Carey's Bible Study Notes
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first miracle
life of christ: john 2.1-11
first miracle: changing water to wine
introduction John 1.19-2.1
Jesus has just undergone baptism and has confronted Satan for the first time in the wilderness. Now He embarks upon His great public ministry. In beginning this ministry, Jesus starts to call some men to be His disciples who will continue His ministry after He ascends to heaven. The apostle John describes the first week of Jesus ministry: Day 1: John the Baptist predicts that Jesus is about to appear on the scene (John 1:19-28); Day 2: John the Baptist identifies Jesus as the Messiah (1:29-34); Day 3: John the Baptist points to Jesus 2 of his disciples (John and Andrew) who in turn follow Jesus and even bring their brothers to Him (James and Peter; John 1:35-42); Day 4: Jesus leaves for Galilee during which He picks up Philip and Nathanael (1:43-51); Days 5 and 6: Jesus travels to Galilee; and Day 7: Jesus attends a wedding celebration in Cana (2:1-11). In Galilee, Jesus will conduct most of His public ministry.
THE WEDDING AT CANA (John 2.1-11)
Upon arriving in Galilee, Jesus first attends a wedding in the village of Cana. Jesus attends this wedding probably because He has some relationship with either the bride or groom. We sense this to be the case since Mary, His mother, apparently has some official capacity in the wedding. (Another possible reason may be that His disciple Nathanael, a native of Cana, was related to a member of the bridal party; however, this reason does not explain Mary�s involvement in the situation).
The first element of the wedding consisted of the betrothal, the ceremony during which the prospective groom entered into a contractual arrangement with the father of the bride. During this ceremony, the groom or his father paid a dowry to the bride�s father in order to compensate the father of the bride for the loss of a productive member of his household. The only way to end this arrangement was to have the groom divorce the bride. Although the relationship had not been sexually consummated, the 2 were still regarded as husband and wife. In fact, if the woman was caught in sexual relationship with another man, she was regarded an adulteress.
After approximately one year, arrangements were made for the wedding ceremony. (Some speculate that an interval of one year was needed for the groom to go prepare a home for his bride; see John 14:2-3). The groom along with some of his friends went in a procession normally at night with torches to the home of the bride in order to bring her to his home. We do not know if a formal religious ceremony took place at this time or if at all. On that first evening, the couple sexually consummated their relationship and the guests began a week-long celebration of the event. This week-long celebration featured feasting and drinking.
The provision of the food and drink was extremely important to both the guests and the hosts. The law of reciprocity dictated how much food and wine were served. Jews in the first century were not wealthy like people living in America today. To provide a one-week feast exacted a tremendous toll upon the finances of the family hosting the festivities. One thing which helped them though was the realization that others hosting wedding festivities would reciprocate. Not to reciprocate in like manner could not only result in social embarrassment for the host but also in a lawsuit because he had failed to reciprocate appropriately; therefore, when the wine began to run out at this wedding, serious matters were at stake.
The wine did begin to run out. We don�t know why or when; we just know it did. At this point, Mary, who may have occupied some official capacity at the feast, approached Jesus and informed Him that they were running out of wine. On the surface, Jesus� response startles us: "Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come." Well, excuse me. Somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning! The truth though is that apparently a lot more is operating here than meets the eye.
First, the address "Woman" is not a term of disrespect. On the cross, Jesus will address Mary as "Woman," and nobody accuses Him of disrespect there. The Greek word translated "Woman" should probably be translated as "Ma�am." By using this term, Jesus is showing Mary respect. What is unusual though about this term is that sons did not address their mothers accordingly. They addressed them as "Mother," or "Mom" but not "Ma�am." By using the term "Ma�am," Jesus is indicating to her that their relationship has changed. For 30 years, He lovingly supported and submitted to her. Now that God has anointed Him for His ministry and now that He has launched His ministry, only God will be directing His steps. Unless God directs Him to take care of this situation, He will not intervene.
Second, the next part of Jesus� response indicates that Mary was probably asking for a whole lot more than taking care of the situation. Every other time that Jesus speaks of His hour in the Fourth Gospel, He is referring to the hour of His death and resurrection. Well, Mary knows all the stories about the angels and Jesus� miraculous birth because she had actually been there when all this was happening. Now that Jesus has turned 30 and has apparently launched His ministry, she may feel that this is the appropriate time to reveal Himself to the nation of Israel as the Messiah. "Perform some miracle so that all will accept You as the Messiah and begin the process of driving out the Romans!" she may have been implying. Jesus� ultimate revelation though of Himself as the Messiah was to occur on the cross and in the resurrection; that time had not yet come! Another 3 years would elapse before that happened, and only God, not Mary, would dictate when that event was supposed to happen.
After Jesus responds, Mary turns to the servants and commands them to do whatever Jesus instructed them to do. Apparently in her mind, she remains confident that Jesus is going to take care of the situation. He does, however not because of her wishes but because of His Father�s. The Father desires Jesus to remedy the situation.
Jesus instructs the servants to fill 6 empty stone waterpots which the family used for the Jewish custom of purification. God had commanded the Jewish people to be pure, and they fulfilled this command to the extreme. Outside the Jerusalem Temple complex today you can see a series of bathing pools which the Jewish men used before they entered the complex. The stairs were divided in half by a marker. Men entered the pools by descending on the right and exited by ascending on the left. They kept as far from the marker as possible so that the dirty person entering the pool did not touch the clean man coming out of it. These 6 waterpots, containing ~20 gallons each, were used for washing hands and feet before eating. John writes that the servants respond by filling 6 stone waterpots to the brim.
After the servants fill the waterpots, Jesus instructs them to draw some out and take it to the servant or friend who served as the emcee of the wedding festivities. Jesus has transformed the water into new wine. When he drinks the new wine, the headwaiter (emcee) approaches the bridegroom and gently chides him because he has done the exact opposite of custom. Normally, a person would serve the best wine while the people�s palates were still quite alive; only after the people had drunk a little and their palates had been dulled by the wine would they bring out the wine of lesser quality. This bridegroom has waited to serve the best wine at the end of the festivities. Now only the disciples and servants know what has just taken place. The disciples respond by believing in Jesus.
TEACHINGS FROM THE FIRST MIRACLE AT CANA
Before looking at the various meanings of this miracle, we first need to note that John claims that this is the "first" miracle Jesus performed. Now John does not describe this as a miracle actually but rather as a "sign." What does he mean by the word "sign?" If I go outside the church, I will see a street sign which reads "Collins Ave." Now that street sign is not Collins Ave. The road in front of it is Collins Ave. The street sign is simply pointing beyond itself to the actual street itself. The same is operating here with John�s use of the word sign. The main meaning of this miracle or sign is not the actual changing of the water into wine. This sign points to something else, actually to something about Jesus.
Next, notice that John describes this as the "first" sign. By "first," John means that Jesus performed no other miracles before He performed this one. He may also be using this word in the sense of "primary," that is, this is the primary sign or miracle Jesus performed until He performed His greatest miracle of rising from the dead. This sign is primary in that it explains the meaning of all the miracles Jesus performed. John seems to be saying that if you understand this miracle, then you understand not only all the other miracles Jesus performed but also the whole meaning of Jesus� life and ministry on earth.
CHRISTIANITY SUPERIOR TO JUDAISM
One of the main elements of this story is the 6 stone waterpots used for the Jewish custom of purification. The fact that John not only calls them waterpots but waterpots for the Jewish custom of purification indicates to us that this element is important to him. Note that these waterpots when filled are normally only filled with water; right now though, they are empty. After Jesus is finished with them, they are filled with not just water but with the choicest of wines. In other words, by performing this miracle, Jesus is saying that what He has to offer is far superior to what Judaism has to offer.
Now this theme of the superiority of Christianity to Judaism runs throughout the Fourth Gospel. In the next episode after Jesus cleanses the Temple in Jerusalem, He claims to be a greater Temple than the one in Jerusalem. Ultimately, people don�t meet God in a place; they meet Him in Jesus. Next, the best man that Judaism can produce, Nicodemus, is told by Jesus that in his present state he will never, no never enter the kingdom of heaven. The only way for this good, moral man to enter heaven is by coming into a right relationship with God through Jesus. If he does not get right with God by believing in Jesus, he will never enter heaven. John focuses on this theme when he claims that Jesus fulfills the Sabbath (John 5), Passover (John 6), the Feast of Tabernacles (7:1-10:19), and the Feast of Dedication (10:20-39).
Jesus though is not just superior to Judaism. He is superior to any other thing that we hold onto in order to find fulfillment in life. Some of us really believe that if we just have the right job, the right home, the right wife, the right educational degree, friends, etc., then we will find ultimate fulfillment in life. It won�t happen. God lets the plumbing break in the house to break our affections away from the house. I remember a funny scene in the movie It Could Happen to You in which a superficial lady named Muriel buys a brand new fur coat only to have some members of an animal rights organization throw some red paint on it as she leaves the department store. God lets friends turn on us, our educational degrees be of no use in order to bring home the point that the only way to find ultimate fulfillment is to have a relationship with Him.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS LIKE A WEDDING FEAST
Next, it is by no means a coincidence that Jesus performs His first miracle at a wedding feast. So many times in the OT God describes His relationship to His people like that of a groom to His bride (the Song of Solomon and the book of Hosea). Christ is informing us that He wants to have a relationship with us that is as close as that of a groom to his bride. Unfortunately for many of us, our most intimate relationships are either with other guy friends or girlfriends. That is not the way God planned it. In fact, in Gen. 2:24 God commands the men to leave their parents once they take to themselves a bride. This leaving is not only a physical one but also an emotional one. Too many men are still dictated by their fathers� goals and wishes, and many young ladies can�t get off the phones with their mothers. God wants our best friends to be our spouses and wants us to experience that same kind of intimate relationship with Him.
The next element though is that of a feast. Many times the NT based upon OT passages likens the kingdom of God to a feast. When the kingdom of God comes, there will be so much joy that the only human analogy we can use to describe it is the feast. Think of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The younger son in his rebellion demands his share of the inheritance, squanders it, and ends up feeding pigs. When he comes to his senses, he decides to return home to serve his father as a servant because his father�s servants fare better than he. The father had to go about his daily business after the son had departed; however, you can be sure that he was always looking out the corner of his eye to see if his son was coming back up the street to his home. One day the father is at the house up on the hill when he espies a figure coming up the dusty road. The shape is looking familiar; the height is just right; oh my gosh, it�s him. At this point the father tears down the hill, running as fast as he can. When the father reaches the son, the son cries out that he is too ashamed to be called son any more but just wants to be a servant. The father brushes the comments aside, wraps his cloak around the son, puts his ring on his finger, gets sandals for the son, and then announces: "Kill the fatted calf. We�re going to party because my boy has just come home!" Note that God is not speaking about those who are His enemies. The boy did not become a son; he had always been a son. This is the son who has gone wayward and now has come home. God says that when that happens, it is time to party!
Well, because the Spirit is the One God uses to bring in the kingdom of God, and since the Spirit is the One who brings about this incredible joy, we can experience this feast right now. Not to the degree we will experience it when Christ returns; nevertheless, we can still experience it to a great degree right now because of the Spirit living in us. The only necessary qualification to become a part of this feast is that we be in a right relationship with Jesus Christ.
Finally, note that this is not a skimpy feast. A casual reading of the story reveals that Jesus delivered to the wedding party ~120 gallons of wine. Actually, more though was being presented because the Jews normally diluted their wine, one part wine to 7 parts water. This would yield ~960 gallons of wine. Remember Jacob�s prophecy about the coming of the king from the tribe of Judah. His kingdom would experience unparalleled prosperity. You could even tie the donkeys up to a grape-bearing vine (whose grapes he would eat) because of the super-abundance of grapes in that day. That�s the kind of feast Jesus is presenting to you and me right now.
The Re-creative (Transforming) Power of Jesus Christ
The last element in this lesson picks up on the concept of the first week of Jesus� ministry. Normally, when we think of important weeks in the Bible, we think of the first week of creation, that is, in 6 days God created all things out of nothing and then rested on the 7th day. At the beginning of this Gospel, John takes us back to the time of creation. He informs us that God spoke and brought all things into existence. According to John, the word God spoke is nothing less than Jesus. By calling Jesus "the Word," John means that Jesus is the one God used to create all things. Jesus is the Creator (John 1:3). Well, now in John 1:19-2:11, we come to Week Two. In this week, God is speaking again. This time though God is not creating something out of nothing; rather, He is re-creating what He has already created. He is going to take the moral man Nicodemus and make him a child of God. He will transform the dregs of society the Samaritan woman and transform her into a child of God. Jesus is not simply interested in changing water into the choicest wine; He is interested in transforming broken lives into choicest wine.
The Appropriate Response to the Sign
To conclude the story, John informs us that the disciples believed in order to communicate to us the proper way we are to respond to what Jesus does in our lives. The disciples had already believed in Jesus to a certain degree. Chapter one details for us how Jesus called the disciples to follow Him; the fact they followed Him reveals that they did believe in Him to some degree. After this miracle though, their belief in Him shot up to a higher level. The belief they had prior to this incident paled in comparison to their belief afterwards. The same can be said about their belief in Jesus after the resurrection; it shot through the ceiling after they encountered the resurrected Jesus.
Our response to Jesus should be the same kind of committed belief. Each week I pray for everyone in our SS department that God would do something so wonderful in their lives that they would have to confess that God alone did it. As that happens though, God expects us to respond to His faithfulness to us by being faithful. The truth though is that even if Christ never did another thing for us, He still deserves our faithfulness. How quickly we forget about His sacrifice for us on the cross which gives us eternal life. Although He continues to perform signs on our behalf even today, His great sign for us on the cross alone should always demand our utmost commitment.