John 2: 1-12, Wedding and a Feast

After Jesus has been introduced by the Baptizer to the nation of Israel, the disciple John records an event at a small private party.  This event is not included in the other gospels.

John 2: 1-5, A wedding in Cana
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.”

Cana was probably very close to Nazareth, a walk of several miles.  Presumably this event occurs shortly after the baptizer, John, sends disciples to Jesus?

No mention is made here of Jesus' father Joseph.  It is presumed that he died before Jesus' ministry began, for only Mary appears in the events of Jesus' adult life.

We are given details here that come from an eye witness. Presumably the disciple John was one of these eyewitnesses. The significant hospitality of the wedding has drained the host's wine and Mary (identified here only as "Jesus' mother") is concerned for the hosts. (Various traditions identify the hosts as relatives of Mary, which would explain the appearance of Mary and her son.) Concerned by lack of wine, Mary turns to her son, expecting something from him.

The English phrase "Woman, why do you..." sounds like disrespect but the NIV footnotes say that "woman" did not indicate disrespect.  The word was just a simple address.  William Barclay says it could be just as easily translated "lady".  Barclay goes on to claim that the phrase "why do you involve me" could mean, "I will take care of it."  But Barclay tends to try too hard, in my opinion, to smooth this over into a friendly conversation instead of a disagreement.  This ignores Jesus' comment about the hour.  Jesus is not planning to begin his ministry at this time, but is pushed into the next acts by his mother.

Regardless of the plans of Jesus, his mother passes on the responsibility to the servants, anticipating some action by her son.

John 2: 6-10, A wedding in Cana
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.”

The Jews had numerous rituals about washing.  The prophet John, in the previous chapter, had apparently adopted the conversion washings in his ministry. In this chapter, the stone jars were available for handwashing between meals. (See Wikipedia articles on ritual washing in Judaism and the similar later rituals adopted by Muslims.)

Jesus asks that the jars be refilled and water taken to the banquet master, who would approve service to guests. The banquet master is impressed by the new drink, for it is quite good and so he expresses his surprise to the bridegroom. The writer of this gospel wants us to know that the resulting drink, wine, not water, is of high quality.  (I have jokingly told friends that it must have been a Malbec; one friend said, No, it must have been a french oak Cabernet! Regardless -- it was a "choice wine".)

Is there a point to this miraculous and unexpected event? Is Jesus just "showing off"?

In the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) miracles tend to be acts of compassion, linked to some need. But in the gospel of John, miracles are usually identified with a message, a theological point. This differing view of miracles distinguishes John's gospel from the others.

John 2: 11, A sign

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.

The gospel writer, John, identifies this event as the "first sign" of many to come.  What does it say about Jesus? It is the first to "reveal his glory" and leads his disciples to their first steps of belief.

I think water and wine are intended to say quite a lot about the ministry of Jesus. After conversations in a recent study in this passage in our Bridges International ministry at Sam Houston, it hit me that this may indeed say something about the directions God plans to take us mere human beings. Both water and wine have very similar characteristics -- wine is mostly water -- but wine is "glorified" water, water that has become extraordinary and sublime.

John 2: 12, Capernaum

After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

This is a transition verse.  Jesus will make his home in Capernaum, not Nazareth.  The disciples will stay with Jesus' family there, as Jesus presumably prepares to open up his ministry in Galilee. That ministry is already described in the synoptic gospels and so John, the gospel writer, will leave most of those events out of his record.