John 2:1-12, “First Miracle Of Jesus Performed At The Wedding Of Cana”

By

Jim Bomkamp

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1.                  INTRO:

 

1.1.            In our last study we looked at John the Baptist as the humble and faithful witness of Jesus, and we also saw the first disciples who began to follow Jesus.

 

1.1.1.  We observed that to be a follower of Christ, as this verse says these first disciples were, means:

 

1.1.1.1.To ‘let Him be Lord of all areas of our life.’

 

1.1.1.2.To ‘have committed ourselves to follow Him wherever He may lead is, to be willing to let Him take us wherever He wants for us to go.’ 

 

1.1.1.3.To ‘follow His example in all areas of our life.’ 

 

1.1.1.4.To ‘be with Him.’ 

 

1.2.            In our study today we are going to look at verses 1-20 of chapter 2.

 

1.2.1.      At the prodding of His mother, Jesus begins His public ministry by turning water into wine at the wedding of Cana.

 

2.                  VS 2:1-12  - “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 waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots 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. 12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.”” -  To begin His ministry, Jesus performs His first miracle and turns water into wine at the wedding of Cana.

 

2.1.            In our last study, we observed John the Baptist and his interrogation and rejection by the leaders of Judea.  They had sent men to John the Baptist to determine who he was.  Then, when he told them that he wasn’t the Messiah, the prophet Elijah, or the prophet to come whom Moses mentioned, they determined to find out by what authority he was baptizing and performing his ministry.  John witnessed to them of Jesus saying that he himself was merely a voice in the wilderness declaring to men to make straight the ways of the Lord, however there was one who stood among them whom they didn’t know, One for whom he himself wasn’t worthy to loosen his sandals.  The Pharisees though did not seek to inquire any more at that time of John or Jesus, and this showed that they were already rejecting both John’s and Jesus’ ministry.

 

2.2.            Jesus having been baptized by John, and having received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at that moment, and, the Jews having rejected the ministry of John the Baptist, the stage was now set for Jesus to begin His public ministry. 

 

2.3.            In our study, we will observe the prophetic as well as the practical aspects of this first miracle which Jesus performed at the outset of His ministry. 

 

3.                  The prophetic portrayal in this first miracle of Jesus :

 

3.1.            Arthur Pink, in his commentary on the gospel of John, has brought out with incredible logic the huge amount of prophetic content that is prefigured in this first miracle of Jesus.

 

3.2.            With the huge amount of symbolism revealed in this miracle which occurred at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, it was no coincidence that this miracle began Jesus’ ministry.

 

3.3.            The story of this first miracle of Jesus begins with the word ‘and’ which is not a coincidence and shows that the story was directly related to the Pharisees coming to John the Baptizer and their rejection of Him, and, that the event occurred just after these Pharisees had come to John the Baptizer. 

 

3.4.            John was the last of the old guard (Old Testament prophets) and John’s disciples had now joined themselves to Jesus, so John’s ministry was all but over already at this point in time, though he would continue his ministry for a time.

 

3.5.            This was the appropriate time for Jesus to come into the world.  Judaism had proven throughout its history that it was a failure, and couldn’t produce life, and that the nation was bankrupt spiritually.  The Old Testament reveals to us from start to finish that the Jews could not keep the Law of Moses, which defined the covenant terms of their relationship with God, and that the religion of law-keeping didn’t produce a changed heart.  The Pharisees and Sadducees were the ruling parties in Israel, however their religion was thoroughly corrupt and hypocritical and existed only in the external observance of certain rites and rituals, not in internal righteousness in the  thoughts of the minds and hearts of the worshippers.  Judaism had done one thing and that was to educate the Jews as well as the rest of the world of the Jews need of a Savior. 

 

3.6.            Though it may at first seem not to be appropriate for the first miracle of Jesus to be the turning of water into wine at a wedding, this miracle portrayed prophetically what God was doing in the bringing in of the new covenant of grace through the blood shed of Jesus Christ. 

 

3.6.1.      The ‘wedding’ symbolizes the new covenant of grace that Jesus was now preparing to institute.

 

3.6.2.       The ‘wedding’ ceremony symbolized the celebration of life and ‘marriage’ was the first institution initiated by the Lord Himself.  Jesus came to this wedding to show His approval of marriage and the covenant of marriage.  Not only by His presence but also by the miracle which He performs, Jesus declares the value of marriage in heaven’s sight. 

 

3.6.3.      Likewise, the New Testament tells us that “marriage symbolizes the relationship of believers with the Lord,” (Eph. 5:31-32). 

 

3.6.4.      The church is also called “the bride of Christ.”

 

3.7.            ‘Wine’ symbolized the joy of living and Jesus was coming unto mankind to bring in a covenant that brought life, joy, and peace to the participants. 

 

3.8.            Notice that this wedding occurred ‘on the third day.’  The Holy Spirit recorded this fact for us because the third day has tremendous significance since it was on the third day that Christ rose from the dead.  Jesus’ resurrection like the wedding of a man and woman brings great joy and blessing, only in the case of Jesus’ resurrection it brings joy and blessing to all mankind.

 

3.9.            It is significant that Jesus and His disciples ‘were invited to the wedding,’ for their presence was sought out because it assured the Lord’s blessing at this event.

 

3.10.        Mary, the mother of Jesus, in her lack of submission to God and presuming upon Jesus symbolizes the nation of Israel.  We will see later in the gospels that both Mary and Jesus’ brothers were not believing in Him and they actually come out of concern for His safety (and perhaps sanity) to take Him home. 

 

3.11.        This story reveals that the nature of Jesus’ relationship with His mother has now forever changed.  He calls her ‘woman’ in this story as now He is no longer under submission to her as a son, but rather she comes into submission to Him as her Lord.  It is only in John’s gospel that Jesus speaks to Mary calling her ‘woman,’ as He does both here in these verses and in 19:26 when He speaks to her at the foot of His cross and says, “Woman, behold thy Son.”  Had Jesus called Mary ‘mother’ this story would have had a much different impact.

 

3.12.        It is not coincidental that it is at the prodding of Jesus’ mother that He performs this first miracle.  Mary “presumes upon Him” to reveal His miraculous power at this juncture, something that she had no right to do, and His response to her is rebuke as he tells her what should be translated, “Woman what have I to do with you?”  As with any other believer in Christ, Mary’s will and desires were not always pure, and here she needed rebuke for presuming upon the Lord.  Jesus

 

3.13.        Jesus knew the idolatry of Mariolatry that would be on going throughout history with people claiming the sinlessness of Mary and even her being a co-redemptress, and thus He knew He had to put His earthly mother in her place at the outset of His ministry.

 

3.13.1.  By the way, we as people are often guilty of presuming upon the Lord, are we not?  So often, people claim things in prayer they have no business claiming, do things in the Name of God that He would have nothing to do with, presume that their will must be God’s will, etc.

 

3.13.2.  When we Christians seek the Lord in the requests that we bring to Him, we must realize that what we really need to have happen is God’s will in heaven to be worked out on earth, not our will to be worked out.  God knows what is best in every situation and we must learn to pray for His perfect will in every situation.

 

3.14.    Mary may have wanted Jesus to do this miracle so that by doing it He would openly reveal Himself to the world as the Messiah.  However, if this was her motive, we know that Jesus would not take the easy way to the cross but had many things to accomplish before that would occur. 

 

3.14.1.If this were Mary’s motive for this request, then Mary would have again pictured the nation of Israel for we see in the gospels so many people wishing that Jesus would become a political messiah, instead of the suffering servant who would die on a cross for sins. 

 

3.15.        Jesus also tells Mary when she prods Him to do something miraculous since the party has run out of wine, that His ‘hour’ had not yet come.  In the gospel of John, this Greek word translated ‘hour’ is used quite a bit and every other time in the gospel that Jesus used this term in reference to Himself it was to refer to the ‘hour of His crucifixion.’  I believe that it is the ‘the hour of His crucifixion’ that Jesus is referring to here, and it is interesting that Jesus is thinking about that day when He is pondering the performing of His first miracle and the beginning His public ministry.  I think that in using this word that Jesus was counting the cost of His performing of this first miracle at this point because He knew that after He performed this miracle that there would be no turning back until that day that He would die upon Calvary’s cross.  In other words, Jesus realized that this first day of His public ministry would be the first step along a long and difficult path that would in 3 ½ years end in crucifixion upon Calvary’s cross.  If Jesus performed this miracle He knew that from then on that people would be flocking to Him and He would be constantly pressed and sought out by people.

 

3.16.        Mary finally submits to Jesus and His will and tells the servants to do whatever Jesus said to them.  This was her relinquishing control of her life and her plans to Jesus.  The ball was left in Jesus’ court, so to speak, and the servants were told to just do whatever Jesus requested of them.

 

3.17.        It is significant that the water is placed into ‘water pots.’  Our bodies are mere clay pots and we must be filled up with the water of life.  The Spirit of God wants to come and to full our pots with the water of the Lord.

 

3.18.        It is significant that the number of the pots was six for six is the number of man.  Man was created on the sixth day and the man of sin shall have the number of six six six.

 

3.19.        It is significant that the wine ran out at this wedding and then Jesus gave them the very best wine at the end.  The wine of this world is not fulfilling, it tires and grinds upon a person, and eventually causes the person to realize his/her spiritual thirst for something beyond this world.  It is when a person finally gives up trying to satisfy himself with the wine of this world that he can appreciate the wine that the Lord gives.  This new wine is the best wine that you can experience, it alone is truly satisfying and brings genuine peace and joy.

 

3.20.        It is significant that Jesus had the servants fill the water pots with ‘water’ and that this was what He changed into wine.  The word of God is what the ‘water’ symbolizes, just as Paul revealed when he wrote to husbands in Eph. 5:25-26, “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.”  The word of God produces in us the life of the Spirit as we read, study, and hear it taught.

 

3.21.        Notice that Jesus commanded the servants to take the water pots and fill them up ‘to the brim.’  The Lord always gives generously to His children and overflows in abundance His goodness, mercy, and grace into our lives.  The Lord is never stingy.

 

3.22.        Notice that this blessing of the good wine came not at the hands of Jesus, He never touched a pot or a drop of water, nor His disciples.  Rather, it was ‘the servants’ who ministered the goodness and joy of the Lord to the people on this day.   Likewise, this is a picture of the fact that the Lord uses us as His people to be vessels through whom He ministers to the people of this world.  Note that it was not Jesus’ family, nor even His disciples who blessed the people as ministers on this occasion, but rather it was ‘servants.’  When we commit ourselves to serve the Lord and be a vessel for Him to freely use then we become His channel of blessing to this world.

 

1.1.            Notice also that it was the ‘servants’ also who knew first that a miracle had occurred and the water had been turned into wine, not Jesus’ disciples.  In Amos 3:7 the Lord tells us that He does nothing but that He first reveals it to His ‘servants’ :  “7 Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets.”

 

1.2.            Finally, notice in verse eleven that after Jesus performed this miracle and manifested His glory that ‘His disciples believed in Him.’

 

2.                  The practical aspects of this first miracle performed by Jesus at Cana :

 

2.1.         As was mentioned, Jesus came to this wedding to show His approval of marriage and to confer heaven’s blessing upon this marriage. 

 

2.1.1.  In 1 Tim. 4:3, Paul warned that in the last days there would be an apostasy for there would be those in the church who would forbid marriage. 

 

2.1.2.  The author of Hebrews writes in Heb. 13:4 that ‘Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled.’  

 

2.1.3.  The institution of monogamous marriage, as opposed to polygamy, elevates women to their God given place as a ‘help meet’ to man, and as an equal in God’s sight. 

 

2.1.4.  Marriage brings out the best in all.  When a man and a woman in marital fidelity raise children they learn to place the needs of others above their own as they must provide for and love their own. 

 

2.1.5.  Marriage is the corner stone of stabilized civilizations.  As the institution of marriage erodes, so do governments and nations. 

 

2.1.6.  By being present at this wedding, Jesus shows that He does not promote an ascetic lifestyle, for we see that truly He was in the world, but not part of it.

 

2.1.7.  I once saw a billboard that said, “Thanks for inviting Me to the wedding, now may I come to the marriage?” , God. 

 

2.2.         This story of Jesus first miracle presents us with some difficulties initially, yet since we have seen the prophetic implications of this miracle these difficulties are not nearly as important : 

 

2.2.1.  Why did the Lord turn water into wine when scripture teaches that is wrong to get drunk? 

 

2.2.1.1.Observe that there is no reference to anyone being drunken at this wedding festivity. 

 

2.2.2.  Why would Jesus choose a wedding festivity to attend, especially since at these events people sometimes would become drunk and disorderly? 

 

2.2.3.  Why would Jesus perform a miracle of turning water into wine?

 

2.3.         The events of this story suggest that Joseph had most likely died by this time, and that Mary had relocated herself to Cana in Galilee. 

 

2.4.         Jesus never shuns any social invitation on the part of sinful men, and later in the gospel we will see that Jesus is known infamously as being ‘a friend of sinners and publicans.’  We Christians should follow Jesus’ example and not shun social opportunities with the people in this world where we will be able to be a witness to those who are lost.

 

2.5.         In this story, the existence of a real human need brought about the request of Mary.  The Lord works in men’s and women’s lives through allowing them to experience real need. 

 

2.6.         This story speaks to the fact that waiting upon the Lord to meet our real needs, as Mary eventually does, causes us to have our character tested and proven, and for us to learn perseverance. 

 

2.7.         Though Mary presumed upon the Lord in prodding Him to do something to miraculously provide wine for this wedding, we must realize also that she knew the character of Jesus, having raised Him as her son, and that to merely make Jesus aware of a need was enough to cause Him seek to meet it. 

 

2.7.1.  We see in Jesus’ ministry that He never met a real need which He did not meet. 

 

2.8.         It must be added to Mary’s credit, that she knew that Jesus would perform this miracle. 

 

2.8.1.  She persevered in her belief that He would perform this miracle, even after receiving His rebuke, and thus she ordered the servants to do whatever He asked them to do. 

 

2.8.2.  Mary shows us the importance of persevering in praying, even when the Lord delays long in answering or perhaps answers in a way that we were not requesting or anticipating.

 

2.9.         In demonstrating His pre-knowledge of the disciples in the previous chapter, Jesus displayed His omniscience.  In performing this miracle, Jesus demonstrates His omnipotence, for He changes water into wine. 

 

2.10.    John, in writing this book, seems to tell these stories of Jesus’ miracles in a sort of matter of fact kind of way because he had seen the Lord perform so many and great miracles that He knew that what Jesus did on this day was routine in the life of Jesus. 

 

2.11.    Through turning the water into wine at this wedding, Jesus shows us that He wants us to enjoy life and some of its pleasures, not live just like the ascetics.

 

2.12.    The water became wine.  It should be noted that the water is said to have ‘become’ wine.  Grape juice is not wine, and wine is not grape juice.  It has been said that in Jesus’ day that there really was no way to keep grape juice from fermenting so people did not drink grape juice as we might drink it today.  People knew the difference between wines, what was good and what was not, if this wine had not been real wine and the best wine, the people would not have asked why Jesus brought out the best for last. 

 

2.13.    This first miracle of Jesus performed showed His glory, but He was not glorified the way worldly men would want to be glorified.  He showed His glory only to this small wedding party. 

 

2.14.    Jesus showed His glory in that He showed how He truly loves men and seeks to meet more than just their needs, but He even wants to be involved in minutia of our lives and even meet some of our wants. 

 

2.15.    Jesus showed His glory in that He brought the joy of life to this wedding group and blessed it by His presence.

 

3.                 CONCLUSIONS :

 

3.1.         Do you know personally in your life the great joy and blessing that Jesus came to bring which is symbolized prophetically in Jesus’ miracle at this wedding in Cana? 

 

3.2.         Man made religion cannot satisfy, the wine of this world cannot satisfy.  Do you know the One who alone can satisfy the soul?

 

3.3.         Are you known for socializing with sinners?  Do you have that evangelistic lifestyle which Jesus had?

 

3.4.         Are you comfortable befriending men and women of this world?  Do you accept offers of hospitality and socializing the way that Jesus did?

 

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