Filling The Water-pots with a Miracle
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Jesus, His mother, and His disciples at a wedding.
1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: 2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
The wedding with no wine and a mother’s request.
3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
When they ran out of wine: This was a major social mistake, and could shame the couple for a long time. A wedding was supposed to be the best party of all, and for a host to fail in providing adequate hospitality (partially in the form of food and drink) was a great dishonor.
They have no wine: We don’t know exactly why Mary brought this problem to her son Jesus. Perhaps she eagerly anticipated the day Jesus would miraculously demonstrate that He was the Messiah. When people saw that Jesus was the Messiah it would also vindicate Mary, who lived under the shadow of a pregnancy and birth that many people questioned.
It wasn’t wrong for Mary to sense that the time had come for her Son to enter public ministry. She knew He had been baptized by John and confirmed with a heavenly sign at His baptism. Mary knew He endured temptation in the wilderness. She knew Jesus had been publically introduced as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), and had begun to gather disciples to Himself.
4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? Jesus spoke to His mother with a term of respect, but He did not call her “mother.” Jesus wanted to emphasize that now, at the beginning of His public ministry, He now had a different relationship with Mary. Because all had to be saved by the cross.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. 15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) 16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
Whatever He says to you, do it: The recorded words of Mary are few. However, it is good to pay attention to her words that were recorded because they consistently glorify Jesus, not Mary herself. It is wise for everyone to obey Mary’s direction, whatever He says to you, do it.
6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. 7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
a. Six waterpots of stone: Jesus began this miracle by using what was at hand. He could have supplied more wine any number of ways, but He started with what was there.
b. According to the manner of purification of the Jews: The waterpots are connected with the system of Law, because they were used in ceremonial purification.
c. Fill the waterpots with water: The servants under the direction of Jesus were in a unique place of blessing for this miracle. Jesus wanted the cooperation of men in this miracle. He could have filled the pots Himself, or just as easily created the liquid in the pots. But He knew that if the servants shared in the work, then they also shared in the blessing.
i. The servants did not do the miracle. Their efforts alone were completely insufficient. But because of their obedience to Jesus, they shared in the joy of the miracle.
ii. The servants were especially blessed because they obeyed without question, and to the fullest (they filled them up to the brim). This means that the miracle would be fulfilled in the greatest measure possible. If they were lazy and only filled the waterpots half full, there would have only been half as much wine.
d. They filled them up to the brim: The waterpots were filled to the brim — with no room to add any more — because Jesus wasn’t going to add something to the water; He was going to transform it.
8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. 9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, 10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
a. Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast: This took faith on behalf of the servants. Imagine how angry the master of the feast would be if they brought him water to taste! Yet in faith, they obeyed the word of Jesus.
i. “The master of the feast, then, when he had tasted the water which had now become wine, and did not know whence it had been procured, and was therefore impartially judging it merely as wine among wines.”
ii. Jesus insisted that the miracle be put to the test, and right away.
iii. “In order for wine to be produced
b. The servants who had drawn the water knew: The faithful servants who did their work to the full knew the greatness of the miracle. The master of the feast only knew it was good wine; he didn’t know it was a miracle. This knowledge was a special blessing for the servants.
i. We are not told exactly how Jesus performed this miracle. We assume that the transformation took place in the waterpots, but it also could have happened in the actual serving of the wine. Yet according to the record, Jesus did not say a word or perform a ceremony; He simply exercised His will and the miracle was done.
iv. In the first temptation in the wilderness, the devil asked Jesus to turn stones into bread — for Himself. In this first sign, Mary asked Jesus to turn water into wine — for others. Jesus refused the first and did the second.
v. “It is manifest that one miracle proves the power to work every miracle. If Christ can turn water into wine by his will, he can do anything and everything. If Jesus has once exercised a power beyond nature, we may readily believe that he can do it again: there is no limit to his power.”
c. You have kept the good wine until now! The master of the feast paid the bridegroom a great and public compliment. Running out of wine would have meant social disgrace; the miracle of Jesus transformed that into a better wedding party than ever.
i. When Jesus made wine, it was good wine. It doesn’t mean that it had a particularly high alcohol content, but that it was well-made wine.
d. You have kept the good wine until now! There is a principle behind these words; the principle that for the people of God, the best is always yet to come.
i. “I can conceive you, brethren, in the very last moment of your life, or rather, in the first moment of your life, saying, ‘He has kept the best wine until now.’ When you begin to see him face to face, when you enter into the closest fellowship, with nothing to disturb or to distract you, then shall you say ‘The best wine is kept until now.’”
11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.
a. This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee: This beginning of signs in the Gospel of John (the first of seven) is a miracle of conversion, from the old ways of law, ceremony and purification to the new life of Jesus.
i. “But for him [John] the miracles are all ‘signs’. They point beyond themselves. This particular miracle signifies that there is a transforming power associated with Jesus.”
iv. This beginning of signs is the first of seven signs presented in the Gospel of John, each designed to bring the reader to faith in Jesus Christ. John explained this purpose in John 20:30-31: And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
Reckon the seven signs in the Gospel of John as:
John 2:1-11 — Water into wine.
John 4:46-54 — Healing of the nobleman’s son.
John 5:1-15 — Healing at the pool of Bethesda.
John 6:1-14 — Feeding the 5,000.
John 6:15-21 — Jesus walks on water.
John 9:1-12 — Healing of the man born blind.
John 11:1-44 — Lazarus raised from the dead.
The ancient Greek word semeion [sign] is used 74 times in the New Testament, and 23 of the 74 are in John’s writings. Most of the remaining are in the other gospels, with also some in Acts and Paul’s letters. “John has semeion in the formal sense of ‘sign’ or ‘pointer’... The semia establish faith, but God is the content of the faith, not the semeia.”
b. And manifested His glory: According to John 2:1, this miracle happened on the third day. John hints at the idea that Jesus showed His glory on the third day, and that His disciples believed in Him when they saw His glory.
i. The glory of Jesus is found in His compassion, and this was a miracle full of compassion.
c. His disciples believed in Him: Of course they believed before, but now their belief was deepened and re-expressed. This is typical in the Christian life. God does great things in our lives, and we believe in Him all over again.
ii. The faith of the disciples is significant, especially in comparison to the others present who benefited from the miracle, but of whom no specific belief is mentioned.
The master of the feast didn’t believe.
The bridegroom didn’t believe.
Doesn’t even say that the servants believed.
Those who were His disciples believed.
iii. Each of the persons around Jesus shows us something significant regarding Jesus and His work.
Mary shows us to expect Jesus to do big things, but not to tell Him how to do them.
The servants show us to obey Jesus without question and to the utmost, and to enjoy being part of the miracle.
The bridegroom shows us that Jesus loves to save the day.
The master of the feast shows us that Jesus saves the best for last.
The disciples show us that this was for real.
