Wedding at Cana

John 2:1-11 (NASB)
¹  On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
²  and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
³  When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, "They have no wine."
⁴  And Jesus *said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come."
⁵  His mother *said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."
⁶  Now there were six stone water pots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each.
⁷  Jesus *said to them, "Fill the water pots with water." So they filled them up to the brim.
⁸  And He *said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him.
⁹  When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the bridegroom,
¹⁰  and *said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now."
¹¹  This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

John is quite consistent in calling Jesus’ miracles signs, as he does here in verse 11. Signs are not only miracles; they are miracles that have a meaning.

John wrote this book at least twenty years after the resurrection of Jesus. Since he was able to contemplate these things with the benefit of hindsight he could better understand the reason behind what Jesus did. Of course he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that alone makes this observation important.

Basically, this is an acted parable. It’s important that we keep that in mind when reading about the miracles Jesus did. Look for the symbolism, metaphors, and similes in Jesus’ miracles. Look for patterns, types, and examples when you read the Old Testament too. The Bible points to Jesus. It’s a book about Jesus. There are pictures everywhere of who He is, and what He has done.

Someone once said, “There are no insignificant details in the Bible.” I’m inclined to agree with him, though often the significance of a particular detail is lost on me. The Holy Spirit guides us into all Truth, and the Word is living and active. This is why we can get new insights day after day and year after year.

There is a significant detail right at the beginning of this passage. John begins his account with, “On the third day…”. In the prophetic Scriptures of the Old Testament Hosea refers to the third day as being the day in which Israel would be spiritually healed and returned to her Lord

Hosea 6:2 (NASB)
²  "He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him. Jesus’ first miraculous sign points to His resurrection, and demonstrates what will happen as a result.

Just a note here that the Hosea passage says He will revive us and He will raise us up. This buttresses Paul’s statement in Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” But this is a sermon for another day.

Next, we note that Jesus and His disciples were invited. This is a picture of how it will be at the marriage of Jesus and His bride, the Church. Ephesians 5 paints an amazing picture of this.

Ephesians 5:25-27 (NASB)
²⁵  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
²⁶  so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
²⁷  that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

The Church is comprised of all who change their mind and believe the good news that Jesus has forgiven us all our sins and given us His righteousness so that we are accepted in Him by His grace, through faith, apart from anything we could ever do.

John goes on the recount Mary’s statement to Jesus; “They have no wine.” She does not ask him to do anything about it; she merely tells him.

We’ll come back to this, but let’s pause to examine Jesus’ response.

If a young man today called his mother "woman," we would think he was being very disrespectful. In His day however, Jesus was using a common title of respect. (He addressed Mary in the same way again, from the cross when He said, "Woman, behold your son!" (John 19:26 RSV)

Some think that the exact term He used was a little unexpected in reference to His mom, but if so, that might have been an indication that He was now going to become independent and she needed to begin releasing her bond since He would be leaving soon. Hence His statement to her on the cross in John 19:26-27 assigning John as her son.

Another quick side note here. Have you ever noticed that John constantly refers to himself as “the disciple Jesus loved”? We would do well to do the same. When we truly know God’s great love for us, it results in our outward behavior becoming increasingly conformed to our inner state of being in Christ, but this, too, is a sermon for another day.

In any case, there was no hint of disrespect in this.

Next I want to try to bring some clarity to another statement that seems confusing.

The King James Version of the Bible translates verse 4 “Woman, what have I to do with thee…”. This is unfortunate, because to our western ears it seems hostile and disrespectful.

The Greek here is literally “Woman, what to me and to you?” This is an idiom; and the phrase is Semitic in origin. The equivalent Hebrew expression in the Old Testament had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). Option (1) implies hostility, while option (2) implies merely disengagement. Mere disengagement is almost certainly to be understood here as better fitting the context (although some of the Greek Fathers took the remark as a rebuke to Mary, such a rebuke is unlikely). –N.E.T. Bible

Then He says, “My hour has not yet come”. His “hour” was the period of His suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension. This was the time when He would finish His work and be seated at the right hand of the Father.

Another side note here; earthly (Mosaic) priests were not allowed to sit. This was to demonstrate that their work was never finished. Yet another sermon for yet another day.

In verse 6 the King James says the pots held, “two or three firkins apiece.” I don’t know about you, but I had no idea what a firkin was. It turns out that a firkin was about 9 gallons; thus each jar held 18-27 gallons and the total volume of liquid involved was 108-162 gallons.

That’s a lot of wine, and now we come to the reason why Jesus changed water to wine. Essentially, He was saying, “let’s get this party started.” Jesus was now of age and this particular sign was a way of announcing what He had come to do.

Significantly, these jars held water for Jewish ceremonial washing (purification rituals). The water of Jewish ritual purification has been replaced by the wine of the new covenant. We are purified by His blood. We are made righteous by the imputation to us of His righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB)
²¹  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

We no longer need to put our hope in religious ceremonies to make us righteous. In truth, they never could.

Galatians 2:16 (NASB) ¹⁶  nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

Matthew 26:26-29 (NASB)
²⁶  While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."
²⁷  And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you;
²⁸  for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
²⁹  "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."

We are the bride of Christ, and we will be celebrating our relationship with Him.

Now let’s get back to Mary’s statement that we touched on earlier. "They have no wine."

This is the state of the world. Unbelievers have no wine; no fruit of the Vine. They have a fleshly life, like that portrayed by water here and, as we’ll see later, in Exodus; but they lack everlasting Life, which comes only by faith in Jesus Christ. The covenant in His blood provides forgiveness, and living water--wine. He supplies the fruit of the Vine. His grace is without limit—according to His riches.

John 15:15 (NASB)
⁵  "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

If you are in Christ, you bear much fruit. He produces it, you just bear it.

John 7:37-39 (NASB)
³⁷  Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
³⁸  "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"
³⁹  But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Rivers of living water. Here again we see the boundless supply that He provides. His riches are limitless, His supply is boundless, His grace and provision flow like a river. This is why He made so much wine!

Notice too, that this river of living water comes from our innermost being.

Often we find ourselves behaving badly—well, no one here of course; but I hear that some Christians out west sometimes behave badly. They have dark ugly thoughts that sometimes make them wonder if they are saved at all.

But Jesus says that we who believe, have living water flowing from our innermost being. We are are in Christ. We have been crucified with Him and the life we now live is His indestructible life—real life. Jesus said, John 10:10 (NASB)
¹⁰  "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. He tells us that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

This is what happened at the core of our being. Our spirits were placed into Christ. We became fused with Him at the level of our spirits. So when we behave badly, it isn’t because we aren’t saved, it comes from our flesh, not from our spirit.

This is a big concept, so I won’t belabor it here, but I encourage you to explore all that the Scripture has to say about this.

As we saw above, this fruit of the Vine, this living water, this new covenant guaranteed by His blood, is the Holy Spirit. ³⁹  But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive—Christ in you, the hope of Glory.

¹³  Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;
¹⁴  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." John 4:13-14 (NASB)

Just before we wrap up, let’s take a look at another picture of Jesus providing water of life.

Exodus 17:1-7 (NASB)
¹  Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink.
²  Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water that we may drink." And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?"
³  But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, "Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"
⁴  So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me."
⁵  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.
⁶  "Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
⁷  He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us, or not?"

Notice that water, life, came from the rock.

1 Corinthians 10:3-4 (NASB) and all ate the same spiritual food; 4  and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.

Finally, another picture of this is given when Abraham meets Melchizedek.

Genesis 14:18 (NASB)

18  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.

Not only does this evoke thoughts of the Last Supper—not to mention other times when Jesus talks about himself as bread and wine.

Hebrews 6:19-20 (NASB)
¹⁹  This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, (The veil or drape in the temple that separated the holy place from the holy of holies. NET Bible.)
²⁰  where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
I recommend Hebrews 7 for further reading on this, but it’s amazing how Scripture is interwoven. Old Testament pictures provide images of what will be. The New Testament shows their fulfilment. There are great threads of Truth throughout the Bible.
Rest secure in the Truth of the word. God has given us so much to hope for and He has provided compelling evidence in His word to buttress our faith. In the case of this passage, we can be certain that by His grace the living water, the wine of the Holy Spirit, is in us who believe and that His indestructible Life has replaced our old fleshly kind of life.