The First Miracle - Turning Water into Wine

Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
^{Thursday June 06, 2024}

John 2:1-12

Father, there is wonderful symmetry in the Bible. For example, the Old Testament begins with creation in Genesis 1 while the New Testament ends, in Revelation 21, with the creation of a new heaven and new earth. It is not surprising, therefore, that the first major event in Jesus’ ministry took place at a wedding feast given the last event mentioned in the Bible is the future “wedding of the Lamb” in Revelation 19, when Jesus is forever married to His bride, the church. Two days after His conversation with Nathanael, Jesus was a guest, along with His disciples, at a wedding in Cana in Galilee. However, He will be the bridegroom at the wedding in Revelation.

The text tells us that Mary, Jesus’ mother, was also a guest at the wedding . It has been 18 years since the events of Luke 2:41-52, the last time we read about Mary. In that passage, Mary was upset that 12-year-old Jesus had gone missing in Jerusalem. It is most likely that Mary is now the mother of five sons and, at least, two daughters (Mark 6:3). It is also likely, given that people married in their teens back in that culture, that at least one or more of Jesus’ siblings has been married by this time and Jesus may have multiple nephews and/or nieces. Mary’s now extensive family may also be present at this wedding. It is also noteworthy that there is no reference to Joseph in this vignette from Jesus’ life. He may have been present at the wedding but was not relevant to the story. His absence from this story could also be explained by his being too busy with work in his carpentry business to attend the wedding. It is also possible that Joseph is no longer present in the family, perhaps having passed away. Some have speculated that another reason why Jesus waited to the age of 30 to begin His ministry was because He helped raise His younger siblings throughout His twenties in the absence of Joseph.

The text states that all of the wine had been consumed by the guests. While we may consider this no big deal in our day, this was scandalous in Bible times. A wedding was the most important event in a family’s life. It was the one thing a father and mother made sure they got right, even to the smallest of details. Given that a marriage was similar to a business contract between the fathers, failure to provide enough wine is a failure to fulfill the terms of a contract. There were potential legal implications of running out of wine. It was certainly a huge social faux pas that would embarrass and haunt the family for years. Mary, who most likely was friends of the parents, felt compassion on their predicament. She whispered to Jesus, “Jesus, they ran out of wine.”

Jesus clearly interprets His mother’s motive for telling Him about the wine. He believes she wants Him to “come out”, so to speak, at this wedding, in front of all of these guests, and show that He is truly the Son of God. She most likely still has a reputation in the community for her alleged promiscuity that led her to have a baby out of wedlock thirty years before. If Jesus would perform a miracle, right here and right now, everyone would finally know that she was innocent all along, and that she truly did give birth to the Son of God. Mary felt it was safe to ask this of Jesus since He had already officially begun His public ministry, having been baptized by John the Baptist the previous month.

Jesus replied to his mother by saying:

“Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not come.”

Wow. At first glance, Jesus seems to be annoyed and disrespectful to His mother. Why didn’t He call her “Mother”? Which one of us would find it good manners to refer to our mother as “woman”? However, if we are to believe that Jesus was sinless (1 Peter 2:22), and we are to believe He knew the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12, Mark 10:19), His response here cannot be disrespectful. The Greek word used for woman is gyn?. It is used to refer to any woman, whether she is a virgin, married, or widowed. Jesus is quoted as using this term for a woman four times during His ministry:

• Speaking to the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:28 (mother of demon-possessed daughter).
• Jesus heals the crippled woman in Luke 13:12 (woman is crippled).
• Speaking to the Samaritan woman in John 4:21 (woman caught in adultery).
• When Jesus asks John to take care of His mother in John 19:26 (His soon-to-be grieving mother).

In each of these situations, Jesus had compassion for the woman to whom He was addressing. Therefore, Jesus uses the term “woman” endearingly and lovingly. Why did He not call her “mother”? I suggest Jesus knew that Mary was going to be venerated in future generations. He also knew He was about to be quoted and that His quote would appear in the gospels. I believe Jesus wanted to send a message that, as wonderful a mother as Mary had been for Him, she is like any other woman in history - a woman who needs a Savior.

There are several occasions in the gospels where Jesus shied away from celebrity.

• Jesus asked the man whom He healed of leprosy not to tell anyone (Matthew 8:2-4, Mark 1:40-45, Luke 5:12-14).
• Jesus asked the two men whom He healed of blindness not to tell anyone (Matthew 9:30).
• Jesus raised a dead girl back to life and then commanded the family not to tell anyone (Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40-55).
• Jesus healed a deaf and mute man and commanded him not to tell anyone (Mark 7:31-37).
• Jesus told His disciples not to reveal that He was the Christ (Matthew 16:20, Mark 8:27-30, Luke 9:18-21).
• Jesus told the crowds not to reveal who He was (Matthew 12:15-16).
• Jesus told those who witnessed the Transfiguration not to tell anyone (Matthew 17:8-10, Mark 9:2-13).
• Jesus told demons not to reveal who He was (Mark 1:34, Mark 3:12, Luke 4:41).
• Jesus refused to admit who He was when questioned (Matthew 21:23-27, Mark 11:27-33, Luke 20:1-8).

This runs counter to the advice public relations or marketing professionals would give Him today. The more people know about the miracles He performed, the more His miracles will go “viral”. He will have millions of social media followers overnight. However, Jesus is concerned about unwanted celebrity:

• He is humble in character. (Matthew 11:29, Mark 10:45, 2 Corinthians 8:9)
• He wants God to receive all the glory. (John 14:13)
• He doesn’t want to draw the attention of those who would want to kill Him too soon. He is to die in Jerusalem on the cross in three years and not beforehand. (John 11:45-54)
• He doesn’t want His message lost in the noise of people wanting to see His “magic tricks”. (Matthew 11:20)
• He wants to be able to have private time with His Father, away from the crowds. (Mark 1:35-37)
• He wants to be able to freely move around the region without being hemmed in by crowds. (Matthew 8:18)
• He didn’t want to be tempted by being a celebrity. (Matthew 6:13)

Therefore, it is not difficult to conclude that Jesus statement, “My hour has not come”, is His righteous soul crying out not to have to encounter celebrity yet. If He performs the miracle His mother is asking, word will get around and He will become famous in the region. He doesn’t want fame. He wants to quietly build His team of disciples and touch lives one village or town at a time.

According to John 2:5, Mary ignored Jesus and instructed a servant to, “do whatever He tells you.” Father, I believe this is an endearing portrait into a close relationship between mother and son. Mary knows that Jesus loves her. Mary knows that Jesus enjoys serving His mother. Mary knows that Jesus is always eager to please His mother. Mary is certain that, once more, Jesus will do as she asks, even if He would rather not. She no doubt instructed the servant with confidence in Jesus’ response and a victorious smile on her face.

The home where the wedding took place had six stone water jars that each held twenty to thirty gallons (????????, Greek) , “the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing” (NIV). We can assume, therefore, that the man of the house is a priest in the community and that the servants in this story are indicators of his wealth. The guests at this wedding are most likely the elite of society who are accustomed to extravagance. They know quality wine when they taste it.

Jesus concedes to His mother’s wishes as Mary expected. He instructed the servants to fill the six stone jars with water. Somewhere between the last bucket of water poured into the sixth jar and the first ladle of water being placed into one of the jars to fill a cup, the water had turned to wine. It was not just your everyday wine. It tasted as good as the best wine the guests had ever tasted. The master of the banquet complimented the bridegroom for saving the best wine for the last.

Father, what do we learn about Jesus in this passage? In the spirit of Jeremiah 29:11, when Jesus gives us something that we need, He gives us the best. Though this statement is certainly not advocating for the “health and wealth gospel”, we do say without reservation that Jesus will give us the best gifts that we need, not for the sake of our comfort, but for the sake of touching lives for Christ and to glorify the Father in heaven (Hebrews 13:20-22).

Our text tells us that this was the “first of the signs (???????, Greek) through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him (NIV).” This was no mere man that His disciples were following. It was none other than the Son of God who exercises authority over all the laws of chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics, and science. Jesus left the wedding with His mother, brothers, and disciples, and went down to Capernaum where they stayed for a few days. Amen.