Session 5: July 9, 2022
Scripture Reading: John 2:1-11 (and maybe 12-22)
1 Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine left.” 4 Jesus replied, “Woman, why are you saying this to me? My time has not yet come.” 5 His mother told the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.”
6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the very top. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,” and they did. 9 When the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper wine when the guests are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!” 11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, in Cana of Galilee. In this way he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
Key Themes:
I. The Setting—A First Century Jewish Wedding
The wedding occurs in Cana. John could be referring to a couple of different locations, either site being a reasonable walk from Nazareth. Without going into undue geographic and historical details, the location gives us a clue regarding the likely religious attitude of the wedding attendants. Cana would have been a small village far from Jerusalem. The people attending were probably not Pharisees.
The miracle happens on the “third day.” The third day from what? Many argue that the third day is being used as a literary device, making an allusion to Christ’s resurrection (or possibly God coming on Sinai in Exodus 19:11-16). Although that might be the case, the simplest explanation is the most likely: the miracle happened “the day after tomorrow” from the last event described in Chapter 1.
Joyous celebration at a Jewish wedding was emphasized, nearly to the point of being mandated. As one was supposed to mourn at a funeral, one was supposed to rejoice at a wedding. Weddings would customarily last seven days, and many would stay the entire time. Any invitee was expected to accept the invitation, regardless of their closeness to the host. (Jesus, his family, and disciples may not have been particularly close to the bride and groom.)
Wine was not unfermented “grape juice.” Before refrigeration there was no way to prevent fermentation, particularly over long periods of time. Wine was not used only to purify water either, but to liven up (consider Psalm 104:14-15, “He provides grass for the cattle and crops for people to cultivate, so they can produce food from the ground as well as wine that makes people glad, and olive oil to make their faces shine as well as bread that sustains them.). Moreover, the host is aware that some excess has taken place already (the word methysthōsin consistently means drunk, such as in Acts 2:15 and 1 Thessalonians 5:7). Several Galilean villages were heavily engaged in wine production. However, the alcoholic content of wine was not increased through distillation, and wine served with meals was often mixed with two to four parts water.
To run out of food or wine at a wedding would have brought great shame to the host (the groom’s family). Indeed, the custom would be to have food and wine left over, such as to never even come close to running out. How would Jesus’ mother be aware of the wine running out? The women probably ran the kitchen and were privy to this information.
II. The Request and the Response
Mary (although not named by John) seems to act as a model of faith. She asks—not demands—but is fully confident that Jesus can grant her request. She commands the servants to do whatever Jesus says. Again, her confidence in Jesus is absolute. John presents this miracle as Jesus’ first miraculous sign. How was Mary so confident? This is left unexplained.
Jesus responds, “Woman, why are you saying this to me?” The response “woman,” although rude to our English-speaking sensibilities, was not rude at the time. However, it was not the expected response a son would probably give his mother, which may have included a more polite word often used for a woman of rank. As Keener points out, “More likely, in view of the prominent role assigned to honoring one’s parent in Judaism (and indeed the ancient Mediterranean in general), Jesus is establishing a degree of distance between himself and his mother . . . . She approached him not as her son but as a miracle worker; he replies not as her son but as her Lord.”
Jesus adds, “My time has not yet come.” What is his “time” or “hour”? Jesus has come to die on the cross. This is his intentional plan, not an accident. Jesus’ first miracle begins the journey to the cross. In a sense, one could say this is the beginning of the Passion. (What’s the Passion of Christ? Catholiceducation.org explains that, “The Passion of Christ, from the Latin patior meaning ‘suffer,’ refers to those sufferings our Lord endured for our redemption from the agony in the garden until His death on Calvary.”)
John 12:23 says, “Jesus replied, ‘The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.’
In Mark 14:41-42 Jesus says, “The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us go. Look! My betrayer is approaching!”
III. From Water to Spirit—From Water to Wine
The water jars had been set aside for ritual purification. We have already discussed that water cleansing was an important and ubiquitous part of Judaism. From washing hands before meals to cleansing the entire body before certain festivals or rituals, every Jew understood the religious significance of water. Using water set aside for purification for another purpose would likely have been considered an insult to Judaism.
Jesus takes the cleansing water—not just any water, I cannot emphasize this enough—and turns it into wine. The old is passing away and the new is coming. Baptism is no longer with water, baptism is now with the Spirit. Cleansing is no longer with water, but with wine, the blood of Christ.
Matthew 26:26-30. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat, this is my body.” And after taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, that is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, from now on I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Wine alludes to both celebration—perhaps the eschatological feast—and to the cost of the celebration. At the cross both the awful penalty for sin and awesome news of redemption come together.
Personally, I find the symbolism of a depth and beauty that is hard to express.
Edit: A Bible study participant emailed me with insightful comments. In my original post, I briefly mentioned the possibility that wine alludes to “the eschatological feast.” I was hinting to the connection between Jesus’ first miracle and the eschatological promises found in the Old Testament. The email I received explains a similar view as follows:
The whole point of this episode is that it was "the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory," i.e., the first of the Seven Signs around which John's Gospel is arranged. Those signs are "signs" in that they each point back, in some way, to the Law and the Prophets, connecting Jesus to the biblical narrative in general and the messianic prophecies in particular. This particular sign points back to Jacob's blessing of Judah in Genesis 49:8-12. This passage is the climax of the entire book of Genesis, and this portion of the passage is the high point of that climax, and according to it, during the time of the Messiah's reign, Israel's prosperity will be such that choice wine will flow as abundantly as water (people can wash their clothes in it, tether their donkey's to premium grape vines, etc.). His miracle at the wedding in Cana wasn't a "sign" merely for being miraculous, and certainly not for pointing ahead to sacraments the disciples didn't have yet, but specifically because it connects Jesus back to this prophecy. And, this "sign" sort of bookends Jesus' remarks in 1:51, about "the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."
Merely as a point of clarification on my own blog post, I am not suggesting a sacramental view of Jesus’ sign, but only that wine gains an additional interpretation as it comes to represent the blood and sacrifice of Christ. After all, John is writing to an audience that already knows the how the story ends. Does the miracle point to the promises of the Old Testament or does it foreshadow the rest of the New Testament? The reader will have to make up his own mind (John doesn’t come with an instruction manual). Personally, I think it does both. I am grateful to the person who sent the email. (I would credit him by name, but I don’t want to doxx anyone.)
IV. Those Who Recognize the Miracle
The servants know what Jesus has done. The disciples believe after witnessing the miracle. Indeed, in someway they behold Christ’s glory. But the wedding guests are none the wiser. Perhaps this conveys a similar message to the Parable of the Wedding Banquet.
Matthew 22:1-14. Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look! The feast I have prepared for you is ready. My oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.”’ But they were indifferent and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest seized his slaves, insolently mistreated them, and killed them. The king was furious! He sent his soldiers, and they put those murderers to death and set their city on fire. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but the ones who had been invited were not worthy. So go into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ And those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all they found, both bad and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the wedding guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ But he had nothing to say. Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”
A running theme in the Gospel of John is that the elite reject Christ while the dispossessed, socially or materially, believe him.
What is the glory of Christ revealed by this miracle? Christ shows his concern for the wedding host. Christ answers the request of a faithful believer. Christ willingly begins the journey that will end in his crucifixion. Christ shows he is the lord and fulfillment of ritual purification.
Potential Scripture Reading: John 2:12-22
12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days. 13 Now the Jewish Feast of Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14 He found in the temple courts those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at tables. 15 So he made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple courts, with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold the doves he said, “Take these things away from here! Do not make my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will devour me.”
18 So then the Jewish leaders responded, “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” 19 Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” 20 Then the Jewish leaders said to him, “This temple has been under construction for 46 years, and are you going to raise it up in three days?” 21 But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the saying that Jesus had spoken.
I am not sure we will get to cover this text, but if time allows I would like to introduce the obvious question: Did Jesus clear the temple once or twice?
John tells the story of a temple cleansing at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The synoptic gospels tell a similar story but at the end of Jesus’ ministry.
Matthew 21:12-13. Then Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those who were selling and buying in the temple courts and turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. And he said to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are turning it into a den of robbers!”
Are these the same event? If so, is John wrong? The following video has great answers:
(The video is long. I will discuss its content during the Bible study.)