Reception in Galilee
Devotions for Growing Christians
Reception in Galilee
John 2:1-11 - On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
Now there were set there six water pots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!
This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.”
Early in our Lord’s public ministry, He attended a wedding in Cana, a small town in Galilee. The Gospel of John relates that Jesus did His first miracle (“the beginning of signs”) at the wedding reception (2:11).
Changing the water into wine was the first of our Lord’s seven “sign miracles” that are presented in the Gospel of John. The “sign” miracles were specifically selected to prove the deity of Jesus Christ, and to show that salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone. “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of His disciples, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life through His name” (John 20:30-31.)
Let’s look at this miracle, and see some of the lessons the Holy Spirit intends to teach when He selected this first sign miracle.
Background Notes
If you visit Cana today, you’ll see at least four churches that commemorate this miracle - and each church claims to be situated right over the place where it happened! We don’t know the exact spot, but we definitely know that this miracle took place in Cana, near Nazareth. Nathanael, one of our Lord’s disciples, came from Cana (John 21:2). The Nathanael connection may be one of the reasons why Jesus and His disciples were invited to this wedding.
In that time and culture, wedding celebrations lasted for several days - and they ran out of wine! This was a major social embarrassment. That’s like inviting people for dinner today, and running out of food! Mary, the Lord’s mother was concerned about this embarrassing situation, and she asked Him to do something about it.
The Lord’s response to his mother sounds harsh: “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come” (v4). Although it sounds abrupt, this was not a harsh response. It’s similar to the words the Lord spoke to Mary when He was on the cross. Referring to John the disciple He said, “Woman, behold your son!” And to John, “Son, behold your mother!” The Lord’s point was that He was subject to the will of His divine heavenly Father, and not to the will and schedule of His human earthly mother. Mary recognized this, and she simply said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you to do” (v5).
The six stone water pots were used for religious ceremonial washings (v6). Ritual washings were practiced in Judaism then - and they still are today. Each of these water pots held 20-30 gallons. They were filled to the brim, and the Lord changed all that water to wine. That’s a lot of wine!
Some people like to say that the “wine” mentioned in John 2 wasn’t “real wine” - it was only “good grape juice.” But if that were the case, the master of ceremonies at the reception certainly wouldn’t have said it was excellent wine! He told the host: “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”( v10). This was not just “good grape juice” - and it wasn’t supermarket wine, either! This was excellent wine - made miraculously, and aged instantaneously! Quite a miracle!
But why would Jesus change water into wine - a substance that could make a person drunk? The basic answer: there is nothing intrinsically evil about wine, so there is no problem with the Lord making wine. In fact, wine is used as a symbol of joy throughout the Bible. Problems with wine arise because of what we do with wine. The Bible doesn’t condemn drinking wine - but the Bible is clear that we are not to get drunk with wine (Ephesians 5:18). The Bible is also clear that we should not hinder the growth of more sensitive believers by the improper use of our Christian liberty - and that would certainly include our use of wine (Romans 14:13-15:2).
As to the large quantity of wine, we might ask, “Why so much?” The water pots held 20-30 gallons each, and there were six of these large containers! A lot of wine! Let’s keep a couple of background notes in mind here. First, this was probably a large wedding reception. You wouldn’t have six large pots for ritual washing if you’ve invited a small group of people, so likely a lot of people were there. And wedding celebrations in that day weren’t just a few hours long - sometimes they lasted for an entire week!
It’s important to note that this was the “beginning of signs” that Jesus did - His first miracle (v11). That statement rules out the so-called “childhood miracles” that are related in unreliable, non-biblical sources. For example, Jesus is alleged to have molded clay pigeons, and made them come to life and fly away. That tale is apocryphal - as are all the other supposed childhood miracles! The Bible says, “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.”
Doctrinal / Teaching Points
1. God approves of weddings and marriage.
The Bible says that marriage is ordained by God as a permanent, life-long relationship between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24). God approves of marriage, and sexual relations within marriage (Genesis 1-2). The Lord Jesus attended the celebration of a marriage, and He blessed the marriage with His presence and His first miracle.
What constitutes a biblical marriage? A man and a woman deciding they’re in love and saying some vows to each other? No! As we follow marriages throughout Scripture, we find that the marriage vows are a public declaration. Marriage vows are to be made before God, and in the presence of witnesses who can attest to the vows before governmental authorities. Remember that civil authorities are ordained by God according to Romans 13, so a secret agreement between a guy and a girl that they will be true to one another does not constitute a marriage. A wedding is the celebration of a marriage - a public declaration that a man and a woman are making covenant promises to each other and becoming husband and wife.
The fact that the Lord Jesus attended this wedding supports the biblical truth that God approves of marriage - and of wedding celebrations!
2. Judiasm can never produce the joy of Christianity
All the miracles of our Lord have teaching associated with them. It was not by chance that the Lord Jesus chose to use six Jewish ceremonial water pots for this miracle! The Lord could have snapped His fingers and created the wine, but He didn’t. Because of the teaching associated with the miracle, He specifically chose to use those ceremonial water pots when He changed water into wine.
In this miracle, the empty water pots represent Judaism. They represent what the Old Testament Law had become, with all of the additions and traditions that had been added to God’s Law over the years. Judaism had become a religion of rules and regulations. Like the empty water pots, Judaism had become an empty shell, and it was powerless to produce joy. Without the miracle, those empty water pots could produce no wine, the symbol of joy. Joy could only come through change provided by Jesus Christ, and the miracle of new birth through Him.
Even though Christianity is based on the Old Testament, and it is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, the new wine of Christianity is not Old Testament Judaism repackaged. The pots were empty. The empty rituals of Judaism ended with the coming of Jesus Christ. The Lord didn’t ask the servants to throw away the old water pots - He simply asked them to fill the empty pots up with water. Then Jesus performed the miracle. He filled those old water pots with something brand new! What the servants drew out from the pots was new wine.
In Matthew 5:17 Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.” The Lord did not discard the teachings of the Old Testament or the principles taught in the Mosaic Law. He fulfilled them! He filled them with new joy and meaning. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and true joy is only available in Christ. The empty rituals of Judaism could never produce the joy of Christianity.
3. Responses to the Lord vary, both then and today.
The joyful results at the wedding reception in Cana are in marked contrast to what happened in Nazareth, just a few miles away and a few months later. There the Lord’s ministry was rejected. The people even tried unsuccessfully to kill the Lord Jesus by throwing Him over a cliff! (Read the entire account in Luke 4:14-30.)
These two contrasting events early in our Lord’s ministry are descriptive of the range of responses to the Word and the work of Jesus Christ today. Some people are filled with rage when they hear the truth. They totally reject the Lord, as did the people in Nazareth (Luke 4: 28-29). On the other hand, those who respond eagerly to the truth and put their faith in Jesus will see the Lord’s glory revealed, as did the disciples at the wedding reception in Cana (v11).
Practical Application
1. Invite Jesus to your wedding!
The Lord Jesus was invited to the wedding in Cana, and He accepted. His presence brought joy to all who were at that celebration! If you’re single, and the Lord leads you into marriage, invite Jesus to your wedding. The Lord will bless you - and others through you!
What does that mean - “invite Jesus to your wedding”? First of all, it means that you want your marriage to be a biblical marriage - two believers, married in the Lord. Furthermore, it means that you want to place the Lord first in your lives - a Christ-honoring marriage, a Christ-centered home, and a Christ-centered family!
A Christian marriage is a wonderful reflection of the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church. That teaching is found in Ephesians 5:25. “Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” The love relationship between Christ and the Church should be reflected in the marriage relationship of two believers.
A Christian marriage can greatly advance the kingdom of Christ, as that couple dedicates themselves to serving the Lord together, in a loving relationship that reflects the relationship between Christ and His Church. What a challenge to all of us! Invite Jesus into your marriage!
2. Come as you are!
We have already seen that there’s a wonderful picture of new birth in Christ in this miracle. Notice once again how our Lord went about performing this miracle. He didn’t ask for the water pots to be washed or cleaned up first. No! He just said, “Fill them up with water.” Then came the miracle!
This miracle demonstrates a divine principle for salvation. The Lord doesn’t ask us to get our act together first, get ourselves all cleaned up first - and then present ourselves to Him. “OK, Lord! I’m all cleaned up. Now I’m ready for You to accept me!” No! He asks us to come to Him - just as we are!
The filling up with water may represent the importance of God’s Word, the Bible, in the process of salvation. Often water represents the cleansing effect of the Word of God. Ephesians 5:26, for example, mentions ”the washing with water through the Word.” And Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
If indeed the water represents the Word of God, there is a great lesson here in how to do evangelism. We can’t do the miracle of salvation - only the Lord can do that! But we can obey the Lord’s command to fill up the pots with water. We can share and teach the Word of God! That’s our job. Then the Lord works the miracle of new birth. What a great lesson in evangelism!
Maybe you’re like one of those water pots before the miracle - empty. Just going through the motions of religious ceremonies and rituals. The divine remedy is to come to Christ- just as you are. Believe and receive the Word of God, trust in Jesus, and experience the miracle and joy of salvation!
- Dave Reid