The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Turning Water into Wine
Harold Wilmington
Liberty University, hwillmington@liberty.edu
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Spiritual Truths
• Jesus chose a wedding to perform His first miracle, doubtless to emphasize the sanctity of marriage. (See Gen. 2:18-25; Mt. 19:3-8; Eph. 5:22-23; Heb. 13:4.)
• Earthly weddings thus should serve as a reminder of that grand and glorious future wedding between Christ and His Church! (See 2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7-9.)
• It should be noted Jesus was invited on this occasion. It is always a wonderful thing when He is made welcome at a wedding!
• Jesus did this miracle to accomplish a three-fold purpose:
1. To solve a difficult problem for Mary.
2. To increase the faith of His disciples
3. To display His glory “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed on Him.
• Was this real wine? The Greek word used here, oinos, can refer to either grape juice or wine.
1. Examples in which it means juice:
- “Neither do men put new wine [unfermented grape juice] into old bottles, else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out.” (Matt. 9:17).
- “He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Rev. 19:15).
2. Examples in which it means wine:
- “Be not drunk with wine” (Eph. 5:18).
- “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities” (1 Tim. 5:23).
• If it was real wine Jesus created, it bore little if any resemblance to the modern product.
1. In New Testament times wine was first boiled before storage, then diluted with three to ten parts water before serving.
2. The Old Testament distinguishes between this wine and the strong, coarse, undiluted wine prepared solely to make one intoxicated.
- Both Noah and Lot became drunk on this wine (Gen. 9:21; 19:32-34).
- Drinking this kind of wine may have caused the death of Aaron’s two priestly sons, both killed by God (Lev. 10:1-9).
- It was for the sin of national drunkenness that God would destroy Israel (Isa. 28:1-8).
- Daniel refused to defile himself by drinking this kind of wine (Dan. 1:8).
- The book of Proverbs warns against this kind of wine. “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise” (Prov. 20:1). “Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moves itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder” (Prov. 23:31-32).
- Habakkuk forbids the giving of this wine to one’s neighbor (Hab. 2:14).
- Even the pagan Greeks felt only barbarians drank undiluted wine. h. The rabbis held that undiluted wine could not be blessed.
• Whatever the meaning of the word wine here in John 2, the sincere believer must carefully consider other Scripture passages even in the practice of social drinking: “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thess. 5:22). “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God” (1 Cor. 10:31-32).
Why Did Jesus Turn Water into Wine?
This wedding miracle in Cana was the first time Jesus revealed His supernatural abilities in public.
This first miracle teaches us a valuable lesson: Jesus can provide for our needs.
We also learn through these miracles that Jesus is more than a mortal man. He is God in the flesh.
Jesus Changes Water into Wine
2 “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.” Jesus honors the request of His mother while also recognizing that this decision will hasten the beginning of His ministry. 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.” (John 2:1-11 NIV).
We may not always get what we want, but when we turn to the Lord, our needs are met so we can pursue a deeper relationship with Him.
A metaphorical lesson is to pay less attention to the wine and instead focus on the winemaker. Due to their concentration on the wine, the guests of the wedding never learned about the “Winemaker.” Focusing on the wrong things is something many of us do. Your focus may be on a fancy new car or a bigger house. Whatever you face, don’t let it take your focus from the Lord.
The story of Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana is found only in the Gospel of John. Why? This might be because Matthew, Mark, and Luke weren’t present for the miracle, but John was.
Although in John’s gospel, he doesn’t specifically identify himself as being one of Jesus’ disciples yet or being present at the wedding in Cana, yet we can reasonably conclude that he was.
Similarly, John’s record of the story doesn’t explicitly say why Jesus turned the water into wine. What Jesus did, he did quietly, and he never said why.
I suggest there is one reason why, but there are many things we can see.
We’ll start with the text.
What John Saw
John said that it was through this “sign” that Jesus revealed his glory for the first time. John saw glory in Jesus. Glory is a big word meaning honor, dignity, and splendor. These words point to the deity of Jesus. It’s interesting how quietly this miracle took place but how many divine attributes of Jesus can be seen.
We See Honor
Some say Jesus did this miracle simply to appease his mother. Or, as some have put it, he obeyed her. But Jesus was an adult and was no longer subject to her authority. To this, they may respond that he was honoring her. Or could it be that she exhibited faith with her words, “Do whatever he tells you,” and he honored her faith?
Either way, we see honor.
We See Authority
We also see authority.
Citation:
Wilmington, Harold, “The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Turning Water into Wine” (2018). The Second Person File. 102 https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/second_person/102
