“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: and both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.” -John 2:1-11
A primary purpose in John’s writing his account of the gospel was to reaffirm that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. Error and unsound teaching about the person of Jesus Christ was an enemy of the truth even as early in church history as the lifetimes of the apostles. Because the truth of Jesus is the heart of the gospel, it was necessary for the Apostle John to defend both the divinity and humanity of Christ in the account which we have preserved as “The Gospel According to John.” His purpose is clear from the glorious introduction: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God…” (John 1:1-2). The Word, which is a title for Jesus Christ (see Revelation 19:13), is not an angel or a lesser god, but is God Himself. Praise God for such unapologetic clarity in scripture!
As part of his method for confirming Christ’s deity and ultimate authority, John began his book with seven selected miracles which demonstrate Jesus’s power and triumph over all. Of course, Jesus performed far more than seven miracles, but John, by the inspiration and wisdom of the Holy Ghost, focused on these seven to illustrate Jesus’s power over the world. It is in this context that John presents the miracle of turning water into wine in the second chapter. We will try to examine this and the remaining six miracles in subsequent articles, focusing primarily on what they teach about the power and reign of Christ.
The first notable point from the wedding Jesus attended is the unprepared situation of the hosts. Just like in today’s time, it would have been an embarrassment to run out of refreshments at a wedding feast! Where there should have been joy and celebration, there was dissatisfaction and shame. Furthermore, no one in attendance (except Jesus) had the power to restore the joy. After all, it takes a substantial amount of time to make wine. Even if they had had the ingredients, there is no way the hosts could have rushed the fermentation process to provide wine to the guests. There was insufficiency in them. This is actually a perfect representation of their religion and system of law – an honest look at man’s obedience would reveal nothing more pleasing than dirty water in a washpot. However, in Jesus and His new covenant and His righteousness, there is all sufficiency and joy unspeakable!
As with the remaining six miracles, the events in John chapter 2 are taught as literal history. They are true, historically accurate accounts of real events. This one demonstrates Jesus’s sovereignty over the natural world in the sense that He was able to change one substance (water) into another substance (wine). According to the physical laws of the universe, this should have been impossible – which is, by the way, the reason it is called a miracle. However, because Jesus is God, He has full authority over His own creation to do according to His will. The most capable engineer, smartest physicist, or even the practiced chemist cannot accomplish what Jesus was able to do because He is sovereign over creation.
Finally, we consider the fact that Jesus has authority to command and instruct men. There is immeasurable wisdom in Mary’s words to the servants, “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” God’s word carries the special authority which results from the relationship of Creator to creation, and we can see this taught in this miracle. Because of the obedience of the servants, they were blessed to see an amazing miracle of Jesus that even the governor did not see! We, as the disciples and servants of Christ, ought to adopt this attitude of humble submission to the commandments given in His word on the simple basis that He, our Creator, has the authority to give commandments. In doing so, we actively recognize His divinity and will receive the blessing of knowing the source of all goodness and sufficiency – our Lord Jesus.