The Wedding Miracle

We use the term miracle today to describe something amazing or extraordinary.  Yet the miracles mentioned in The Bible were much more than what we talk about today.  God used a human messenger to deliver his message, but he would then give that messenger some power so that he could prove that the message was true.

Acts 2:22 ” “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—”

The New Testament uses three words for miracles [1]:

• Miracles – (δύναμις) dunamis – powers or mighty works; never used in the Gospel of John
• Wonders – (τέρας) teras – a wonder; used only once in John
• Signs – (σημεῖον) sēmeion – sign; used several times through John, starting in chapter 2

As we follow John’s narrative to Jesus’ first miracle, let us first point out why:

John 2:11 ” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”

Jesus performed this miracle so that people could see his glory, i.e. could see who he really was.  Even more specifically, this was so that his new disciples would believe in him.

One of the bright spots for the poor farmers in Galilee was the occasional wedding celebration.  The contracts were already made, the promises already committed, and now it was time for the groom to go and fetch the bride.  He would lead her to the home that he had prepared for them with the entire town following in the procession.  They marriage contract was completed and all invited guests would join in a large feast.  Depending on the wealth of the families, the marriage feast could last for several days.

But the wedding held much deeper meaning to the Jews than just the celebration.  Both the Old Testament scriptures and Rabbinic tradition taught that marriage symbolized God’s relationship with his people.  The more devout Jews would prepare for the wedding with fasting.  Some even believed that the wedding ceremony would forgive sins [3]  All faithful Jews would enter the ceremony with a ceremonial washing.

The narrative of the wedding in John 2 is very concise.  The entire scene of the wedding is more of a summary with few specific details.  Much has been written to try and “fill in the blanks” but this is what we know from the Gospel of John:

John 2:1-2
​ On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.

The setting is in town of Cana.  Mary is at the wedding in a position of responsibility (v.3).  Jesus is invited and travels up from Judea with his disciples.  (Note that Jesus’ disciple Nathanael is from Cana.) Cana is not far from Jesus’ home town of Nazareth.

John 2:3
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”

The crisis comes when the wine runs out. This was more than a social failure but a great humiliation to the new couple. This was a culture where hospitality is very important and they have just failed.

Mary comes to Jesus with the problem.  We are not told what she expects of Jesus: Is she asking her oldest son to take care of the problem [4]?  She clearly knows that Jesus is the Messiah, so does she now expect that he will perform a miracle?  Either way, we are not told what Mary is thinking.  Jesus’ immediate response makes Mary’s thoughts irrelevant.

John 2:4-5
And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Jesus’ reply respectfully puts her in her place.  He replies with two brief statements:

“Woman, what does this have to do with with me?“

Jesus’ response is respectful, but he does not refer to her as his mother.  Instead, Jesus is telling her that he is no longer submitting to her as her son.  They have a new relationship now that he has begun his ministry.  The comment, “what does this have to do with me”, could be translated as “You misunderstand our relationship”. [5]

“My Hour has not yet come.“

Jesus further emphasizes that he now is taking direction from the Holy Spirit.  He will only act on the Spirit’s timing and not take orders from his mother. [6]

John 2:6-8
Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.

As mentioned above, it was expected for the Jews to purify themselves (ceremonially wash their hands) before entering the wedding ceremony.  This would have been a very devout family to gather this much water (120-180 gallons) for the guests’ purification.

John 2:9-10
When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

John makes a point to note here that the master of the feast was oblivious to what was going on.  All he knew was that now, at the end of the feast, they come out with the best wine.

This is Jesus’ first public act in his ministry and he starts at a celebration.  But as I reflect on this passage, it shows that Jesus is still working through personal connections with people.  In the previous chapter, we see Jesus call Andrew, John, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael through personal encounters.  Now, we see Jesus using a family celebration to show who he is, and to draw his disciples to him.

John 2:11
” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”

 

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[1] Stephen Davey, “A Wedding Sketch”, http://media.colonial.org/files/PDFs/CBC/Wonder-Working%20Power%20Part%20IV.pdf

[2] John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, John 2, p. 278.

[3] Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Section III, “The Ascent”, Chapter iv.

[4] Joseph is never mentioned during Jesus’ adult life and the common consensus is that Joseph must have died before this point.  As the oldest son, the family responsibility now rested on Jesus.

[5] Doug Bookman, Life of Christ, Audio Series, lecture 5. http://www.bookmanministries.com/

[6] At a deeper level, there are two possible understandings of the statement, “My hour has not yet come“.  The most common understanding is that Jesus is waiting on the Holy Spirit’s direction before he will attempt to do anything on his own.  In this way, he had not yet been directed by the Spirit to turn water to wine (yet this direction came shortly thereafter). The other possibility was that Jesus is looking ahead to the time when he would publicly present himself as their savior by sacrificing himself.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus mentions five times during his ministry that his time has not yet come (2:4; 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20).  Near the time of his death, Jesus mentions three times that his time has come (12:23; 13:1; 17:1). [2]