Miracles of Jesus - Part 1

Turning Water Into Wine
John 2:1-11

We have in these verses the account of Jesus’ miraculous conversion of water into wine at a marriage in Cana of Galilee. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is at the wedding, although her role seems to be more than that of a guest. From the context of the account of the wedding it appears the couple being married either is friends, or possibly related to Mary, and that she is helping with the arrangements, especially the serving of the food and wine. Well into the festivities, Jesus’ mother becomes aware of a most embarrassing situation, the wine has run out, and there appears to be no solution. Either no more wine is available, or there is no money to buy more wine. This would be a social embarrassment in that culture, or any culture for that matter. Some commentators claim that litigation was possible in such cases, can you imagine being sued for not providing enough food and drink at a marriage ceremony?

Mary comes to Jesus and tells Him, “They have no wine.” This is no mere report, as our Lord knows, and as John expects us to understand. Though we are not told why Mary told Jesus the wine has run out, it is possible she was hoping He might do something about the situation. Of all those present, the mother of our Lord knows Jesus best. She knows more about the miraculous events surrounding His birth as well as John the Baptist’s miraculous birth, John identifying Jesus as the promised Messiah than anyone. Jesus has not performed any miracles and we do not know that she expects one. However, from what she does know, it is certainly possible that she expects Jesus to do something out of the ordinary.

Jesus asked Mary, “Woman, what does that have to do us? My hour has not yet come” (v. 4). This sounds a little rude to us but it is not. By addressing His mother as “Woman,” Jesus is distancing Himself from her. He uses the same term of address in John 19:26 when He is hanging on the cross. On the cross, Jesus is indicating that His earthly existence is over and with it, the mother-son relationship. Why does Jesus address His mother as “woman” in this situation? The baptism by John marked the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and with it; His responsibility to the Father and accomplishment of His mission has now become His number one priority.

His response to His mother that His “hour” has not yet come does not mean He cannot help her or will not help her. He is merely pointing out that as His mother, she might think she has some parental authority over Him. As her sovereign God, she has no authority over Him at all. In his Gospel, Luke makes the point that Jesus lived in submission to His parents as a child (Luke 2:51). We do not know at what point in time it happened, but it appears that Joseph died prior to our Lord’s adult years. Jesus honored His mother and lived in submission to her authority, but it is now time for our Lord to indicate to His mother that there will be a change. Not only is He a grown man about to set out on His own, He is the Messiah, who will some day establish His kingdom on the earth. He can no longer relate to Mary as He formerly has. He cannot allow His submission to His Father to be “overruled” by the requests of His earthly mother.
This wedding crisis provides Jesus with the opportunity to set a precedent that clearly indicates to His mother that she will not influence Him, as His mother. A new relationship between Jesus and His mother commences at the wedding in Cana. Jesus neither abruptly nor arbitrarily turns His mother down. He does not say, “No,” and neither does He say, “Yes.” He simply reminds her of the change in their roles and relationships. He is no longer her “little boy,” obliged to do whatever she asks. He is the Messiah, who must obey His true Father.

Jesus words did not offend Mary. She simply turns to the servants and instructs them, “Whatever He tells you, do it.” She does not argue with Him, for He has made His point. She does not plead with Him. By her words, it seems that she leaves her request in His hands to deal with as He sees fit. He may not tell the servants to do anything. Yet, if He does tell them to do something, anything, they should obey, for then it is His good pleasure and done in His good time.

Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, each holding twenty or thirty gallons of water. Jesus told the servants to fill the jars with water. It is doubtful that the servants or Mary, or our Jesus’ newly acquired disciples had any idea what Jesus was going to do. When the six stone pots are filled, Jesus instructs the servants to draw out some of the “water” from one of the pots and take it to the headwaiter; here is where Mary’s words to the servants are put to the test. One of the servants gave the water from the stone pots to the headwaiter. The suspense of those moments between the time the headwaiter drinks the wine and the time he responds must have been sheer torture for the servants. The headwaiter tasted the water the servant gave him and then calls for the bridegroom, with a smile, and perhaps a pat on the bridegroom’s back the headwaiter tells the bridegroom he has outdone himself, saving the very best until last. What looks like certain shame has turned to sudden fame for the bridegroom and the headwaiter.

There is a lesson for us in the miracle at Cana of Galilee. Liberal scholars are unwilling to take the words of Scripture at face value. They do not believe this was a miracle at all. They explain the story this way: There was a wedding, and they were running out of wine. Jesus told the servants to serve water when the wine ran out. This was like a child’s make-believe tea party. To try to play down the embarrassing situation, the headwaiter tastes the water that is served in place of the wine and says, in a joking way, “Good wine.” Then, someone else at the celebration catches the spirit of the moment and adds, “Yes, this is the best wine yet.” I prefer to take John’s account literally. This was a miracle. Jesus turned ceremonial cleansing water into the best wine men ever drank.

Second, while this miracle appears to be an exercise of supernatural power that Jesus is reluctant to use but He uses it because of His mother’s request, it is not something Jesus did to please His mother. 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. 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 should consider this fact carefully. Jesus is not as eager to perform miracles, as others are to see Him perform miracles.

Third, this miracle was not a necessity. Running out of wine is not a life and death situation. This miracle is not like some of the other miracles Jesus performed, where an individual has suffered for years, or a child’s life is uncertain, running out of wine is not an emergency that demands immediate and dramatic action on Jesus’ part. Running out of wine was a problem, an embarrassment, but it was not a tragedy. This miracle was the solution to a non-critical problem although in the newlywed couple’s minds and perhaps in Mary’s it was a major problem, it was not a crisis.

Fourth, God is concerned with our “non-critical” problems. 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. God does not look upon our prayers as interruptions. We are God’s children, we can call Him and tell Him our problems, and he will never scold us for interrupting Him in whatever He is doing. He is never too busy to talk to His children. God cares about the little things that affect His children.

Fifth, no one knew what Jesus was about to do, not even the servants who filled the water pots to the brim. Jesus 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 water pots, and then personally presenting the “good wine” to the headwaiter. In fact, Jesus does not touch the water pots or the wine. He simply gives instructions to the servants to fill the pots and to serve the contents. 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.

Minimizing the visibility of this first miracle had a purpose; first, it minimized His exposure. Done in this way, Jesus was able to perform the miracle without violating His Father’s will concerning “His time.” It was not yet the moment for a public display of Jesus’ 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 2. The first is the transformation of water into wine. The second is accomplishing this miracle in a way that was not apparent to everyone, many miracles occur this way today. They occur in ways that seem so natural many do not even recognize them as supernatural.

Fifth, this miracle was the first to manifest the glory of Jesus. This is what John tells us in verse 11.

This is a rather interesting statement, because it seems inconsistent with what we have just observed. How could the miracle manifest the glory of Jesus when so few even knew Jesus performed a miracle? Those who might ask this question make the same mistake the disciples made. The mistake is the opinion if the glory of God is present, it will be in some dramatic display of power, one that is visible and spectacular, and acknowledged as a display of supernatural power. In this miracle of turning water into wine, there was a display of supernatural power, the turning of water into wine. The problem is those who benefited from the display of supernatural failed to recognize the miracle as a manifestation of the glory of God. We can fail to recognize the glory of God in some event that is a display of supernatural power because our definition of the glory of God is limited. We think of His glory in terms of beauty, power, and honor and fail to recognize God’s greatness and authority. In the turning of the water into wine, we see God’s authority over nature.

Sixth, this miracle is called a sign (John 1:11). In the New Testament, various terms are used to designate miracles. One of the most common is “mighty works,” another is “wonders” and is often linked to sign. Signs and wonders is found one time in John’s Gospel (John 4:48). John prefers the simple word “signs” Jesus’ miracles are never simply displays of power to impress the masses, but “sign” a display of power that point beyond themselves to the deeper realities that could be perceived with the eyes of faith.

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 of Nazareth is the Logos, 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 heavens and earth?

Seventh, 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 in believing you might have eternal life (John 20:31). Do you believe? There is no more important decision in life than what you believe about the life and ministry of Jesus. He alone is God manifested in human flesh. He alone is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, and can forgive your sin.

Eighth, this miracle teaches us that Jesus is able to take something simple and common and turn it into something wonderful. He takes that which is the cause of drudgery and makes it the source of great delight. The Old Testament Law required various kinds of washings. All of these were to demonstrate to the Israelites how deeply sinful and unclean they were, and thus how unfit to enter into God’s presence. These washings were drudgery, yet the Israelites were to do them in obedience to God’s law. By the time legalistic Judaism added even more washings, Judaism was a laborious religion. Jesus took this ceremonial cleansing water and made it into wine. Jesus took that which was a pain and made it into a pleasure. Jesus took that which Jews would have found unfit to drink, and He made of it the best wine that has ever passed the lips of man.

Ninth, this miracle is a picture of the superiority of the New Covenant to the Old, of grace to law. Because Jesus came and perfectly fulfilled the law, meeting all of its requirements, He was uniquely qualified to die for sinners on the cross of Calvary. The salvation He procured through His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary makes it possible for men to leave the drudgery behind and to enter into the joy of His salvation. Our Lord is able to take fallible men like Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, and Nathanael and make them into apostles. He is able to take the “weak and foolish things of this world,” people like us and transform us so that the people marvel at God’s grace and goodness.

Finally, this miracle teaches us Jesus not only produces something beautiful and blessed but something bountiful. The wine Jesus created was the best ever, but He did not create a small quantity. He produced much more than was needed. Can you imagine the joy of this married couple, who may have been poor, being blessed with over 100 gallons of the finest wine ever produced? When Jesus fed the 5,000 (Matthew 14:13-21) and again the 4,000 (Matthew 15:32-39), there were plenty of leftovers (14:20; 15:37). God’s blessings are always bountiful. “Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom, for with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).