When we went through the prologue of this Gospel, I mentioned that there would be several themes that were to be repeated in this Gospel. Today, alongside the reoccurring theme for writing the Gospel, we will see the theme of how Jesus manifested His glory. John first mentioned this theme when he wrote, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (1:14).
Do not forget the reoccurring theme that I mentioned. “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name” (20:31). This account, especially this miracle, was written for us to understand this purpose.
The Predicament (Vv. 1-5)
Verses 1-2. This event happens shortly after Jesus finds Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael. This puts the event still very early in Jesus Christ’s ministry. We will see that this is the first sign that Jesus performs in His ministry as well.
Jesus and His mother were at a wedding that was taking place in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ family was there which may have meant that the bride and groom were at least known associates and that Cana was not a far distance from Nazareth. Remember, Jesus and the disciples were in Galilee in 1:43-51. They were already in the area.
Verse 3. Typically, a Jewish wedding celebration would last for as long as a week. The groom and his family were responsible for providing food and housing for their guests. So it is easy to understand that they might run out wine to drink during the celebration. The mother of Jesus points out to Jesus that the wedding party has run out of wine. It may have been that Mary was helping with organizing the celebration or just simply heard that they ran out of wine. One must wonder why Mary pointed this out to Jesus. Was Mary expecting Jesus and the disciples to help with finding something safe to drink? Mary must have been expecting Jesus to be concerned in some way. Perhaps Mary was expecting Jesus to perform something miraculous? Jesus’ answer to Mary would give an indication that perhaps she was expecting something miraculous. Mary would have known that Jesus was the Messiah because the angel Gabriel told her (Luke 1:32-33). Mary may have also known about Jesus’ baptism and wilderness testings. Perhaps she even heard John the Baptist preach about Jesus being the Messiah.
This was a problem for a number of reasons. First of all, now the guests have nothing to drink. Water was not always safe to drink either. It was very ordinary to mix wine into their water. Water and wine were usually mixed together being three parts water and one part wine. The alcohol killed any bacteria that would harmful. They were not aware of why the water was not safe to drink, only that it was safe after putting some wine into the water. Another reason that this was a problem was because the guests would have been allowed to take legal punitive actions against the new groom for not providing libations for the celebration. This may was a custom that seems foreign to us, but middle eastern culture took hospitality very seriously.
Verse 4. Jesus’ response to His mother does not seem very polite. However, this was a very affectionate way of addressing one’s mother in that culture. Jesus does this again while He is on the cross (19:26).
The first part of Jesus’ response is a bit peculiar. I am personally not sure why Jesus would have said, “What have I to do with thee?” Perhaps Jesus was trying to explain that His work was going to be different that Mary was expecting from Him. This could be along the same lines as when Jesus was still young and Jesus’ parents found Jesus after losing track of Him. Mary tried to chide her child for not being with them but Jesus responded by saying, “How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business” (Luke 2:49)?
The second half of His response is a phrase that is repeated a few times in this Gospel. In order to understand what Jesus was referring to, one should examine these passages. The next time Jesus said that His hour had not yet come with in 7:6, 8, 30. Jesus said this to His brothers and then the author said that Jesus eluded the crowd because His hour had not yet come. In 8:20, the author says the same thing again. After this, we affirmations that His hour has come. The first one is in 12:23 which is immediately after the triumphal entry. Then another affirmation in 13:1; after the last supper. The final one is in 17:1 when Jesus was praying in the garden before He was arrested. Therefore, this phrase has to deal with His work on the cross and how He will be glorified by His work on the cross.
Verse 5. I enjoy what Mary says unto the servants. She basically tells them to do whatever He tells you to do. Mary recognized that Her Son was greater than she. Christ’s authority was greater than her authority.
The Solution (Vv. 6-10)
Verse 6. Some commentators try to interpret this narrative allegorically. The reason being that the pots were meant to be used for purifying one’s hands before sitting down to eat dinner. This practice was a Jewish custom that was dogmatically elevated to religious ceremony. The commentators state that Jesus performed a miracle that showed His ways were to replace the ridiculous Jewish religious customs. I, however, do not see that allegorical interpretation fitting very well with this narrative. Jesus simply saw a need to be met that could only be met with His Divine work. I do not think that this is any different than when He fed the five thousand.
Each of these pots held about two or three firkins of water. Each of these pots would have held about 20 to 30 gallons of water.
Verse 7-8. If Jesus is God and He is able to perform the miracle of turning the water to wine, then why doesn’t Jesus just make the pots be automatically be filled with wine? Jesus never performs a miracle that is unnecessary. Jesus knew that there was water nearby. Jesus asked for the water to be brought before Him. He would perform the part that man is not able to do – the miracle. God will always tell us to do our part in His work.
Jesus then asks the servants to serve the wine unto the governor of the feast. This must have been a guest of the celebration that was in charge of taking care of the organization of the celebration.
Verses 9-10. The governor of the feast was unaware of that Jesus turned the water into wine, only the servants and disciples knew.
The governor of the feast must have been very impressed with the taste of the wine. A customary practice was to bring out better tasting wine at the beginning of celebration when everyone was paying attention to the meal. Later, when everyone was not focused on the meal, the host wold bring poor wine. This was so no one would notice the difference between the two wines. However, the governor thought that this wine that Jesus had made was very tasty. He even made sure to let the groom know about it.
John, the author, probably makes mention of the fact that the governor spoke to the host/groom of the party to show that Jesus met the need of not just the guests but also for the host as well. The host no longer needed to worry about how he was to provide for his guests, though he was probably confused as to where the wine came from.
The Significance (V. 11)
Verse 11 explains why this event is very important. John explains why he put it in his Gospel. Remember John 20:31? Remember 1:14 in the prologue?
The word miracles comes from the Greek word σημεῖων, which is “a sign or distinguishing work whereby something is known, or an event that is indication/confirmation of intervention by transcendent powers.” σημεῖων would have been better translated sign. Jesus turning the water into wine is Jesus’ first sign. The act signified who Jesus is. This is a significant theme in the Gospel of John. John was talking about the signs that Jesus performed when he wrote that, “These are written” (20:31). Jesus performed other signs that were never recorded.
John also stated that this is the beginning of signs that Jesus performed in Galilee. This simply means two things. The sign of turning the water into wine was the first sign that Jesus performed. Secondly, this was was not the only sign that Jesus performed in Galilee. John could be telling his audience that will be another sign later in his Gospel. John could be saying that there were a multitude of signs done in Galilee that were not recorded in this Gospel. John could also be referring to the other Gospels that were already written. An example would be Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law.
John goes on further to say that Jesus “Manifested forth His glory.” The verb manifest comes from the Greek word φανεροω which means, “to become visible, to reveal, expose publicly or to cause to become known, disclose, show, make known.” Therefore, this means that the signs were meant to reveal something. What were they meant to reveal? They were meant to reveal His glory.
Glory is a hard concept to grasp for us westerners. We know what it means to give glory to another person but that is using the word as a verb and it changes the sense in which it is being used. We could say someone worthy of glory but this still changes the sense of the word. John used the word glory in a very Jewish sense. He is using this word as a noun. When a Jew thought of the glory of God, he typically thought of the temple. The glory of God dwelled in the temple. This signified His presence and dwelling with His people. The best way I can describe this concept is that it was the holiness of God made visible. Jesus is God made visible. Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus is God dwelling among His people. Jesus is God. What is beautiful about this is that it is not just the glory of God made visible, it is of the glory of God working. Jesus Christ did not just simply walk about the earth during His incarnation, He proved Himself by the might works of God! That is what John wants you to understand. This is God in the flesh and He is reaching out to His people and changing their lives for His glory.
There is no wonder as to why the disciples believed on Him. They saw the glory of God working in front of their eyes. They saw His sign and they understood that Jesus is God.
The Transition (V. 12)
Jesus’ entire family must have been at the wedding. This verse lists not only His mother but also His brothers.
From Cana, everyone traveled to Capernaum to stay for a few days. After those few days, they would travel down to Jerusalem to observe the Passover.
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