The Passage
John 2:1-12
On the third day there was a wedding
in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His
disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the
mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."
Jesus said to her, "Woman, what
does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come."
His mother said to the servants,
"Whatever He says to you, do [it]." Now there were set there six
waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews,
containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.
Jesus said to them, "Fill the
waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to
them, "Draw [some] out now, and take [it] to the master of the
feast." And they took [it].
When the master of the feast had
tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but
the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the
bridegroom. And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the
good wine, and when the [guests] have well drunk, then the inferior. You have
kept the good wine until now!"
This beginning of signs Jesus did in
Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His
mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
A Little Background
Although Jesus’ ministry formally
began when He was baptized by John, the wedding at Cana records His first
miracle. A Jewish wedding in Biblical times was very different from
modern weddings in our culture. Weddings occurred in three parts.
The celebration was the third part of the wedding ceremony, and could
last for many days. Jesus and his disciples had been invited to the
celebration.
Some Explanation
On the third day... The account of the wedding follows three days after Jesus’
selection of some of His disciples. It is possible that the five
disciples were included in the invitation at the last minute. This
explanation may account for the wine running out. It may also be likely
that the wedding was that of Jesus’ relative. This would also explain
Mary’s involvement. Perhaps she was close to the family and was aware of
the embarrassing situation that was about to occur. If the
disciples were a last minute addition, she may have felt a sense of
responsibility.
Woman what does your concern have to do with Me?... The title Jesus used toward Mary,
was a respectful way to address a woman of higher standing. Jesus did not
refer to her as mother, nor did he call Mary by name. Perhaps as little
as two months previously, Jesus had been baptized, when the heavens opened and
the Father said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased." Until that time, Jesus lived in relative obscurity, likely
with His family. But Jesus was now
beginning His Messianic ministry.
Although Mary was Jesus’ mother by earthly birth, this would be a new
relationship. He was now ministering as
God in the flesh; Mary was as much a sheep in need of a Savior as every other
person that Jesus encountered. (Later,
Mary and her other sons will come to Jesus requesting his attention by calling
upon their family relationship. Jesus
did not allow them any special favor.)
My hour has not yet come... Many commentators agree that Mary was asking Jesus to
reveal Himself as Messiah by her request regarding the wine. Jesus was
not ready to fully reveal His Messiah-ship, yet. It would take some time
before Jesus would declare Himself fully. However, He did take the
opportunity to show the first sign of His deity.
Abundance of wine was understood as
a prophetic characteristic of the hoped-for Messianic kingdom. By turning
the water into wine, Jesus was showing a sign of His Messianic identity. Other
literature of the period tells of the Jewish belief that when Messiah came,
there would be a time of plenty. Numbers 13 describes the spies returning
from Canaan carrying such huge clusters of grapes that it took two men to carry
them on their shoulders. Israel looked for the day when Messiah would
return her to her original glory including abundance of wine. The prophets also foretold of abundance of
wine in the Messianic kingdom (Jeremiah 31:12, Amos 9:14, Joel 3:18)
Six waterpots of stone... Purification was extremely important to devout Jews[1]. These waterpots were
probably for the purpose of the
guests’ washing of their hands and feet before the feast. Six large pots
of approximately 20 to 30 gallons each would be about 120-180 gallons of
water. Since the pots were empty (for Jesus told the servants to fill
them with water) it is reasonable to conclude that they had used the water for
cleansing before the feast.
 |
| 30-gallon wine keg |
You have kept the good wine until now!... At
the wedding feast, a wise host would use the good wine first for the guests to
appreciate. But as they drank, they would be less likely to notice the
inferior wine later toward the end of the feast.
Observations and Insights
Jesus’ new
disciples were convinced that He was the longed-for Messiah (John 1:41-51). With this first sign, turning the water into
wine, and manifesting His glory, the disciples believed in Him. Later
in Mark 2:22 and Luke 22:18, 30, they
saw Jesus identify His ministry as the new wine. Like the new wine
reserved for later in the feast, Jesus Himself is that good wine, “reserved until now”.
Psalms 19 and 119 are beautiful expressions of the perfection and excellence of God’s Word, the Law. Jesus, the Word in flesh is the fulfillment of the Law. Ephesians 5:26 tells us that the Word is water that washes us. Until Jesus, the Old Testament Scriptures were a law written upon stone, but God promised a time when His law would be written on fleshly tablets of the heart. Throughout the times of the Old Testament, the Jews could not keep the law perfectly. Though perfect, holy, and precious as gold, the law brought death because it could not be kept perfectly by imperfect man. Jesus’ ministry and atonement would abolish the necessity of keeping the law. Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for sin, He indwells us through the Holy Spirit engraving the living Word upon our hearts.
(Next John 2:12-25)
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