Water Turned To Wine (7 Signs Of The Gospel Of John Series)

(This is the second in a blog post series highlighting the seven signs of the Gospel of John. You can read the first blog post by clicking here: Introduction To The 7 Signs Of The Gospel Of John)

FIRST SIGN: WATER TURNED TO WINE

Today we are considering the first sign of the Gospel of John, water turned to wine.

The text is found in John 2:1-11.

It reads:

1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.

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 this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.

8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.

9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom

10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

EXEGETING THE TEXT: JOHN 2:1-11

To begin with, I would like you to notice the third day reference in v. 1.

Of course, Jesus rises from the dead on the third day.

But as it has to do with Jewish weddings, they were week long and the third day, Tuesday, was viewed as the height of celebration corresponding to the third day of creation in Genesis which is the only place God declared “good” twice. (Genesis 1:10, 12)

Thus, it’s the double blessing day!

And in v. 2 now we find Mary, Jesus and the disciples are invited to the wedding. Was it a relative of theirs? Probably!

And curiously now, Mary turns to Jesus with the wine running out problem in v. 3.

And in v. 4, Jesus isn’t being disrespectful to His mother.

He is noting the temporary problem versus the eternal issue He came to accomplish.

Of course, they are just wedding guests. Why should they be involved? But God cares about the temporal, too! (Matthew 6:11)

In v. 6-9, note the servants place in the narrative and how they participate in the story as Jesus turns water to wine.

(This is historical narrative. It’s a story about what happened. We ought not to think we should be turning water to wine or that somehow if we respond to God obeying His commands as we ought that He is somehow obligated to perform a miracle like a genie in bottle. This story isn’t about us. It’s about Jesus.)

And so the first sign of seven signs of the Gospel of John takes place in v. 8-9.

Water is turned to wine and brought to the head steward to taste and he confirms the miracle in v. 9-10.

He gives “states’ witness” testimony!

Now the purpose of the seven signs of the Gospel of John as mentioned in the first of this blog post series:

They are written so that you (the reader) may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)

This is the purpose of the first sign, too, v. 11 confirms:

This, the first of his signs (water turned to wine), Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

Now to close, certainly a magician can make water red with chemicals and back again.

And yet the fusion energy it takes to turn one gallon of water to wine would cause a crater one half mile long.

Think about it.

We have at least 20 x 6 = 120 gallons of water turned to wine in the story. (See v. 6.)

And so the crater, in this case, fusion energy-wise, would be 60 miles long!

It certainly wasn’t a big deal for Jesus to do.

He is the Creator of all things – and our Savior – after all.

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:16)

(Watch for the next installment of the 7 Signs Of The Gospel Of John Series to come soon.)

(First Miracle via archer10. CC BY-SA 2.0)