Study of John - Week 14

iii. Chapter 2
a. Verses 1-11
Jesus performs his first miracle in these verses. He has revealed Himself to His disciples and given them a glimpse of what He is about. This miracle is unique to the Gospel of John and is filled with little insights into Jesus’ character. Cana was a small village that was visible from Nazareth, which partly explains why Mary and Jesus were invited to the feast.

A Jewish wedding was something in those days that took several days. By custom, the actual wedding ceremony took place on a Wednesday night (this means that Jesus actually met Andrew and John on the Sabbath), but the feast and celebration would last much longer. The couple was paraded all around town and would spend their first week of marriage hosting guests. They would wear crowns and would be treated as king and queen for a week. It was a huge occasion in a time where poverty and hard work were the norm. It was something everyone in town participated in and enjoyed.

Mary was apparently in a position of responsibility of some kind or at least in the inner circle of those that were responsible for preparing for the feast. She was in the know about the wine before it became common knowledge among the guests. It is in this situation that she turned to Jesus for help.

It is also apparent that Joseph (Jesus’ earthly Dad) was not present at the feast and it is believed that this is because he was already dead. It is also believed that Jesus had taken responsibility for His Mother and siblings. Jesus was only able to leave home and begin his ministry after the siblings were able to take care of themselves. Mary turned to Jesus because she was already in a habit of turning to Him and she knew that He would know what to do. She didn’t know what He would do, but that if she turned to Him for help, He would be able to take care of the situation. The Daily Study Bible – The Gospel of John by William Barclay mentions a legend that tells of the time when Jesus was a baby, that when people were troubled in Nazareth, that they would go and “look upon Mary’s child” and would find themselves feeling better. I think it was Mary’s habit to look to Jesus for help. It’s interesting that she doesn’t ask Him to do anything; she just tells Him the wine is gone.

First, he addresses His mother. It kind of seems a little harsh to us, but if we read it with the occasion in mind it was a kind exchange between Jesus and Mary. I can picture him smiling as he asks His mother why she is asking Him about the wine, when He already knows what she has in mind. Jesus says to her “Dear Woman, why do you involve me?” This is the same way He addresses her when He is on the cross (John 19:26). The situation with the wine was something that concerned Mary and not Jesus. She was the one involved in the preparations and He was just a guest. He also says, “My time has not yet come”, meaning He wasn’t sure that this was the time for him to reveal Himself in such a way to His disciples. Maybe He had been thinking about it or waiting on God to reveal the time to Him, but he wasn’t sure it would be when His mother asked Him to do something. It seems very human to me – maybe he was a little self conscious (maybe not). I imagine that Jesus may have done things like this throughout His life, but in a private way. In the end, he did take care of the situation that concerned His mother. He also helped prevent the embarrassment of the bridegroom.

I picture him telling the servants under his breath to fill the jars. They go and do it, not really knowing why, but most likely anticipating something unusual is about to happen. When they return, he again says quietly to them to draw it out and give it to the master of the banquet. By this time the disciples had been watching what was going on and took notice. I don’t think anyone that knew said anything at the time, since it wasn’t their place, but they didn’t forget.

This reveals a lot about Jesus. First of all, he was comfortable and welcome at a joyous occasion. When you look at other religious figure (take the Pope for example) they bring with them a gloom so to speak over a party. Also, Jesus cares about people and our trivial concerns. It isn’t really the end of the world to run out of wine. It may be embarrassing, but they would live through it. Jesus does this out of compassion for those that were celebrating. He didn’t perform this miracle at a huge gathering or where there were royalty, but did it at a place that was relatively humble.

The significance of the act itself tells a story. The Daily Study Bible – The Gospel of John by William Barclay mentions the number of jars was important, as well as, the amount of water in each. First, six jars is a number that signifies being incomplete. These represent the Law of Moses. Jesus took the imperfect Law and made it perfect. Next, each vessel held about 20-30 gallons, which adds up to a lot of wine (around 180 gallons). This signifies the superabundance of grace we have in Christ.

Question: In what way has Jesus met a small need of yours? What can we learn from Mary and her relationship with Jesus?