invite those who are his friends and followers.)
This is saying what the Bible everywhere says, you can’t have Jesus and not have the church, a very important biblical principle, one that is taught everywhere in the Bible, but probably not the main point here.
Second, men must obey Jesus with practical, prompt and perpetual obedience. This in reference to those who filled the pots as commanded, they did it quickly, without question, it was a very simple and practical thing to do.
Again, this too is true, and we should never tire of hearing it. What the commentator meant by obedience being perpetual, I didn’t understand unless those filling the pots were never supposed to stop? I have to admit this lost me, although OUR obedience is to be perpetual.
Third, obeying Christ might not always make sense, but do it anyway. (This due to the fact that WATER was to be put in the pitchers when wine was needed, but the men did not question Jesus, even though it didn’t make sense to put water in the jars when wine was asked for, yet they went ahead and did it anyway.)
And WOW, can we find all kinds of examples of this principle in the Bible.
In that same sermon, a point was made that you should serve Christ with the abilities you have. That is, the water pourers must serve as water pourers seeing that, that was their gift, or their station in life, not very glamorous, but still doing it unto the Lord, therefore, very valuable.
Fourth, some say the point is to show Jesus’ acceptance of marriage as he blesses this one with his presence. Marriage is good, because Jesus went to a wedding, that is the basic idea.
Fifth, it is interesting how many will seek to take on the issue of wine, drinking and the use of alcohol. Some will argue that this is NOT wine, not fermented wine, but a lovely grape juice…that is highly doubtful.
Last, while some are busy arguing about wine and whether or not you could get drunk on grape juice, others will make sure we see that Mary gets a rebuke from Jesus so as to point out that she wasn’t perfect, “Ha, she too has to submit to Jesus!”
I think we might be missing the point.
Now, I am not seeking to be overly-critical, nor do I want to instruct you to be either, many of the points that I mentioned are true, and good for us to hear. But what is really going on here?
Let’s begin with the context.
John’s interest is to set before us the person and work of the Lord Jesus so that we might be faced at every turn with the reality of who this is, where He comes from and what His purpose is upon the earth.
In chapter one, He is the one who created all things and who has been from the beginning. He is the one who dwelt in glory in the OT tabernacle, coming to his people, dwelling in a tent as they dwell in a tent. John wants to lift our eyes to see that heaven has intruded in the plain of human reality, the kingdom above, coming to the earth in the person and work of Jesus.
Now we are at a wedding. And John stays on task. He wants us to see the kingdom of God and the glory of our King—to see behind the event to the depths of its meaning and purpose.
John tells us in verse 11, “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory and his disciples put their faith in him.”
Look over at verse 23, “now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men.”
And you may remember the theme of John found in 20:30-31: “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing you may have life in his name.”
Jesus, when Mary comes and asks him to do something, is saying to his mother that his time has not yet come, and this introduces a theme that is seen throughout John’s gospel.
Jesus is conscious of the fact that he had come to accomplish a task entrusted to him by the Father, and that every detail was marked off by the plan of God so that for each act, for each sign that pointed to heaven, that pointed to the glory of Jesus, there was a stipulated moment.
Jesus would act, when the time was right, when the Father had decided it should happen, in everything, from this wedding, to the day, he was fastened to a Roman cross.
To be continued…
Prayer: Father, please forgive me for thinking that I know or just going along with the convention of the day. I pray that in all things my mind and heart would pursue Your desires as You have revealed them in Holy Scripture. May my life more and more be patterned according to Your word and may it be my joy and desire to walk in Your ways through each day, that Christ may be glorified in my body, words and thoughts. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.
Hymn: Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
