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Water for Purification Turned to Wine
Mari Ikeda
Last month I used two Sundays of my turn to talk about the covenant of the members of this church, I’d like to go back to my series on John’s Gospel. Today’s reading is 2:1-12. It’s a little long, but let’s read the whole passage to start.
1 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.” 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. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
A. Was this the first miracle Jesus performed?
As “Cana in Galilee” is known as the hometown of Nathanael, who appeared in the text last time, we can assume it was a familiar place for both Jesus and his first disciples. “The third day” said in the very beginning means that this was the third day after Jesus made His first disciples such as Andrew and Peter, which tells us that all of this in this passage happened just in the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.
Because verse 11 says, “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory,” we can understand that this was the first miracle that Jesus performed. However, this miracle is a kind of special among many miracles of Jesus recorded in the New Testament. Most of Jesus’ miracles were done to save people’s life or dignity, such as healing of sickness, expelling of evil spirit, provision of food for thousands of people, etc. The miracle of turning water into wine just because people run out of it at their wedding banquet sounds like a wizard’s trick, and it does not sound right it was something “through which he revealed his glory.” It makes us wonder in disappointment, “Is this ‘the greater thing’ that Jesus prophesied in the previous section that we would see?” Moreover, it was only the few disciples of Jesus who actually noticed that the miracle indeed had happened and revered Jesus, while the hosts of the banquet themselves had no idea what happened. I’m afraid that people may feel anxious of continuing to read this Gospel, if they opened this Gospel for the first time in their search for salvation.
So, what on earth does this miracle teach us? The key to the mystery is, in my opinion, found in the conversation between Jesus and His mother Mary in v.3-5.
B. From “the son of Mary” to “the Son of God”
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.”
1. “They have no more wine.”
First of all, according to v.3, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” Although she requested nothing by words, we can assume that she at least expected some support from Jesus, given that she did talk To him. We can assume that she hoped that the banquet might not be interrupted due to the lack of wine and that the bridegroom and his family might not be disgraced. However, there is a conflict among theologians to interpret what specifically and how much help Mary expected from Jesus. Some theologians assume that Mary did know already that Jesus was the Messiah because she had been told so by the angel before his birth, and that she did expect him already at this point to perform a supernatural miracle to help them. I don’t agree with this idea. I assume that she still saw Jesus as her son at this point, and she only hoped that he might help them by a rather usual way such as going to the bridegroom and telling him about the shortage of wine or going out somewhere to get additional wine for them. I assume so because of what Jesus said next.
2. “Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come.”
Jesus told Mary, “Woman, why do you involve me?” As for the interpretation of this, theologicans have a mostly shared consensus. The consensus is that Jesus here is not coldly rejecting Mary, but rather he drew a line against her as his mother. The way he called her “Woman” sounds a bit rude and odd to us, but it was a common way of calling women with a respect in the sociery of Jesus’ time. However, it was indeed not the way people used to call their own mother. By calling Mary “Woman,” Jesus told her quietly, “I’m no longer your son.” He was no longer a son of Mary and Joseph. He has set out his walk as “the Son of Man” and “the Son of God.” We can understand in the same way his following word, “Why do you involve me?” He meant, “You and I no longer involve each other as a mother and a son. Jesus is God, while Mary is just a human being. Jesus no longer gets any instructions from Mary. It is only Jesus himself who can decide what he would act.
However, it is difficult to understand what Jesus said next, “My hour has not yet come.” At first glance it sounds like his rejection of Mary’s request, saying, “It is not yet the time for me to use my power.” But he did perform a miracle in the end. If it were really his intention to reject Mary’s request here, it would mean that he once rejected but later changed his mind. Some theologians support this view. But I think this view fails to see what Jesus meant when he said “my hour.” Whenever he speaks about “my hour” in this Gospel of John, he means the time of his suffering on the cross. Therefore, we can assume that he says here as well, “The time of my suffering has not yet come.” But how does it connect to the current situation where people have no more wine?
In the communion service, we take wine as the blood Jesus shed for us. It signifies the forgiveness of our sin and God’s mercy.
When Mary told Jesus, “they have no wine,” she meant just as she said literally, and Jesus must have been aware of it, too. But in the meantime, Jesus heard it and replied to her with its symbolic meaning on purpose. The lack of wine means the lack of Jesus’ blood that should bring us forgiveness of sin. It means the lack of God’s mercy. So we need the death of Jesus. But the hour has not yet come. I don’t think anyone could understand this meaning behind Jesus’ words at this point, including Mary. But I suppose Jesus is speaking to us the readers of this Gospel, through his words to Mary he spoke at the very beginning of his public ministry.
3. “Do whatever he tells you.”
Although Mary did not understand all of Jesus’ words, I assume she was able to notice that her son was no longer her son and that God was about to start something through him, just as the angel told her so before his birth. At the same time, she also knew somehow that Jesus would not ignore the particular problem at hand, that is, they had no wine at the banquet. That’s why she told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Now, I’d like to go on further to see the meanings of this first miracle Jesus performed.
C. The meanings of this miracle
1. Water for purification turned to wine.
Firstly, what does it mean that Jesus turned water used for purification into wine? Water was prepared for purification because it was a Jewish custom to wash hands and feet before meals. It was not just for a hygienic purpose, but it had a religious connotation. Here we can interpret the water for purification as the symbol of our arrogance and hypocrisy by which we believe wrongly that we can wash our impurity, or namely atone our sin, by our own strength, in order to be accepted by God. Jesus let the water jars that are used for storing the water for purification be filled with fresh water. And he turned the water into the wine of God’s mercy. It signifies that we can now rely on God’s mercy, enjoy its taste and share it together, so that we may not perish in arrogance and hypocrisy of each other by relying on our own strength. That was what Jesus accomplished on the cross. That is the miracle Jesus performs in us. We are only to receive his mercy.
2. The wine was plenty and of the best quality.
Secondly, I want to draw your attention to the quantity and quality of this new wine Jesus made. In v.6, it is said that there were “six stone water jars, …each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.” (Japanese translation uses the original unit of measurement that needs explanation, but English translates rightly 20-30 gallons.) It is not clearly stated whether Jesus used all the six jars, but I assume he did because jars are plural. Then, the total amount of water turned to wine would be estimated at least 480 liters or 120 gallons, and 720 liters or 180 gallons at maximum. If it were 500 liters, it sums up the amount equivalent to 660 wine bottles or 55 dozens in today’s term. This is clearly far greater than the amount people could drink at the banquet. In addition, the quality of wine was the best one, as good as the banquet master was surprised so much that he called out the bridegroom to praise him after tasting it.
God’s mercy is so abundant and so wide beyond our imagination that it will still remains even after we all receive it. It is also so tasty and good for everyone’s tongue that everyone can enjoy.
3. It was only the disciples whose hearts were moved by this miracle.
Thirdly, what does it mean that it was only Jesus’ disciples who noticed the miracle and believed in him, while the hosts of the banquet themselves could not notice the miracle, even though they did not know where such large amount of good wine came from. This tells us that it is only those who are beside Jesus that can see and rejoice the miracle of Jesus. I don’t think the disciples understood all the meanings of the miracle Jesus performed at this point, either. Yet, I suppose they could understand the wonder of his power and his kindness by seeing that he made such a large quantity of good wine and made everyone satisfied.
Jesus performs many miracles in our everyday life as well. We’ll see them if we have the desire to be beside Jesus and get to know him, but we’ll miss it otherwise.
4. This was the first miracle Jesus performed.
Lastly, what does it mean that this miracle was the first miracle of Jesus? I think through this first miracle Jesus teaches us why he came to this world. His purpose was to let us all receive God’s mercy so that we can live with him, and to invite us to sit together at the banquet of celebration hosted by God. In the Bible, through both the Old and New Testaments, we can find many passages that describe our relationship with God as a wedding. Some passage says we are the brides who betray God many times, while God is the bridegroom who patiently waits for us. Some others say we are the impolite guests who reject God’s invitation to his banquet. Others say we are all brides who wait for God as our bridegroom, but some of us get tired of waiting halfway through, while some of us still wait. God’s desire for us is that we just want him, love him, and live with him. I suppose after Jesus gave them the wine, people enjoyed it fully and celebrated together. Jesus wanted to tell us that the kingdom of God is like that. It is the place where we drink the wine of God’s mercy together, rejoice and celebrate his goodness.
(Prayer) Dear Lord Jesus, we are now in the season of Lent to remember your suffering of the cross. We remember you sacrificed your life in order to invite us to be with you. In our life we sometimes get sorrows and sufferings that we feel we can’t bear. We pray for those who are suffering from diseases and those who suffer by the pains caused by others. We ask you to give them your deep comfort and encouragement and new strength. We specially remember today the pains of those who lost their loved ones and hometowns by the great earthquake twelve years ago. Give them hope and strength to live day by day even if no one and nothing can compensate their grief. Same to those affected by the recent earthquake in Syria and Turkey we pray. Also we ask you to stop the wars in Syria and Ukraine. Guide us by your mercy. Dear our Lord Jesus, we pray in your name. Amen.
Summary
The first miracle of Jesus that John records is the miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding banquet. Although the water was meant to be used for purification, Jesus turned it into the best quality wine. Its amount was at least 500 liters (125 gallons), that is equivalent to 660 bottles of wine. It signified the magnitude of God’s mercy that would be revealed by Jesus’ death, and was the symbol of the new age that was about to come in which we live by relying on God’s mercy instead of our own strength.
For Discussion
1. What do you think about the conversation between Jesus and His mother in v.3-5?
2. Why do you think Jesus’ disciples “believed in Him,” while the master of the banquet and the bridegroom did not notice the miracle?