THE MIRACLE OF TURNING WATER INTO WINE

John 2:1 - 11

John 2:1 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. NKJV

"[Jesus] Christ cannot be separated from the miraculous; His birth, His ministry, and His resurrection, all involve the miraculous, and the change which faith in Him works in the human heart is a continuing miracle. Eliminate the miracles and Christ becomes merely a human being and His Gospel is stripped of divine authority."

Today I would like to begin to investigate the divine miracles of Jesus and discover what they have to teach us and how they will change our hearts. Jesus is in fact miraculous, and you cannot separate Him from miracles. His life was full of miracles. Let us go deeper into our text. And take a look at His very first public miracle.

THE MIRACLE OF TURNING WATER INTO WINE

I. JESUS AND HIS MOTHER (VERSES 1-5)

The setting and stage for Jesus’ miracle is set for us very soon after John chapter 2 begins. Verse 1 tells us that the event is a wedding in a village called Cana in Galilee. Cana was about 4 miles away from Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth... so it would make sense that He and his family and friends would be invited to a wedding there. Verse 1 tells us that Mary seemed to already be in Cana when Jesus and the disciples arrived. Verse 3 tells us that the wine runs out during the wedding celebration. We are not told why, but perhaps when Jesus arrived with His disciples the supply runs out. In any case, Mary says to Jesus, "they have no more wine." I love the interaction we see here between Jesus and His mother. Jesus speaks to His mother and says, ‘Dear woman.’ I immediately think of the other time that Jesus called his mother ‘dear woman.’ It can be found in John 19:26 when Jesus is on the cross. John tells us, "When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home." I cannot help but see in his words that he loved this woman who was His mother. He certainly showed that on the cross and he uses the same kind words here at the wedding. I do not know what was going on in the mind of Jesus and why He asked her not to involve Him. Maybe Jesus needs to show that He is the Son of God and that this is not dependent on anyone but God and that He takes His directions from God. We do not know really. And yet, Mary has complete faith in Jesus because in verse 5 she turns to the servants and instructs them to listen to Jesus and to do whatever He says. That is absolute faith. Mary had absolute faith in her Son.

II. JESUS AND HIS MIRACLE (VERSES 6-10)

Jesus’ mother leaves Jesus standing there with servants hanging on His every word and waiting for the slightest action. She has instructed them to follow what He says, and they are ready! Jesus notes jars nearby that hold about 180 gallons worth of liquid. These jars were probably needed to aid the wedding attendees in keeping themselves ceremonial pure. They would need a large amount of water to wash themselves and cups and bowls. Jesus looks at these jars and sees the way to meet the need... that certainly would be enough for what he was going to do.

Verse 7 shows us that the servants filled the jars with water. Verse 8 shows that the servants drew out the liquid and took it to the tables. Verse 9 tells us that what was in the cups drawn from the jars was wine and not water. Jesus had turned water into wine. There is no other explanation possible. The vine was not needed. A vineyard and winepress was not needed. Jesus, with the same power that said "let there be light" (Genesis 1:3) and "peace be still" (Mark 4:39) had changed ordinary water into fantastic wine for the feast! It was in fact a miracle. *

Jesus' miracle of turning water into wine was intended to reveal His glory and to cause His disciples to put their faith in Him. Jesus regarded the OT as God’s revelation and therefore authoritative Scripture, it is unlikely that He would have created alcohol to reveal His glory in light of the strong warnings found in Proverbs 23:29 - 35 about alcoholic wine and its harmful effects. On the other hand, turning water into fresh, sweet, unfermented harvest wine certainly would have revealed Jesus’ glory to His disciples as Lord over nature and as “The Christ; the Son of God”

When I think of a miracle, I think of a supernatural event that could not have happened unless there was divine power or intervention at work. Jesus, the Son of God, intervened and through divine power changed what was water to wine. It is amazing! It is a miracle! But why did He do it?

III. JESUS AND HIS REASON (VERSE 11)

The miracle did two things according to John 3:11. First, the miracle of the water to wine "revealed His glory." Jesus showed that He in fact was God Incarnate. Jesus showed that He had power over Creation and the things in Creation. Jesus showed that He truly was the Son of God. The miracle of the water and wine was a proof that Jesus was who He said He was. How else could such a transformation happen?

God has done amazing miracles throughout time, and they are recorded in Scripture to show us His character and who He is. God gave an elderly couple a child when they could not have children and made them into a great nation (Genesis 17) to show that He had a plan for salvation. God parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14), provided manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16), and brought water from a dry rock (Exodus 17) to show the Israelites that He was in control and would take care of them. God worked a miracle in Joseph through slavery and prison and raised him up to prominence in Egypt that he might save his family (Genesis 42) and show that God works for good for those who love Him and are faithful. God was shown to be an all-powerful mighty God through those miracles. Just as those awesome miracles show who God is... so also the miracle at Cana shows the identity of Jesus Christ.

Second, the miracle of the water to wine produced faith in the disciples because the verse says ,"His disciples put their faith in Him." I guess the statement ’seeing is believing’ would apply in this instance. The disciples saw the water go into the jars and saw wine coming out. It was a faith creating experience. The disciples saw that Jesus was not an ordinary teacher, but someone that they truly should follow with their hearts and souls. The disciples saw Jesus as someone who could change the world, and they began to believe in Him.

CONCLUSION

Jesus is miraculous. The miracle of the water to wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee is meant to give us assurance that Jesus is who He said He is, and we can place our faith in Him. The disciples did! Jesus also did something else miraculous. Jesus died on the cross for you and for me. He didn’t have to. He wanted to. And when we accept Jesus Christ, He works a miracle in our hearts and cleanses us from all sin and guilt and shame. Perhaps that is the greatest miracle of Jesus of all... our hearts.