John 2:1-12

1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” 11 This beginning of 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, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.

As chapter 2 begins, we find Jesus and His disciples invited to a wedding in the city of Cana. His mother is already there. Cana is about 9 miles north of Nazareth. In verse 3, we see a problem has arisen. The family hosting the wedding had run out of wine. At a Jewish wedding, not having wine would be like not having sweet tea in the south. And not only that, weddings were celebrated for an entire week, not just a few hours. People came from longer distances I’m sure, and the host family not being properly prepared for all the guests who came would have been a disaster and an embarrassment. Obviously, Mary was very concerned. She was probably close to the family or she wouldn’t have been invited. As women, don’t we want to fix the problem immediately? Mary is being a typical woman/mother. She goes to her son, whom she knows can help with the problem, and tells Him that they are out of wine. Now….when Jesus calls His mother, “woman”, how many of us thought He was being harsh and disrespectful towards her? In today’s world, if anyone addresses us as “woman”, we take it personal, don’t we? We feel disrespected, and it is usually meant that way today.  I used to think He was being harsh, maybe even reprimanding her. But He wasn’t. Here are all the other times that Jesus addressed women as “woman”, Matt. 15:28 (woman with possessed daughter, Luke 13:12 (woman with the issue of blood), John 4:21 (woman at the well), John 8:10 (woman caught in adultery), John 19:26 (to His mother as He hung on the cross), and John 20:15 (to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection). In all of these instances, Jesus is showing honor in calling the person “woman”. It would be the equivalent of “miss” today. Why didn’t He address her as “mother” instead of “woman”? This could have been a reference back to Genesis 3:15 where God promised that a “woman” would bruise the serpent’s head. It also could be that Jesus wanted to separate Himself from her to let her know that He would take care of this problem without her help. I’m not sure. Anyway, Jesus says to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” Does this mean that Jesus was not concerned with the problem? No, not at all. We can see that He is concerned about it because of Mary’s response to Him. She took what He said to mean that He was going to take care of the problem. Here is what the commentaries that I have studied say that Jesus meant by His question to Mary. Jesus is saying, paraphrasing in today’s language, “Woman, do you think this is a problem for you to be concerned about with Me here. I have got this, but only on My Father’s timetable. It is not time for me to fully reveal myself.” Mary took this as her cue to step back and let her son work, as she simply said “do what He says”. Only the servants, the disciples, and Mary knew about this “sign” when it happened (John 2:11). Jesus did this specifically so His disciples would believe (John 2:11). The water pots were not filled with drinking water. The water was for the Jews’ ceremonial washing before eating. 

Wine symbolizes God’s blessings in scripture. (Jer. 48:33, Prov. 3:10, Psalms 104:15) It also represents God dwelling with His people to bless and restore them one day. (Isa. 25:6, Joel 3:17-18, Amos 9:13-15) I found the coolest symbolic representation of this account on West Palm Beach coC’s website, and wanted to share it here. The wedding being out of wine symbolizes the Jews’ relationship with God….they were separated from Him. Jesus’ removal of the purification water pots represents the removal of the old law in the future. There would be no more ceremonial washing rituals. Jesus will be the spiritual cleansing that everyone needs. Jesus restores the “wine” or blessings to the people. Jesus is the wine. He provides the blessings. Also, the fact that the new “wine” was better than the original wine is a parallel to the new covenant being superior to the old law. Jesus brings better blessings, just like He brought better wine to the guests at the wedding. And….He brings those blessings in abundance, hence the sheer magnitude of wine that He provided which was more than the people could ever drink. I really loved this explanation when I ran across it. I had never thought about this account this way before. 

This event is called a “sign”, instead of a miracle. Not that it wasn’t a miracle, but a sign has a deeper meaning. It reveals and represents something more than we see on the surface. Think about physical signs that we see everyday. They reveal directions, instructions, or information that help us understand our world. This “sign” revealed Jesus’ deity to His disciples. It revealed His glory and power to them. It helped them know that they could trust Him. This was what the “sign” was intended for. Jesus could read the disciples’ minds. He knew the exact right moment to reveal His power to them to have the desired effect….which was their belief in Him. And…..it was only the beginning! I find it interesting that His brothers were with the crew in verse 12 when they traveled from Cana to Capernaum. However, they were not a part of the “sign” at the wedding. I wonder if Mary told them about it. Later, in John 7:3-5, we are told that His brothers did not believe in Him. So even if Mary did tell them about the miracle at Cana, it is not likely that they would have believed her anyway. 

Sidenote…..I have to mention this. This account is not recorded to give us permission or an excuse to drink alcohol as Christians. That is not John’s purpose for including it at all. Jesus would never have made intoxicating wine for this wedding. Let’s remember that everything Jesus did while He was here on earth was to bring glory to God. If Jesus had made intoxicating wine for people to get drunk on, would that have been glorifying God? Would that have been God’s will? If we drink alcohol, whether it’s one drink or ten drinks, are we glorifying God? And, don’t get me wrong, we can ask this question about anything we do…..things we watch on tv, language we use, gossiping, etc. I know I’m guilty of some of these things, namely tv shows and movies. I know I need to consider whether what I’m watching is something a Christian should be watching. I’m only pointing out alcohol use, because I’ve heard so many people use this account of Jesus turning the water to wine to justify drinking, and it is not about that. The word wine was used interchangeably for grape juice and the fermented beverage in the bible. Below, I have included two links to lessons on the subject of alcohol for you to consider. They are really good, so check them out. 

Let’s go back to the title of this post and Mary’s words to the servants at the wedding, “Do whatever He tells you to do.” Everything in God’s Word is what “He tells us to do”. Let’s do it…..so we can be with Him for eternity. 

https://www.northwestcofc.org/holiness–social-drinking.html

https://frontroyalchurchofchrist.com/what-does-the-bible-say-about-drinking/

Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? If you aren’t, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)