If you have watched much of the Andy Griffith television show, you are probably familiar with Otis Campbell, the Mayberry town drunk. In many episodes, Otis would stagger into the jail with slurred speech and strange ideas. He would often grab the key off the hook and let himself into his cell. The humor of his antics made the audience laugh despite the sad effect that his drinking had on his life and family. Sadly, there are many people who have been overcome by alcohol and whose lives have been ruined by drunkenness. It has become a big problem for many people today. With that in mind, it may surprise you to learn that Jesus once miraculously provided a large quantity of wine for a wedding feast.
- What does it say? (John 2:1-11)
On the third day, a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee and Jesus’ mother was there. Jesus and His disciples were also invited to the wedding. And when they were out of wine, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They don’t have wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what is that to me and you? It is not my time yet.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” There happened to be six stone water jars sitting there for the Jews’ purification, with space for about 150 gallons1. Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water” and they filled them up to the brim. Then He said to them, “Now draw and carry some to the master of the feast. So, they brought it to him. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that had become wine (and he didn’t know where it was from but the servants who had drawn it knew), he called the bridegroom and said to him, “Every man sets out the good wine first and then the inferior wine when they have been drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did the first of the signs in Cana of Galilee and revealed His glory and His disciples believed in Him. - What does it mean?
Jesus was part of a celebration (John 2:1-2).
After gathering a number of disciples at the end of chapter one, we now find Jesus at a wedding about 6 miles north of his hometown of Nazareth.2 Weddings back then were often celebrated for a week3 or more. Friends and family were invited to visit and eat with the wedding party. When you think about Jesus, you might think that He was super focused only on His mission with little time for anything else. But in this passage, we see that He was an active participant in a wedding celebration. This is not to say that Jesus was someone who “partied hard.” Instead, it shows us that He was interested in being with people and in sharing their joys as well as their sorrows. The same Jesus who wept when Lazarus died, is the One who celebrated the marriage of some of his friends.
Jesus was not quite ready (John 2:3-4).
At some point during the celebration, Jesus’ mother found out that they had run out of wine. We are not told why Mary was concerned about this. Was she one of the people in charge of serving food and drink? Or was she merely concerned that people didn’t have anything more to drink? We are not told, but she took her concern to Jesus. When she told Him about the problem, He responded in an unusual way. “Woman, what is that to me and you? It is not my time yet.” At first glance, this seems to be a disrespectful way to respond to his mother. But was it? If you look at how Jesus addressed women in the gospels, you quickly see that addressing someone as woman was just the way they talked back then (John 20:15; John 19:26; Matt. 15:28; John 4:21).4 You might substitute the word ma’am or madame and get the same effect.
But there is more to be seen here. Jesus expressed His reluctance to get involved with the situation. He asked His mother what the situation had to do with either of them and also added that it was not His time yet. According to Kent, the first statement is “a Semitism which indicates a divergence between the thoughts of the persons involved. Jesus meant that in some sense what Mary was thinking was not his concern at the present.”5 The same phrase was spoken to Jesus by the demon possessed man in a synagogue before Jesus cast out the demons (Mark 1:24). Secondly, Jesus noted that it was not His time yet. In the near future, He would begin doing miracles that would prove who He was and verify the message He brought from heaven. But that time had not yet come. As a result, He was hesitant to do something before His time. And yet…
Jesus was willing to help (John 2:5-10).
Despite what He had said, Mary told the servants to do whatever He told them. To this point, Jesus had not revealed His power to do what only God could do. So, Mary was probably not asking Him to do something miraculous. Instead, she was asking the oldest of her children to do something to help. Perhaps she was asking Jesus to use some of their money to purchase more wine for the celebration. However, Jesus had a different solution in mind.
Being a proper Jewish home, there were six water pots set aside for purification. Apparently, the Jewish people would have large containers of water for people to wash themselves “before and after meals.”6 The stone jars were quite large. Each carried between 12-18 gallons of water. If it helps, think of three five-gallon buckets standing on top of each other. These were large stone containers. Jesus instructed the servants to fill the six containers with water. We are not told how long it took to fill the containers, but it must have taken a while to draw approximately 18 five-gallon buckets of water to fill them.
When the stone jars were filled, Jesus told the servants to fill a container from them and then take it to the master of the feast. When they brought the ladle to him, he was surprised at what he tasted. The water had been miraculously turned into wine. The servants knew it, but the master of the feast did not. After tasting it, he went to the groom and applauded him for bringing out the best wine toward the end of the feast. I would imagine that the groom was just as surprised as the other man.
Jesus was revealing His glory (John 2:11).
Remember what the first chapter revealed about Jesus? He was referred to as the Word that was in the beginning, was with God, was God, and made everything. In verse 14, it revealed even more. It says that the Word became flesh and lived among us. God chose to leave heaven to become a man. Jesus was fully God and fully man and the people who saw Him, slowly realized that He was more than just a man.
Over the course of His life, Jesus did many signs that proved who He was. The first sign given by Jesus was turning water into wine. This miracle was a sign to those who saw it. It was something only God could do. His mother saw it. His disciples saw it. The servants saw it. To these select people, Jesus showed them His glory, meaning that they saw Him for who He was—God who became man and lived among people. As a result of this miracle, the disciples, who had chosen to follow and learn from Him, believed in Him. They were convinced that Jesus was who He said He was. - How does it apply?
Remember to spend time with people.
Jesus shows us a good example to follow regarding time with others. He didn’t just preach to people. He also spent quality time with them. Think forward to Jesus’ visit to Zacchaeus’ house. Jesus invited Himself over to the tax collector’s house and as a result, he repented of his sins. In this situation, Jesus took time out of His busy schedule to spend time with people during a wedding celebration.
We often mistakenly think that we have failed if we don’t include the gospel in every conversation. While every Christian should be proclaiming the gospel, it is hard to gain an audience with people whom you do not know or care to spend time with. Think about building real friendships with others. Celebrate their victories and comfort them in their grief. Being a part of other people’s lives is a good thing and can eventually lead to conversations about the Lord. At the proper time, God will enable you to present the truth about Jesus to other people.
Remember what the Bible says about alcohol.
The “elephant in the room” is the fact that Jesus made water into wine. With all the trouble that alcohol has caused in people’s lives, it seems strange that Jesus made more wine for the people at this wedding. Before you get excited and decide to grab a six-pack on the way home, consider that wine was not the same back then as it is today. “Wine partaken of as a beverage was often diluted, especially in Roman times.”7 After making the fermented grape juice, most people would dilute it with two or three parts water to one part wine. The result was a sweet drink with a very low alcoholic content.
If you were to study what the Bible says about alcoholic beverages, you would do well to see the difference between wine and strong drink. While there are select passages that talk about the blessings of wine, there are also strong warnings against strong drink and drunkenness (Eph. 5:18; Prov. 23:29-35). Do you like the idea of losing control and not knowing what you did while under the influence? The fact that Jesus turned water into wine does not negate these warnings. Every Christian should be careful to steer clear of anything that might cause him to lose his self-control or what might tarnish his reputation as a Christian. Today’s alcoholic beverages seem to be designed to get people drunk. So, despite the fact that Jesus turned water into wine, there are good reasons to abstain from drinking. So be very careful.
Remember who Jesus is.
In the last chapter, we learned that Jesus is the Word. This is another way of saying that God has revealed His message through Jesus. Jesus is God, our Creator, and the One who became a man and lived among us. But how many people knew that when they first met Jesus? At the end of chapter one, Jesus had gained a following of about six disciples. As they traveled with Him, they saw His actions and heard what He said. And then the wedding in Cana happened. They saw Jesus do something that only God could do. He created wine from water thus giving proof that He was actually God.
When Jesus performed this miracle, He was slowly revealing His glory. This means that He was revealing something incredible that the people didn’t know about Him. He was God but in a human body. As we study through the Gospel of John, we will see many miracles that Jesus did that only God could do. And as you see each miracle, I hope that it confirms in your mind the fact that Jesus is who He says He is—God Himself.
Bibliography
Barnes, Albert, Barnes’ Notes on the Bible in PocketBible for Android.
Blum, Edwin A., “John” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary New Testament, USA: SP Publications, 1983.
Kent Jr., Homer A., Light in the Darkness, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1974.
Plummer, A., The Gospel According to St. John, London: Cambridge University Press, 1923, orig. 1880.
Footnotes