Read John 2:1-12
Context
This passage starts on the seventh day of Jesus public ministry as described by John. John the Baptist had already announced that Jesus was “the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” and it is in the context of a wedding that we see the first sign of what it means that Jesus is the lamb of God. The context of this first sign is at a wedding. While we do not necessarily know many details about the wedding, the text shows us that Mary has some vested interest in the bridegroom and that Jesus is there as a guest but not with any official function. While it may at first seem like random chance that Jesus’ first miracle takes place at a wedding on the seventh day of the beginning of his ministry, the author very intentionally draws our attention to these details in order add depth to our understanding of what is happening.
Observations
The setting is intentionally on the seventh day at a wedding
Jesus’ dialogue with Mary shows that he is no ordinary son, and also that he loves and respects his mother
Wine plays a prominent role in both the ceremony of the wedding and how we should understand this text
Jesus is contrasted with the bridegroom
The sign of turning water to wine manifested Jesus’ glory and stirred belief in his disciples
Meaning
Jesus attending a wedding and choosing to perform his first sign at a wedding is significant for John. This is a demonstration of Jesus’ value of marriage as a God-instituted good for humanity. The fact that it takes place on the seventh day of his ministry (third day after the previous four described in John 1:29; 35; 43) is a subtle signal for the type of wedding that Jesus is primarily concerned with. In an answer to his own question that he asks Mary: “Woman, what does this have to do with me?” Jesus answers by foreshadowing an eternal and everlasting wedding supper of the lamb that he had come to secure. This was “the hour” that Jesus had come for, and his activity at this wedding prefigures what will take place in the future. The seventh day is representative of the perfect rest that God instituted after his work of creation was concluded. It symbolizes the rest that Jesus had come to secure for his bride.
What are we to make of the prominence that wine plays in Jesus’ first miracle? Wine is a dynamic object in that it can be many things in different contexts. Wine can be sour, wine can be sweet. Wine can bring joy, wine can bring curse. Wine is also a symbol that Jesus himself uses to represent his blood. This makes use of the full range of the meaning of wine. Jesus’ blood was bitter for him, but joyous to us. Jesus’ blood is a symbol both for the cup of the wrath of God poured out in judgment, and a cup of blessing that sustains us. Jesus drinks the sour wine that he is offered by the Roman soldiers while on the cross, and we drink the wine of the New Covenant that is poured out for our salvation.
The contrast of Jesus with the bridegroom is subtle but intentional. The bridegroom was responsible for making provisions for all of his wedding guests and to run out of wine would have been a great embarrassment. The bridegroom in this story is insufficient to provide for his bride. Jesus intercedes in a way that shows himself to be the better bridegroom. His wine is so much better than even the best wine that the “earthly” bridegroom provided that it confounds the guests. Where the earthly bridegroom is insufficient, the eternal bridegroom, Jesus, is over-abundant.
This initial sign began the long process of revealing the glory of Jesus to his disciples. This sign stirred belief in them. His disciples rightly were more amazed with Jesus than they were with the wine, because they knew the one who had made the wine.
Questions
How does Jesus’ interaction with Mary show that he is not an ordinary son?
What is the significance of Jesus performing the first miracle of his ministry at a wedding? How does it foreshadow the purpose of his ministry?
What are some ways that wine is used in this story? What does it allude to that happens later in Jesus’ ministry? Where are some other places that the Bible talks about wine?
How has Jesus shown himself to be the “better and eternal bridegroom” in your life? How does Jesus provide over-abundantly where other things are insufficient?
How does this sign manifest Jesus’ glory?