I went to Israel in 2015 and went to a place called Cana. The bible mentioned that Jesus had attended a wedding in Cana and performed the miracle of turning water into wine there. So I bought a “Cana Wedding Wine” in Cana. However, Chris doesn’t drink any wine! He had no idea about how to select the
wine for the wedding. Therefore, he needed help from Auguste, his uncle in law!
Some of you may be wondering, what is this wedding in Cana? Here is
what the Bible says:
Jesus Changes Water Into Wine (John 2:1-12)
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’
mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the
wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no
more wine.”
4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not
yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for
ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they
filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of
the banquet.”
They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that
had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though
the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside
10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper
wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best
till now.”
11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs
through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers
and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
Weddings were very special occasions. In the days of Jesus, the people
went to a party after the ceremony. This party continued for a week. The guests
ate and drank together. Everyone was very happy. But if there was not enough
food or drink for the week, the bride and the bridegroom felt great shame. You
see, at a wedding such as this, hospitality is everything. It was their duty to
provide plenty. This wedding feast took place at Cana in Galilee. There are all
sorts of speculation regarding whose wedding it is. Nevertheless, it seems like
Mary had some responsibility for the wedding, because she became concerned when
they run out of wine. Perhaps someone she loves is going to be embarrassed.
This passage is not just about Jesus filling in for a poorly catered
wedding. This was a sign. Signs are about pointing a direction forward. Just
like we need to look at the signs to know where we are going. We’re told that
this was a sign. There are five wine signs that point to the deeper and higher
meaning of this great miracle.
1) “My hour”
Sign one was Jesus’ discussion with his mother. When Mary asked Jesus
to do something, he literally says “dear woman, what is this to me, and what is
this to you? My hour has not yet come.” “Woman” does not mean anything harsh in
the original language. It is a term meaning ‘lady’ or ‘madam.’ ‘What have you
and I in common? What is there between us two? My ways are not your ways. I
know when it is fit to work a miracle, and when it is fit to withhold, but you
do not.’ Here is the rebuke. Jesus does not see that he has anything to do with
the situation. Jesus was thinking about other things. Jesus knew that he had
come to the earth for a special purpose. He never forgot this. Mary is
embarrassed because there isn’t enough wine for the wedding. But Jesus is
saying that “I have a different purpose to you. I have a higher purpose, and
that hour, that time, has not yet come.” So when is the time, when is the hour?
What is fascinating here is, Mary understands that Jesus’ response is
not a no, because she immediately tells the servants to “do whatever he tells
you.” It seems that Mary also has authority to give orders to the servants. Which
leads us to sign number two.
2) Cleansing
There are six stone jars nearby. They are the kind that were used for
ceremonial cleansing. Today we’re familiar with the baptism water, which is a
symbol or a sign for spiritual cleansing. The six water jars are specifically
made of stone because stone does not pass on uncleanness. Their total capacity
is 180 gallons! They are for holding water, for purifications according to
Jewish customs. The jar and the water had to be very pure, as they are for
purification. So it is clear that the water in such jars could be changed into
wine only by divine power. Another point is, the number seven in the Jewish
circles, is a little bit like the number ten today. Ten is like the perfect
number. You come to nine, you’re not quite there. In Jewish circles, seven is
the perfect number, because God created everything in six days, proclaimed it
to be very good, rested on the seventh day, and made it “holy.” In other words,
the seventh day is a “good day” in God’s eyes! So now there is only six of
these stone jars. And so somehow, we know this cleansing isn’t complete. We’re
looking for something better. We already found out from John chapter one that
John the Baptist was Jesus’ cousin, and a colleague of Jesus in ministry. John
says “I am a ceremonial cleanser, I’m a baptiser, but water isn’t sufficient to
do the kind of cleansing that we need.” And he pointed to Jesus as the person
who does the deeper spiritual cleansing. This leads us to sign number three.
3) The Creator
Jesus had made the water change. It had become wine! Jesus told the
servants to draw the water out of the jar and take this to the master of
ceremony. The servants did as they were told, and then the miracle happened. As
the Son of God, Jesus has the ability to create, just like the Father, and uses
water to create “good wine.” This echoes the narrative about the Creation in
Genesis: God created all things and proclaimed it to be “very good.” Jesus is
the creator, and with the same creational power as God. We’re told that the
master of ceremony had no clue what was going on. He called the groom over, in
order to learn the truth and give his opinion of the wine. He tasted the wine and thought it was the
best wine in the world, but did not know where it had come from. He comments on
the host’s unorthodox behaviour. “You were supposed to serve the best wine
first, when the guests’ palettes are still receptive to its quality. But you,
have saved the best till now.” People always drank the best wine first at a
wedding. But Jesus’ wine was even better! So the host thought that the people
had been drinking the cheaper wine first instead.
But the servants knew, as they drew the water. And this was the funny
thing. The Greek term architriclinus,
translated as “master of ceremonies”, refers to the one in charge of the whole
banquet. Usually the master of ceremonies are well aware of everything that’s
going on, but here, it was the people carrying the trays around and doing
things out at the back, the servants of Jesus, they understood what was going
on.
4) Glory
“That through this miracle, Jesus revealed his glory.” This is a funny
thing to say, because we know that Jesus is someone who heals sick people and
raises dead people, and providing wine at a wedding doesn’t seem like something
that’s big of a deal. But again, it’s another sign pointing forward. And here,
we’re thinking, “what is this glory that was revealed to the servants?”
We will now fast forward to John chapter 17: Finally, just before
Christ’s crucifixion on the cross for our sins, he prays and says “Father, now
my hour has come. Glorify your son, that your son may glorify you.” Now we are
approaching the hour of glory.
And finally, two chapters later, in John chapter 19, we’re told that as
Jesus died, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side, and there was a flow of
blood and water. You know what’s interesting about John’s gospel? The other
gospels has the last supper scene, where Jesus broke the bread for the
disciples and said, “this my body” and gave them the wine, and said, “this is
my blood poured out for the cleansing of your sin.” John’s gospel doesn’t have
that. This wine sign, this water for ceremonial cleansing, that pointed forward
towards the hour of Christ’s glory, seems to tell that the time will come,
through Christ’s own death, the shedding of his own blood, he would cleanse his
servants and his people. He would transform our lives, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
5) “The wedding of the lamb”
The fifth and final sign, which is the most important one, is that you may notice in this whole reading that there is no mention about who is the bride or groom. Something was incomplete here. Finally, in the last book of the bible, the book of Revelation, also written by John, in 19:6, John says, “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad, and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.) Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”” Jesus is the lamb and the groom. The people of God is the bride. In the Old Testament, weddings are often used as a metaphor for the kingdom of the Messiah (Isaiah 54:1-8；62:1-5). In the New Testament, Jesus often uses weddings as a metaphor for his second coming (Matthew 8:11; 22:1-4; Luke 13:29;14:15-24; cf. Revelation 19:9). The appearance of Jesus in the wedding at Cana symbolises the coming kingdom of the Messiah. It is the people of God, who come into relationship with God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who are those who will finally one day witness Christ’s return, and be united with Him.
References:
Rev. Chadd Hafer’s message at Chris and Yvonne’s wedding, 7 Sept 2019,
Christ Church Lavender Bay.
Card, Michael.; John: The Gospel of Wisdom.
Lightfoot, J. B., Still, Todd D., Witherington, Ben.; The Gospel of
St. John : A Newly Discovered Commentary.
Thomas, Weisheipl, James A., Larcher, Fabian R..; Commentary on the
Gospel of John.
https://www.cbtc.org.hk/archives/5227#.Xdo4kOgzY2y
http://www.pct.org.tw/weeklyneweyes.aspx?strWID=W20151216813
