First Miracle at Cana
Notes
Transcript
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
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,
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.
This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.
And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
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,
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.
This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
Introduction:
Introduction:
I. The Scene (vs. 1-2)
I. The Scene (vs. 1-2)
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
As we come to the first of eight miracles that are recorded by John, He begins with some background as to what the scene is all about.
John first adds the fact that it was the “Third Day”.
Now, this fact is not really going to alter your interpretation of the passage; however, the Holy Spirit put it in the text, so we will discuss what he means very briefly.
This refers back to the call of Philip and Nathanael in the previous passage in .
The time frame is that since the interview that John the Baptist had with the Jewish authorities in , and having presented Jesus Christ as the “Lamb of God”.
The day after He was presented as the Lamb of God, Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John as His disciples, and the third day after His being presented as the Lamb of God, He was in Cana of Galilee.
This is not a reference to the third day of the wedding, but to the fact that it was the Third Day since Jesus was presented as the Lamb of God.
So as I said, nothing that will alter your interpretation of the passage, but something just for clarification.
Then to continue to set up the scene, we are told that we are in Cana of Galilee.
Now, Cana is presently an uninhabited community that is 15 miles west of the Sea of Galilee.
So Jesus and His disciples leave the area of the Jordan River and head west to Cana so that He will be at the wedding three days after being presented as the Lamb of God.
He went to Cana to attend a wedding feast.
A wedding was a major social event in first-century Palestine and the celebration could last as long as a week.
Now, unlike modern weddings, which are traditionally paid for by the bride’s family, the groom was responsible for the expenses of the celebration.
First century weddings were the culmination of a betrothal period.
During that period, which often lasted for several months, the couple was considered legally to be man and wife.
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
Matt 1:19
Only a divorce could terminate the betrothal.
But they did not live together or consummate the marriage during that period.
Now, on the night of the ceremony (usually on Wednesday), the groom and his friends would go to the brides house.
They would then escort her and her attendants to the groom’s house, where the ceremony and banquet would be held.
The whole celebration ended with the actual wedding.
The text goes on to create the scene by saying that the mother of Jesus was there.
John never refers to her as Mary in the Gospel, but only as “the Mother of Jesus”.
The fact that both His mother and Jesus attended this wedding probably suggests the wedding involved relatives or friends of the family.
That would explain why Jesus Mary seemed to be more than a guest, she apparently had some responsibility of helping the grooms family with the celebration seeing that she was the one that was made aware of the lack of wine.
Perhaps she was what we would call today “The Wedding Planner”.
Since Joseph is not mentioned, it is probable that he was dead at this time, we are not sure.
What we do know is that at the crucifixion Jesus committed the care of Mary to John, so we know that he was dead by that time.
One important point that I believe that we can make here as we set up the scene for the miracle is that by Christ performing His first of eight recorded miracles at a wedding, He was sanctifying both the institution of marriage and the ceremony itself.
It is also important to note that the ceremony is an essential element of that union, because in it the couple publicly vow to remain faithful to each other.
The OT as well as the NT view the public ceremony as a necessary part of the marriage.
And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.
And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.
And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.
And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
So, that is the scene.
We have Jesus, His disciples and His mother attending a wedding in Cana of Galilee.
II. The Situation (vs. 3-5)
II. The Situation (vs. 3-5)
And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
Over the years of my time in the ministry, this has been the “go to passage” by some as permission to drink wine.
It usually goes something like this, “well, if it is wrong to drink wine, then why did Jesus turn the water into wine?”
There are four Greek words in the NT that are translated wine.
The first and the most used is the Greek word “οἶνος” and that is used 31 of the 44 times that wine is translated.
The second is the word “ὄξος” and that is translated “sour wine” used 6 of the 41 times and was generally used as a pain killer.
The third is “γλεῦκος” from where we get our English word for the the Glucose Pill and it is used once.
The fourth is “παλαιός” and is used once.
So, the majority of the time the word that is used for wine is the word “οἶνος” and that is the word in our text.
Now, I want to give you some information to inform your thinking about wine and the first miracle that Jesus performed.
Wine was the staple drink in the ancient Near East.
Due to the warm climate and the lack of any means of refrigeration or purification, the fruit of the vine tended to ferment very quickly.
The result of that rapid fermentation process was an alcoholic beverage with the capability of inducing drunkenness.
Now, the Scriptures strongly condemn drunkeness.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
You may ask, “so, are you saying that we can drink as long as we do not get drunk?”
First of all what we need to understand is that in the ancient Near East, the fermented fruit of the vine was commonly diluted with water in order to avoid intoxication.
What we also need to consider are the words of Solomon that we saw above:
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
“When it is red” speaks of fermentation.
And also the words of the Apostle Paul.
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
As believers, we are not to be under the influence of anything other than the Holy Spirit.
Listen, I have never known a person who did not get drunk by starting to drink.
Now, not everyone that drinks gets drunk, but I have never known anyone who did not get drunk that did not start by drinking.
Based on the language that is used and based on the practices of the ancient Near East people, what Jesus Christ created was not the type of alcoholic wine that is purchased today, but He created a wine that was diluted by water.
Now, the situation is that they have run out of wine.
Now, to run out of wine at a social event was a major embarrassment to the family that could have, in this situation, stigmatized the couple and their families for the rest of their lives.
In fact, it was so serious that it would have left the groom and his family open to a lawsuit by the brides family for failing to meet their responsibility.
Keep this is mind; all of the miracles of Christ were never performed for a sensational miracle.
But as all of the miracles, this miracle was done to meet the genuine need of the family and their guests.