April 7
Bible Reading: John 2
John 2:11, “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”
A song says, “little is much when God is in it.” We read in the Bible of countless examples of where God works through little or ordinary things or people to accomplish extraordinary things. We’ve an example of that in this chapter. The immediate transformation of the ordinary water into wine by Jesus at the wedding in Cana was a manifestation of His glory. The miracle, literally an “attesting sign” (John 20:30-31), worked to generate faith in the heart of His disciples (John 2:11).
The setting of the miracle was a wedding celebration in Cana. It happened only three days after the calling of Jesus’ first disciples (John 2:1). Jesus’ mother was there, along with many others. A Jewish wedding was foremost amongst the community events in that day. The accompanying celebration would go on for days. It was expected that sufficient wine would be made available for the guests. But the wine ran out, a potential cause for much embarrassment for the bridegroom.
Mary was aware of the problem and brought it to Jesus’ attention (John 2:3). It is noteworthy that she directed her concern to Jesus. One can safely assume that she had had many opportunities, throughout His upbringing, to witness His ability to intervene and resolve troublesome situations. His response to her was, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4). The second part of His response includes a phrase which He would henceforth use frequently regarding His ministry and pending sufferings (John 4:23, 5:25, 7:30, 8:20, 12:23, 12:27, 17:1, etc.). In the beginning His ministry was a public thing oriented around His teaching and miraculous works. His “hour” instead focused on His sacrificial work in His submitting Himself to fulfilling the Father’s will (John 4:34, 5:17).
The miracle was one that showed Jesus’ creative power (John 1:3). The wine had run out. He directed the servants to “fill the jars with water” (John 2:7). They were filled to the brim, leaving no room to suggest that wine had been merely added to the jars. Then Jesus commanded the servants to “draw some out and take it to the master of the feast” (John 2:8). “When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now’ (John 2:9-10).
There is an entire field of education, called “viticulture,” devoted to the study of how to prepare the best wine. Not long after this event, in about 65 AD, the Roman writer Columella produced a detailed work (a twelve-volume text) on Roman viticulture called De Re Rustica. And even today, Viticulture is a field of study at major universities. It takes a lot to prepare a superb wine—study, time, energy, etc. Grape vines need approximately 1300–1500 hours of sunshine and about 27 inches of rainfall to develop. The process, from beginning to end, takes many months.
Jesus did it all in an instant. He took ordinary water and made extraordinary wine out of it. He didn’t need soil, vines, grapes, rain, harvest, preparation, etc. He skipped all the steps. “All things were made through him” (John 1:3), good wine was created by Him instantaneously. The question of the propriety of Jesus’ turning water into wine sometimes clouds the issue regarding what happened on that occasion. He was a man, but no ordinary man—He was and is “the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31)—His identity was revealed in His miraculous creation of the wine. The disciples saw that affirmed by His power and believed (John 2:11). They were ordinary men, but by His transforming and empowering influence, they would one day accomplish extraordinary things.
He who “does all things well” (Mark 7:37) has the power, through His creative and transforming influence, to take ordinary men and women and make something extraordinary of their lives (Ephesians 2:10).
What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought
Since Jesus came into my heart;
I have light in my soul for which long I have sought,
Since Jesus came into my heart.
Since Jesus came into my heart,
Since Jesus came into my heart;
Floods of joy o’er my soul like the sea billows roll,
Since Jesus came into my heart.
LookingtoJesus 