John 2:1-11

John 2:1–11
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, "They have no wine."
4 And Jesus *said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come."
5 His mother *said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."
6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each.
7 Jesus *said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water." So they filled them up to the brim.
8 And He *said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him.
9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the bridegroom,
10 and *said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now."
11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

This account of Jesus’ first miracle marks the beginning of His earthly ministry and thus holds special significance. This first miracle is a picture of the ultimate miracle Jesus will perform in providing salvation for His people. John points out that the wedding to which Jesus had been invited was on the third day. Ancient Jewish custom made the third day a very popular day on which to hold a wedding. The third day might also correspond to the third day on which Jesus rose from the dead. Although He shed His blood on the first day, His raising from the dead (on the third day) provided the absolute certainty of His messiahship and the effectiveness of His shed blood (the wine of heaven).

Jesus turns plain water into wine; water from stone waterpots used for the custom of purification. The water that was routinely placed in the stone waterpots was insufficient to truly purify those partaking in the custom, but the wine of heaven that Jesus was to provide when His hour did come was completely effective, in fact it was efficacious.

Jesus directs the servants to draw some of the water turned to wine and take it to the head waiter. The head waiter is surprised at the quality of the wine. He states that the normal practice is to serve the good wine (presumably the best wine that the host has to offer) first. Once the guests have “drunk freely” the poorer wine is then served. Drunk freely is translated from the Greek word methuo, which means to drink to intoxication or to get drunk. The general concept being that the wedding guests would be too drunk to discern the difference or to know that they are not getting any (or much) drunker by the wine they are now drinking. This is a common practice today called watering down drinks. The response from the head waiter clearly indicates that the guests were intoxicated and that the wine Jesus had made from water was a stronger intoxicant than what had already been served. It is clear from elsewhere in scripture that drunkenness is sinful. If alcohol itself or any and all consumption of alcohol was sinful, this would have been the perfect opportunity for Jesus to state this. It goes against the very character of God for Jesus to create something that is sinful in its substance or (in an absolute sense) in its very use.

Jesus was not just saving a bride-groom from the embarrassment of running out of wine. Jesus turning plain water into wine is a picture of the New Covenant being a better and more effective covenant than the Old. Wine has a greater effect on the body and mind than plain water does. In the same way the New Covenant has a greater effect than the Old. The Old Covenant defines sin and points out our sinfulness but it is powerless to save us from sin. The New Covenant saves us from our sins.

This first miracle of our Lord’s being a symbol of the New Covenant overshadowing the Old Covenant and being performed in such a way as to only be seen by and only affecting His disciples, seems to be further evidence of Christ’s atonement being focused on those only whom the Father draws and gives saving grace to believe.