“On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’  And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.’ So they took it. 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 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.’ This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.”

After seeing Jesus calling His first disciples we transition to a new day, a new geographic region, and a new event. While the passage is about far greater and miraculous things than this, I’d like to start off by addressing the matter of wine. Literally the practicality of wine in the story. I have seen doubters of the gospel reference this passage on multiple occasions, sometimes as, “see, how can you say drinking is wrong when Jesus made and drank wine?” Once I read someone actually take this a step farther and accuse Jesus of encouraging binge drinking, claiming that the wedding party consumed all the wine in excess and then Jesus supplied more. Some of these claims are misguided, some are downright blasphemous, so I’d like to set the record straight on wine before we dive into the finer points of Jesus’s first miracle.

First, it’s important to understand that in the Biblical and general historical context, there are different meanings for the word “wine.” While something similar to wine as we know it today existed to some degree (grape juice that was properly stored and allowed to ferment and strengthen), this wasn’t commonly drunk. It was not a legally clean practice for the Jews to consume this kind of wine and even the pagan Hellenist culture considered it barbaric to drink pure wine. Instead, the wine was diluted with water to varying ratios (some historical accounts range anywhere from 1:3 to 1:20). This distinction is often reflected in context throughout the Bible. In Proverbs 3:9-10,

“Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”

In Matthew 26:29 during the institution of the Lord’s Supper,

“I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

And in today’s passage, concerning the wedding at Cana we see wine as a good and celebratory thing. Looking in places, like Proverbs 23:29-35 we see an entirely different context.

“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. ‘They struck me,’ you will say, ‘but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink.’”

Wine, drunk undiluted, would have had one purpose – intoxication. While diluted wine can be consumed to excess, achieving intoxication, this wasn’t its intended purpose. It was meant to be a beverage, hydration and refreshment. To be clear Biblically, drunkenness is never shown as anything other than negative, while wine (not strong drink), has the potential to be a blessing.

This may pose the question, why mix in wine at all? Why not just drink plain water and call it good? Bear in mind that we’re talking about a time before bottled water, before municipal water treatment plants or Brita pitchers. Clean drinking water wasn’t nearly as accessible as it is today. Given that there was also no refrigeration, there was also a greater chance that in storing water it would develop a stale or stagnate flavor. By mixing wine into the water, you were able to drink (or in the case of the wedding, serve your guests), something that would’ve been refreshing and pleasing in taste, rather than the drink having an unpleasant flavor.

This gives us important context for the start of today’s passage.

“On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’”

We see that Jesus’s mother Mary, Jesus Himself and by extension His disciples have all been invited to a wedding. The first thing we learn about the celebration is that the wine has run out. Bearing proper context in mind, we see that this would have reflected poorly upon the host. I imagine this would be somewhat similar to going to a wedding today, and they’re out of sweet tea – all that’s left to drink is tap water. Yes, it will keep you from choking on your dinner, but it ultimately reflects poor hospitality. Spiritually, I’ve seen commentators draw comparison between the lack of wine and the Spiritually dead state of God’s people. In both the literal lack of wine and the lack of Spirit in the people, Jesus is the answer.

1. Jesus is the Permanent Solution to all Problems.

When wine ran out, Mary’s first action is to take the issue to Jesus. We know of no prior miracles He had worked, there’s no physical reason for her to expect Him to deliver a solution. But in having intimate knowledge of who He is, she knows that he has answers to the problem.

“And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’”

Jesus’s response carries a wealth of information, depending on how you look at it. I always took Him saying that His “hour has not yet come” to indicate that, though He has disciples and is preaching His message of repentance, the time for His public, miracle ministry to begin hadn’t come yet. What seems more accurate, especially in the context of John’s gospel is that He is referring to the hour of His crucifixion – the hour of His glorification and sacrifice on the cross. While this makes more sense than what I’d always thought, it seems like an extreme jump from a wedding being out of wine, to Jesus stating that His time to lay down His life for the sins of the world hasn’t come yet. This is another example of Jesus looking through time, as He did when He called Peter and Nathanael and speaking to much more than the subject at hand with His words. Mary says, “they have no wine” and He replies, “My hour has not yet come.”

Matthew 26:27-28,

“And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”   

While the account of the Lord’s Supper is almost identical in Mark’s gospel, Luke 22:20 adds,

“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

While Jesus does offer a miraculous, literal solution to the lack of wine at the wedding, His response to His mother indicates the new covenant He will establish, pouring out the wine of atonement that is His blood, which can blot out sin. This serves as a testament to God’s ability to provide perfect solutions to any and all problems in ways that defy human understanding.

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

We’re shown here in Mary a display of faith that should be all believer’s aim to emulate. She looks to Jesus for a solution, but she doesn’t attempt to box Him in with her expectations. Like what is written in James 1:6-8, she asks with open faith,

“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

My neighbor, who’s Catholic, said something one day that I found troubling. I don’t remember the subject, but we were talking about something trivial, maybe the weather, and he mentioned praying and expecting God to take care of it and then he jokingly added, toward God, “don’t make me get your mother after you.” There was an awkward chuckle, followed by a brief silence and we moved on with the conversation. I say, somewhat to my shame, that I was so caught off guard by how disrespectful and fundamentally wrong the comment was, that I didn’t say anything in guidance or correction – I didn’t know what to say. But this is one of the many things that’s always troubled me about Catholicism, this almost deity like reverence for Mary. She’s worthy of note and respect, as are any disciples, apostles, or any servants of the Lord shown throughout Biblical cannon. But despite her admirable character and position as the woman chosen to physically deliver the Son of God into the world, what’s admirable is her obedient servitude. Placing her in a position of persuasion or authority over Christ quickly becomes counter Biblical. 

 Matthew 12:46-50,

“While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’”

This should be seen, not as a snub toward Jesus’s earthly family, but a inclusion by God for all who do His will. What this emphasizes, along with the account from the wedding at Cana is Mary’s position as a servant of God. Her instruction to the servants is open, “do whatever He tells you.” There is no telling Jesus how He needs to go about delivering a solution, simply surrender and trust that He will make a way.

“Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.’ So they took it. 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 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.’”

• Jesus is the True Vine

Returning to the symbolism in the lack of wine at the wedding and the lack of Spirit within God’s people, we see the vessels used during this miracle are the stone water jars that were used in purification rites. We know that the teaching of the day, the religious aim of many of God’s people had lost substance. The teachers of the law had layered rules upon rules, there was sacrifice, but no mercy, adherence to rules, but no love for one another in the practice. Taking the vessels used in rituals that in many respects had lost their sense of purpose, Jesus uses them to work a miracle, turning water into the wine. This symbolizes His transformation in teaching, the clarification He will bring to the misguided and twisted teaching of the law. We see as the water, now made wine, is presented to the master of the feast an example contrasting what Jesus provides against what is given by the sin stained world.

Genesis 3:4-5

“But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”

Matthew 4:1-11,

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”’ Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you,” and “On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.”’ Jesus said to him, ‘Again it is written, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”’ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”’ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.”

We see in the fall of man and the temptation of Jesus viewed side by side, we see a mirroring of the good wine first, verses the perfect wine saved for later. The world and Satan offer disregard for the Truth of God’s Word, the promise satisfaction and possessions, power and control. It’s all gratifying to the flesh, and sounds appealing at first, but it will ultimately be sour on your tongue like poor, vinegar tasting wine. There is no refreshment, no restoration of the Spirit, which is what matters far and above the flesh. Jesus on the other hand promises freedom, but also suffering. Matthew 16:24-25,

“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Revelation 21:5-7,

“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and she will be my son.”

John’s gospel lacks an account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper, which makes sense, since the other gospel accounts were already written and established by time his was written. One of the things that it does contain, from that final Passover meal, is Jesus’s teaching and declaration that He is the true vine.

John 15:1-2,

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

A single grape can only produce so much, a single body can only shed so much blood. Jesus is not just the vessel by which the blood of atonement was delivered and shed – He is the source. In Him is the bread of life, from Him flows rivers of living water, He is the true vine, the Way, the Truth and the Life. There is nothing in Him to leave you wanting, nothing that pales in comparison or proves insufficient. He is the best wine, the perfect, celebratory refreshment that is saved until last and is more than enough.

• The Miracles Validate the Ministry

“This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.”

This is relevant to discuss in relation to any of Jesus’s miracles, but as this was the first of His signs it merits special consideration here. Throughout His ministry we see Jesus work miracles, usually in response to faith and often out of compassion for hurting and broken people. While it’s obvious, it should always be considered and remembered that none of these were the deceptive tricks of the magicians of the day, nor were they worked through demonic forces as the Pharisees accused Him of. The world seeks as it has always sought, to water down and naturalize the miracle work of Christ. He is not great because He could work miracles, He works miracles because He is great. We see through His first sign that His disciples believed. This is a repeated occurrence, where God rewards our faith by validating and thereby increasing our faith. So in this we see that while the miracles served to extend compassion, reward faith and validate the ministry, the ministry wasn’t just about miracles, but the truth of who Jesus is and the salvation He offers the world.  

Pastor Chris’s sermon on this section: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sNFitzX6bo