Water That Was Made Wine

Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.
Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots 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.
After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
[John 2:6-12 NKJV]

The Marriage Feast at Cana is well- known as the story of Jesus’ first miracle, but it also reveals so many layers of understanding of the plan of God and brings together many of the Bible patterns that it can truthfully be said to be the launchpad for our spiritual education.

1. “My hour has not yet come.” Repeatedly throughout the gospels, Jesus is unwilling to push Himself into the foreground. This is not false modesty, but a determination to embody the will of The Father, and we can see that in the telling of the story, it is the miracle that takes centre stage and the bridegroom who gets the credit. Only the servants knew the detail.
2. Filled up to the brim. The Lord never blesses in any other way than abundantly and completely. It is always the Heavenly purpose to finish the job to the highest of standards, that far exceed the best of human effort.
3. Water Into wine. Both water and wine are spiritual motifs. We talk of being ‘washed by the water of The Word’ and ‘the wine of the Spirit’. Here water represents the natural; it is necessary for our survival — we can live longer without food than we can without water; indeed we are 70% water. Wine is a symbol of the supernatural life, and the vision we are introduced to here, reveals that the words that Jesus speaks change us from natural life to become supernatural life by His Holy Spirit.
4. The best wine at the last. This emphasises the ‘filled up to the brim’ idea, but exceeds that. The Lord’s superabundance is not merely one of quantity but of quality also. Life in the spirit is one of superlatives ... at the last.
5. “The master of the feast called the bridegroom.” The Bridegroom is a ‘type’ for Christ, as we know, and we, His church are the Bride. The master of the feast compliments the Bridegroom on saving the best wine to the last, and this can be seen as a foretelling of Jesus becoming ‘the Anointed One’, ‘The Christ’.
6. “This beginning of signs.” John here refers to ‘The beginning’ immediately after telling of ‘the last’, and in Revelation 22:13 quotes Jesus “ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
7. “After this He went down to Capernaum.” In verse 12, the narrative moves swiftly on; Jesus’ ministry now commencesin earnest, with a brief rest at Capernaum. ‘Capernaum’ means literally ‘rightly three days’, but is translated as ‘village of comfort’, which makes more sense. I speculate that this may be another foretaste that John is revealing about the end of the matter. “He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ” [Luke 24:6-7 NKJV].

Another point of interest is that the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee took place on ‘the third day’ [John 2:1], and scripture is peppered with references to ‘the third day’; but that is for another time.

Revise In your mind silences in prayer, in praise, or for the Truth, when you were so greedy for your own sensitiveness that you would not speak the word which might have saved a soul from a terrible blunder.

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