The Age of Messiah is Here (John 2:1-12)
It is lamentable that we read this account and mostly think about whether we should drink alcohol. Because the account is really about something greater than that. Jesus announced something with this miracle, and it is something that we need to pay attention to today.
Marriages were a big event in Jesus’s day. A wedding feast would last anywhere from five days to a whole week. And the groom was responsible for making sure that food and wine flowed at these events. The wine was normally mixed with water. Unmixed wine was considered strong drink and more likely to be abused. And throughout the Scriptures drunkenness is a serious sin.
The wine drank in Jesus’s day was usually mixed. The estimates range anywhere from 1/3 to 1/10 strength, so the stronger wines had a little less alcohol than a beer. But a person was still capable of getting drunk, which they were prohibited to do.
These feasts were large affairs. We don’t have an exact understanding of what happened in marriage’s during Jesus’s time, but we do have descriptions of weddings during time periods both before and after Jesus’s time on Earth. Therefore, we can make a pretty good guess at what happened at these wedding feasts.
A man and woman would be betrothed for a year or possibly two. It was much more serious than our engagements. Betrothal vows were given upon entering this arrangement and getting out of a betrothal required a certificate of divorce. At the end of the betrothal was the wedding feast.
On the first evening the bridegroom with friends would go to his betrothed’s home, her father’s house. He would be wearing splendid apparel for the occasion and one of the bridegroom’s friends would lead the procession to her home. She was also beautifully dressed and would be carried in a litter in the procession. Wedding songs were sang by the procession as they carried the bride to the bridegroom’s home. There were blessings from his parents given and then prayers. In the evening the bridegroom would play games and dance. And the bridesmaids and other friends would go away to another room with the bride.
Then came the wedding feast on the following day. It was another time of great celebration and rejoicing. But at the end of the day there was a meal where men and women were served in separate locations. Presents were given at this time. And the bride, again beautifully dressed and in all white songs were sung and blessings were recited. The groom would arrive at this time and speak to one another. Other people would gather around and the religious leaders gave blessings. And later came the evening feast. They were now married.
At some point during the evening feast, the husband and wife snuck away and consummated the marriage. However, they did not leave the party. They stayed and sang songs, danced, and feasted as they celebrated their marriage with family and friends.
Now, it was just this sort of event that Jesus was invited to and went to with His disciples. Dancing, feasting, games, it was a celebration of this marriage. But there was a problem and it was a big one.
It seems that Jesus’s mother was helping with the party. She was likely a friend or relative of the groom’s family and helping with making the party happen.
So, how are we to interpret the events at Cana? How are we to interpret Jesus turning water into wine?
Was Jesus telling us to have a good time?
Was Jesus telling Christians they should feast and celebrate more?
I certainly think there are lessons like these that we can pull from the text. I like to think that our Christianity should be joyous and celebratory. Christ has risen from the grave. We are resurrection people.
But the real lesson is in what was being announced by doing this miracle.
The age of Messiah is here, believe in Him!
Jesus is the Long-Promised Messsiah (John 2:1-9)
Jesus’ smother was invited to a wedding feast, but seems to be helping with it (John 2:1). Her role was more than guest, for she found herself having to deal with the lack of wine. She was very likely a friend of the family that volunteered to help. Jesus and His disciples were there as well, but they were simply invited guests (John 2:2). And the wine ran out.
This is a major problem at a feast like this. It was a multi-day wedding feast. It would bring shame to the groom’s family who was supposed to be hosting and providing for this event. Interestingly, it opened them up to legal liabilities as well. And because Jesus’s mother was helping with the event, she went to her son for help.
We are not certain that Jesus’s father is still alive. It may be that she had leaned on Jesus a lot because His father was gone. Or it could simply be that she remembered the announcements and miracles that came at His birth. Maybe she knew who He would be and understood that He was capable. Whatever the case may be, she went to Him.
Jesus’ response to His mother is a bit shocking. “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. But there is more to it than we at first understand.
First of all, “Woman” is not as cold and impersonal as it first sounds in English. It was a term that was somewhat endearing. It is somewhere between “woman” and “dear woman”. We simply don’t have an English word or phrase that is the equivalent. It is very possible that “Ma’am” would fit better than either of those. But it is more affectionate than that word is oftentimes used. “Woman” is not as blunt as it first sounds.
Jesus’s reason for saying this, however, is a profound one. “What does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” Jesus had left His home to begin public ministry. Her desires for Him are now subject to what He needs to do. “My hour has not yet come”, simply means that it’s not quite time for me to reveal myself to the world. Jesus knew what it would take to have enough wine for the party to go on. And Jesus also knew that this would reveal who He was.
But the faith of His mother persevered and she simply looked at the servants and said, “do whatever He tells you.” (John 2:5). So, Jesus got to work.
Jesus pointed to six stone water jars for purification rites. All of them held between 20-30 gallons of water (John 2:6). Jesus told them to fill them to the brim (John 2:7). And then Jesus ordered these servants to take some to “the master of the feast” (John 2:8).
We are not told when the water became wine, but it did. And it was done in such a way that only a select few people even knew what had taken place (John 2:9). And it takes weeks to ferment wine. In a matter of moments wine was created from water.
The master of the feast seems to have teased the bridegroom about how good the wine quality was now. Usually, the good wine was drunk first and this was superior wine (10). John calls this a “sign” and it is the first one. And it is called a sign because Jesus “manifested His glory” (11).
Jesus turned water into wine. Not only did the water become grape juice, but the grape juice, but it became fermented grape juice. “oinos” means wine.
Scriptures about wine in age of Messiah. And this is important for our understanding of the miracle itself. The point of this sign is that it “manifested His glory”. How did it manifest His glory?
For one, Jesus turned water into wine. That is spectacular. Not only did he change water into a completely different substance, but He changed it into a completely different substance that needed fermentation. He bypassed weeks of fermentation as well. Jesus, who is God, did something completely unfathomable in this miracle. Of course, it “manifested His glory”.
But at the same time, it revealed to the few who saw it who He was. Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah.
“They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.” (Jeremiah 31:12 ESV)
“The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.” (Joel 2:24 ESV)
“And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD and water the Valley of Shittim. (Joel 3:18 ESV)
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.” (Amos 9:13-14 ESV)
I believe there to be more coherence to Jesus’s response, “my time has not yet come” than most people are willing to give it. Doing this would reveal who Jesus was. And Jesus chose to reveal Himself to His disciples, His mother (who already knew), and the handful of servants that filled up the jars. He did this in a way that kept it relatively quiet. The whole town did not need to know that He was the Messiah yet.
But this miracle pointed to the fact that Jesus was the long-promised Messiah that would bring about the day of abundance. He is the One that would bring the time of abundant wine, and 180 gallons of it is a lot. This would have been a tremendously extravagant gift to this young couple. It would have been very valuable. Not only did Jesus save their reputation and possibly legal costs, but also gave them this extravagant gift that likely set them up quite nicely.
This sign pointed to Jesus being the Messiah. The miracle pointed to Jesus’s deity, again He did something only God could do. Angels don’t transform the very nature of things. Only God can do that. And when God the Son did this, He revealed who He was.
Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus is the One who would crush the head of the Serpent. Jesus is the prophet like Moses. Jesus is the One that would sit on the throne of David forever and all the nations would come to Him. Jesus is the suffering servant that would take upon Himself the sins of all of God’s people.
God the Son took on human flesh and dwelt among us. He lived a perfect life and accomplished all righteousness on behalf of us wicked sinners. Jesus died on the cross and paid the punishment for us wicked sinners. And three days later, He rose from the grave and accomplished our justification. 40 days after His resurrection, Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father, where He is ruling and reigning from on High.
All those that trust Him are His people. They are united to Christ by faith in Him, forgiven of their sins, credited with the righteousness of Christ, and given eternal life.
Jesus Brings A Better Covenant (John 2:10)
Jesus had the servants put water into the purification jars and turned that into an abundance of wine. There is imagery here that is very powerful, if we choose to see it.
These jars were used for ritual purification. This type of jar was considered less likely to become impure than other containers, so they were for ritual washing. Jesus filled those jars with something better.
Jesus didn’t just announce that He was here. He announced that what He was bringing was greater than Old Testament Judaism.
They could only wash away impurities outside the flesh. Jesus washes us completely. They could not truly cleanse.
You can’t wash yourself clean. The ritual washings could not truly wash away sin. They could not truly cleanse.
True cleansing is found only in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament cleansing pointed to the true cleansing of Jesus Christ. Now the old has passed away. The shadows are gone and now we have the reality and that is Jesus Christ.
“1 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. 8 For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” 13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:1-13 ESV)
O how many ways do people try to draw us into a system of purification without Jesus?
How many different new religions pop up that claim to be Christianity that are really just going back to those purification pitchers?
Mormons tell you to follow the commands of the LDS prophets and be saved. They tell you to cleanse yourself. Wash yourself clean. Do all that you can possibly do and maybe you’ll have a shot at eternal life.
The rainbow flag waving pastor will tell you that you must obey the commands to help the poor and needy, and likely forget about all the others, in order to be made right with God.
The average person walking down the street today would likely tell you that you need to be a good person in order to be declared right with God.
In Islam a person is said to be right with God when they believe the 6 articles of faith, declare their faith, and then keep the 5 pillars of Islam.
But we understand that we cannot cleanse ourselves. We cannot make ourselves righteous. We cannot go to the purification jar and truly wash ourselves clean. We can’t do it.
But Jesus can and Jesus does.
Are you a sinner that looks back at your past life with regrets and find it hard to believe that you can be forgiven? You need to believe it. Jesus can and does forgive. His cleansing is not like the ritual cleansing that can never really save from sin. He really and truly cleanses. He really and truly saves from sin. Christ really and truly cleanses from sin.
I get so frustrated when people begin glorying in the greatness of the Jewish faith. What is so great about Judaism? It is the system that passed away. It is the shadow that gave way to the reality of Jesus Christ.
The Jewish faith was great, because God instituted it. It was great because the Messiah would come from it. But what we have in Jesus Christ is far superior. It was a shadow. Jesus is the reality. The great things of Judaism looked forward to Christ who fulfilled them all.
Believe in Jesus (John 2:11)
This first sign was done in front of only a handful of people. One of those groups was His disciples. And how did they respond?
Jesus “manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him” (John 2:11).
The age of Messiah is here. Jesus has come. He has brought His abundant salvation, eternal life to you today. Do as the disciples did and believe in Him.
You were lost in your sins and headed for Hell. The age of Messiah is here, His abundant salvation lies open to you. Believe in Him today and have eternal life.
You can never cleanse yourself. You can never be good enough no matter how many gallons of ritual purification water you poured over yourself. You can never make yourself clean. But God the Son took on human flesh, walked up the hill carrying His cross, and bled for your redemption. You can be cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. The age of Messiah is here, find forgiveness in the blood of the Lamb.
You may have committed the most heinous of sins and lived the most horrible of lives. The age of Messiah is here and in Him there is cleansing full and free. You need only trust in Him and find that salvation.
You couldn’t wash yourself clean with millions of gallons of purification water, but trust in Christ and you’ll find forgiveness full and free. You’ll find complete pardon. You’ll find eternal life.
He has manifested His glory, believe in Him.