Jesus had just called the first disciples in John 1: 43-51, promising they would see “greater things than these.” This is the first of 7 signs that John highlights – miracles which taken together fulfill John 20: 30-31, proving that Jesus is the  Christ, the Son of God, that we might believe and gain eternal life.

Encounter Jesus – John Week 3

Sign #1 – Water to Wine

John 2: 1-11

AUDIO

Lecture Handout

John Week 3 – Sign 1 – Water to Wine Handout

Lesson Notes

 

The Wedding at Cana (John 2: 1-11)

  • Verse 1 – Just a few days after calling His first disciples, there’s a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and Mary, the mother of Jesus was present
  • Verse 2 – Jesus was also invited, along with his small group of disciples
  • Verse 3 – The wine ran out
    • A wedding could be as long as a week
    • Deeply shameful to run out of wine – in a shame culture, this was a big deal
    • Since wedding and feasting imagery is often used to describe the relationship between Israel and God, it’s possible that this story also serves as a symbol of the spiritual dryness of Israel – Proverbs 3: 9-10
    • Mary brings the situation to Jesus’ attention – “they have no wine”
  • Verse 4 – Jesus pushes back on the request to get involved
    • This is a common pattern in His ministry, to push back against a simple request to see if there is real persistence of faith
    • “Woman, what does this have to do with me?”
    • This is a phrasing that, while not as culturally rude as it reads in English, expresses some interpersonal distance (as Jesus transitions from being primarily the son of Mary to being primarily the Son of God), it’s a bit abrupt, and generally this phrasing includes some protest at the request
    • He knows what she’s asking for – probably better than she does, since He has never before worked a miracle
    • “My hour has not yet come” – throughout John’s gospel, we hear this concept of timing, of “my hour”
      • Why is this the place to do something extraordinary?
      • Ultimately, “my hour” in John refers to Jesus’ crucifixion
      • But the point is that it isn’t yet time for Jesus’ public ministry to begin, the groundwork is not yet complete
      • The solution is that this is a very private miracle – only the disciples and servants know what Jesus does
  • Verse 5 – Mary responds with persevering faith, just as we see elsewhere, this is the faith that Jesus often looks for before acting miraculously
    • Like many moms, she just plows ahead with her plan – “do whatever he tells you”
    • She probably wasn’t expecting a miracle, since verse 11 says this was Jesus’ first “sign,” but she’s probably used to him solving problems
  • Verse 6 – 6 water jars used for Jewish ritual cleansing
    • Including the details of the purpose of the jars reveals deeper meaning to the miracle we’re about to see.
    • It’s not just about changing water to wine, it’s about replacing the symbol of Old Covenant faithfulness with the symbol of New Covenant life
    • The water reminds us of all the rules of the Mosaic Law with its emphasis on external cleaning to be suitable for God’s presence
  • Verse 7 – Jesus says to fill the jars with water and they fill them to the brim – there is 0 wine in there, but there is now 120-180 gallons of water
  • Verse 8 – now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast to taste
    • Evidence of extraordinary faith – that they wouldn’t be wasting the master’s time
    • As we see so often, there is no elaborate ritual in working the transformation
  • Verse 9 – The master of the feast tasted the water – “now become wine”
    • Jesus changed the essential nature of the substance
    • Jesus has power over material things, changing them at a molecular level
    • Makes total sense if John 1: 3 is true – “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made”
    • Likewise, Colossians 1: 17 – if by Him all things hold together, of course He can change anything’s essential nature
  • Verse 10 – this is the good wine – you’ve saved the best until now (presumably a good thing)
    • When Jesus works, He makes the best, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary, and doing so in abundance
    • Likewise, God has saved “the best for now”, bringing Jesus and the new covenant into the world at that moment in time
    • Elsewhere, Jesus will liken His teachings to new wine, so this is the perfect first miracle to being His ministry
    • Wine is the symbol of the new covenant (recall the Lord’s Supper) established in Christ’s blood, just as water was the symbol of the old covenant with its focus on ritual cleanliness
  • Verse 11 – This is the first sign (6 more to go)
    • Probably means no earlier miracles in the life of Jesus
    • It manifested (revealed) his glory – John 1: 14, we have seen His glory, as of the Son of the Father
    • The glory of the sovereign God of the universe with total control over all material things
    • Because He transformed something into something else as only God can do
    • Reminiscent also of Moses in Egypt, except that where that sign manifested God’s glory by transforming water into blood resulting in death, here Jesus transforms water into the symbol of His life-giving blood. Jesus is the new and greater Moses!
    • AND HIS DISCIPLES BELIEVED IN HIM – this is the critical point of this sign
      • This is why He did it – so they would believe
      • This was the first of the “greater things”
      • There will come a time when the crowds will abandon Jesus, but the disciples stay because of what they’ve seen and know that He is God in the flesh
      • Always remember, the purpose of the signs is so people might believe
    • Jesus’s glory and the faith of His disciples are the overriding themes of this passage and t his first sign

PRAYER – Praise for the power and glory of Jesus, prayer for others to believe

Next week: Jesus & the Teacher of Israel (John 2: 23- 3:21)