A Miracle in Cana Approximately 16 months ago we looked at the first miracle of Jesus as we considered that Jesus can supply all of our needs, that we should focus on Jesus and what he does rather than the wine, and that because of this (and other miracles) we should believe Jesus. This morning we will revisit this miracle and look for more lessons that we find that will help us in our daily walk with Jesus. Let s read through this passage about the first miracle. It is only shared in John s gospel. As we open our Bibles to the 2 nd chapter of John, we will read the first eleven verses. On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no wine. And Jesus said to her, Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, Whatever He says to you, do it. Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to them, Fill the waterpots with water. So, they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter. So, they took it to him. 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, 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. This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. (John 2:1-11 NASB) 1
Our weddings are not like the weddings of the era when Jesus was on this earth. In the Old and New Testament worlds, weddings were happy, festive occasions just as they are today. The marriage ceremony was considerably longer, during which time there was feasting and celebration. In the Hebrew Bible, we see another wedding. Once we understand the nature of the celebration, may help us more fully see how things occurred. The marriage of Jacob and Leah in Genesis chapter 29. Actually, Jacob thought he was marrying Rachel, the younger sister for whom he had labored seven years. Laban outdoes Jacob in deceit by switching brides. A lengthy celebration, a good quantity of wine, and a very dark tent seem to explain how Jacob could spend the night consummating his marriage with Leah rather than Rachel. According to the Mishnah (or oral traditions of Jewish law) the wedding would take place on a Wednesday if the bride was a virgin and, on a Thursday, if she was a widow. The bridegroom and his friends made their way in procession to the bride s house. This was often done at night, when there could be a spectacular torchlight procession. There were doubtless speeches and expressions of goodwill before the bride and groom went in procession to the groom s house, where the wedding banquet was held. It is probable that there was a religious ceremony, but we have no details. The processions and the feast are the principal items of which we have knowledge. The feast was prolonged, and might last as long as a week. So, here we see, midway through the week-long celebration they runout of wine. Imagine the social embarrassment. Even in today s wedding parties, running short of food or drink would be a disaster. Mary tells Jesus about the situation They have no wine. 2
We are not sure what Mary expected from Jesus. Maybe she thought he would say something that would ease the embarrassment. John tells us this is the first sign or miracle so there is no indication that Mary expected Jesus to perform a miracle. There are several things to note from this miracle. First, we know what Jesus did and that the water literally transformed into wine. It was not just wine but good wine. Pause for a minute to think about the scene. The waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification. This means they were there for people to dip their hands and feet into the water to clean them. Jesus took something that most of us would refuse to be near and turned it into something wonderful. Good wine coming from non-potable water. Catch the irony? How often do we read in the Bible that God takes an unqualified person use them in a mighty way? Second, while this miracle appears to be an exercise of supernatural power that our Lord is reluctant to perform, but which He does because of His mother s persistence, it is not. I believe it is correct to observe that, in the Gospels, our Lord is often not as eager to perform miracles as others are to have Him do so. He knows the limitation of such displays of power, as we shall see at the end of this chapter. Jesus reluctance is not a resistance to helping this couple in need, but a concern that His mother understand that their relationship has changed forever, and that therefore His calling is not to do her bidding, as though she has an inside track with God. He also is concerned that He fulfill His Father s plan at the divinely appointed time, rather than in His mother s time-frame. He knows it is not yet time for Him to make a public display of His power, by which He publicly presents Himself as the promised Messiah. Those today who are overly eager to see God perform miracles (some almost insist upon them) should consider this fact carefully. Jesus is not as eager to perform miracles as others are to see Him do so. 3
Third, this miracle was not a necessity, but rather a luxury. Stop and consider this fact for a moment. This miracle is not like some of the other miracles Jesus performed, where an individual has suffered for years, or a child s life hangs in the balance. This is not an emergency situation which demands immediate and dramatic action on our Lord s part. There is a lesson to be learned. God is concerned with our problems-even those that do not involve emergent life or death situation. He is also a compassionate and merciful Father, who cares about His children. God is never annoyed when we come to Him with our small problems. Fourth, this miracle was not a public spectacle. If Jesus wanted everyone to know what He was doing, He could have called for everyone s attention, announcing to all that He was about to turn water into wine. He could have been much more dramatic, waving His hands over the waterpots, and then personally presenting the good wine to the head steward. In fact, Jesus does not seem to even touch the waterpots or the wine. He simply gives instructions to the servants to fill the pots and to serve the contents. If you had interviewed the head steward or any of the guests and asked what they thought of the celebration, they probably would have said: Oh, it was a really nice celebration, and the wine at the last was really something. Most of the people never knew a miracle had taken place. It seems that only Mary, the servants, and the disciples were aware of what happened. John tells us that because of this miracle, the disciples believed in Him (verse 11). My impression is that the servants knew what happened, but they were not sure exactly how it happened, so they simply kept quiet, scratching their heads with wonder. 4
Minimizing the visibility of this first display of our Lord s power is by design. Everything our Lord did in transforming the water into wine was intended to minimize His exposure. Done in this way, our Lord was able to perform the miracle without violating His Father s will concerning His time. It was not yet the moment for our Lord to publicly display His power and glory. Thus, He performed the miracle privately, in a way that conformed to God s timing. In one sense, there are two miracles here in these first verses of John the 2 nd chapter. The first is the transformation of water into wine. The second is accomplishing this miracle in a way that was not apparent to everyone. Most likely, this is the way many miracles occur today. They occur in ways that seem so natural many do not even recognize them as supernatural. Fifth, notice especially how this miracle manifested our Lord s glory. This is what John tells us: This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. This is a rather interesting statement, because it seems inconsistent with what we have just observed. How could our Lord s glory have been manifested when so few even knew a miracle had been performed? The answer to our question may be answered in the first chapter of John: He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:10-14 NASB) 5
Jesus was God. He was in the beginning with God. He actively participated in the creation of this world (John 1:1-5). He was the true Light, the Light of the world, but the world did not know Him (John 1:6-11). The disciples beheld His glory, but the vast majority of those who saw and heard Him did not really see Him for who He was; they did not behold His glory. This transformation of water into wine is closely related to chapter 1. In the first few verses of this Gospel, John informs us that Jesus is the word, who was not only with God in the beginning, but was God in the beginning. He is the Creator, who brought all that is into existence. Is it any great wonder that we should see Jesus creating wine from water, just as He once created the cosmos from chaos? Are we surprised that the disciples beheld His glory through this miracle when, in chapter one, the Apostle John writes, And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. This miracle, as the other signs of the Gospel of John, teaches us about the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. The purpose is simple: that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:31 NASB) Do you believe? There is no more important decision in life than what you believe about the person and work of Jesus Christ. He alone is God manifested in human flesh. He alone is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, who alone can forgive your sin. 6