WWUTT 798 Jesus Turned Water Into Wine?

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Jesus turned water into wine, and according to the Gospel of John, this was

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Jesus' first miracle. But it wasn't just some random wonder. It pointed to something very significant when we understand the text.

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You're listening to When We Understand the Text, an online Bible ministry so that we may know all the riches freely given to us by God.

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For questions and comments, send us an email to whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com.

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Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. In our study of the Gospel of John, today we get to Jesus' first miracle, turning the water into wine at the wedding at Cana.

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This is John chapter 2, starting in verse 1. On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

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Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him,

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They have no wine. And Jesus said to her, Woman, what does this have to do with me?

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My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you.

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Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons.

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Jesus said to the servants, Fill the jars with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

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And he said to them, Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. So they took it.

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And 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.

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The master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine.

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But you have kept the good wine until now. This, the first of his signs,

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Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

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After this, he went down to Capernaum with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

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Now this miracle, Jesus turning the water into wine at the wedding at Cana, this is featured only in John's gospel.

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Matthew, Mark, and Luke don't include it. So why is it that only John mentions this miracle, while the synoptic gospels do not?

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Well, there are three very good reasons why. Number one, remember that John was written long after the other three gospels, possibly decades after.

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The gospel had gone out into all the world. Jews and Gentiles had heard the message of Jesus Christ, and pointing to his divinity, all the stories of his miracles.

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And even the people had even heard from eyewitness accounts of these miracles that had been performed.

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Well, in addition to the message of the truth spreading, there was also a lot of myth and legend.

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And some of those legends were regarding miracles that Jesus had performed when he was a child or in his adolescence or as a young adult.

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We see this come up in the apocryphal text a little bit later on. There's the infancy gospel of Thomas that talks about miracles that Jesus did in his childhood.

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And Muhammad attempted to give credibility to the apocryphal text in the

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Quran when he also wrote about miracles that Jesus did in his childhood. He told a story of Jesus forming the image of a bird out of clay and breathing life into it.

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And then it turned into a living creature. Jesus' ability to give life to non -life. But while Muhammad thought that he was giving credibility to the apocryphal text, he was actually discrediting himself.

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For John says here very plainly in John 2 .11, this turning the water into wine was the first of his signs.

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And Jesus did it at Cana in Galilee. He had performed no other miracles before this.

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John immediately putting to rest any of those myths and legends that had arisen about Jesus doing miracles that he actually did not perform, especially where it concerned miracles that he may have done in his childhood.

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So that's number one. That's the first reason why John has written about this miracle.

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It's dispelling myths and legends. The number two reason is that he is disclosing the more secret miracles.

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Notice here who are witnesses to what it is that Jesus has just done. It's only his disciples, maybe also his mother and the servants that Jesus told to take the water, take it to the master of the feast.

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But even the master of the feast didn't know where the wine had come from, because who did he go to to congratulate for the tastiness of the wine?

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He went to the bridegroom instead of Jesus, who was the one that had just served this awesome wine.

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So John records fewer miracles that are recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke, and he has a very particular reason why he picks the miracles that he has picked.

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And I'll talk about that more here in just a moment. But all of the miracles that he picks are more secret.

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They're not as public as the miracles that we read about in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Now, lest anybody accused

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John of myth and legend, there were certainly witnesses to these miracles here, the disciples, the servants,

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Mary, his mother. But there were not the the these were not the more public miracles that had been performed that the people saw and then came to Jesus because they wanted to see him do more miracles.

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These were more behind the scene miracles, but still pointing to the divinity of Christ.

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And even as John talks about toward the end of his gospel, there's not enough parchment paper on Earth to write down all of the great things that Jesus did during the time of his earthly ministry.

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So John draws this miracle as Jesus first miracle, and it also introduces the miracles that Jesus did that weren't as public as some of his others.

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So that's number two, disclosing the more secret miracles. Here's the third reason why

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John picks this particular miracle. Only seven miracles are outlined in the gospel of John, and each one of these miracles points to Jesus divinity in some way.

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And that's what we're going to be exploring as we go back through the text today, looking at how this miracle points to Jesus Christ as God.

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This is the whole reason why John is writing here, so that we would know Jesus is the

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Lord. Remember what we read at the very start of the gospel. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was

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God. So John spends the whole gospel pointing to Jesus Christ as the son of God.

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So starting again in chapter two, verse one, on the third day, and this is three days after Nathaniel had been included into Jesus' disciples, because we've actually gone well more than three days here in our succession in the narrative.

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John the Baptist sent disciples after Jesus, then in verse 29, the next day, then in verse 35, the next day, there's already three days, and then we get to verse 43, the next day.

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Well, that would be four days. So this is three days after Nathaniel had been introduced to Jesus, and Jesus said to him, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the son of man.

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So after these men were chosen as Jesus' disciples, three days later, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

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Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. So this was obviously some kind of get together where, you know, all the people knew one another, which was why

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Mary and Jesus were invited. Nazareth wasn't that far from Cana, it was just to the north a jog.

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So they're there at the wedding and the wine runs out. Now, as you've probably heard about Jewish weddings, they go on for days.

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So somebody did not prepare for this wedding adequately, and there wasn't enough wine, it ends up running out.

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But this is all by the providential hand of God. Not just so Jesus would perform his first miracle, but there was even something significant about the wine running out at this wedding feast.

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Wine all throughout the Old Testament is a sign of God's blessing. For example,

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Psalm 104 verses 14 through 15, you cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man.

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So whenever wine is spoken about in this way, it's never talking about drunkenness, you know, going beyond our capacity to control ourselves, leading to debauchery, but rather that wine, just like anything that should be enjoyed in moderation, is something that gladdens the senses.

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And when a person has been abundant in the blessings of God, that's often signified in having new wine.

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We also read about this in Zechariah 9, 17, for how great is his goodness and how great his beauty.

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Grain shall make the young man flourish and new wine for the young women.

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Talking about the abundance of provision that God is giving to his people, blessings that overflow.

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In Proverbs 3, verse 10, honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce.

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Then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be bursting with new wine.

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So there was never any kind of prohibition on the consumption of alcohol in any way, shape or form.

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Jesus, in fact, drank alcohol. We seem to have indication of that with him drinking wine. And here he's turning the water into wine at this wedding at Cana.

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But again, as with anything else, it is to be enjoyed in moderation. And again, it points to the blessing of God upon his people.

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But here in Israel at this particular time, they were not being blessed by God because the people's hearts were far from God.

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And we're going to see that come up several times. As a matter of fact, this even comes up at the end of chapter two.

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So I'm just going to go ahead and read the last three verses here of chapter two. When Jesus was in Jerusalem at the

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Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

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And we've also seen in the other gospels in Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus, quote from the prophet

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Isaiah, when he said that they acknowledge they acknowledge me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

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So you see a lot of religiosity going on in Israel in this particular day, but their hearts are not actually for God.

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So their hearts are not gladdened with the abundant provision of God and his extra blessings are not upon them since they do not fear the

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Lord. Rather, they teach the doctrines of men rather than the doctrines of God.

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So that's what's being indicated here by the wine running out at the wedding at Cana and why

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Jesus is the one who turns water into wine, because he not only gives the water of life, but he gives life more abundantly.

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I'm kind of jumping ahead a little bit, but that's where the story is, is rolling. It is to show that Jesus is the one who gives life and gives it more abundantly.

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That's what John is pointing to. So then we go to, we continue on,

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I'm going to go to verse three here. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine.

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And Jesus said to her, woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.

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So in this exchange, it's clear that Mary knows Jesus can do something about this problem.

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And she knows very specifically regarding who he is, that he is able to make something from nothing.

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And we see this in Jesus response. He's not just going, so he's saying, what does this have to do with me?

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My hour has not yet come. He does not yet want people to know who he is.

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That time has not come for him to reveal himself as the Messiah. All of these miracles are going to point to him as being sent from God, but he's not yet ready to do that.

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Any time that John talks about the hour of Christ, it's talking specifically about the hour of his crucifixion.

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And Jesus knows if we start getting into these controversies now, it's going to be too early. It's going to get the ball rolling too early.

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All of these things are supposed to transpire. Jesus has come to die, to lay himself down as a sacrifice for his people, shedding his blood for our sins.

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But that hour has not yet come. And all the controversy that's going to come about into leading to Jesus' eventual crucifixion.

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So he says to Mary, it's not time for me to do this yet. And so how does

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Mary respond in verse five? It says his mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you.

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So she doesn't make a big public to do out of it. She doesn't go to the master of the feast and goes, hey, we're out of wine, but this guy can do something about it.

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She listens to what Jesus has said. He's not listening to what she says.

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She listens to what he says. And when he said, my hour is not yet come, she just goes to the servants.

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She keeps it quiet. And she says to them, do whatever he tells you to do. And so then he does his miracle.

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He does it on his terms, not because she told him to. And by the way, this this says something against Roman Catholicism, that the

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Roman Catholics pray to Mary and they ask Mary to ask God for a miracle or a blessing or something like that.

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Well, Mary can't do that. God is not going to listen to something that Mary says. And this this story right here shows that that Jesus is not listening to Mary, but Mary does what

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Jesus says. Now, when we read here that Jesus addresses his mother as woman, there are some that have attempted to say that this address means

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Jesus is calling Mary the last Eve. So, you know, that Jesus is referred to as the last

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Adam, right? First Corinthians chapter 15. Paul talks about Christ being the last Adam. Adam did not.

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He was not faithful to the commands of God. He fell into sin and all of mankind was cursed as a result of Adam's sin.

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Well, Christ obeyed God perfectly, and everyone who is born again in Christ has been cleansed of their sins.

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So in this way, Adam has become I'm sorry, Jesus has become the last

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Adam. Well, some have argued that because Jesus refers to his mother as woman, just as Adam referred to Eve as woman, therefore,

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Mary is the last Eve. But I don't really like that explanation. I think that's going beyond the meaning of the text, mostly because that sounds like a very

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Catholic thing to me. If you're calling Mary the last Eve, then it gives credibility to the

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Catholic argument of the Immaculate Conception that Mary herself was without sin.

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And that's not true. Jesus said no one is good but God. He says that in Mark chapter 10 when he's talking to the rich young ruler,

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Jesus is God. So he is good. Mary is not. So she is not good. She is as much a sinner as anyone else.

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Now, she is certainly highly favored as is talked about in Luke chapter one. But it's also there in that chapter that she prays to God as her savior.

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So Mary needs a savior as much as anyone does. I would only accept this explanation of Mary being referred to as the last

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Eve if it's under the condition that Mary is the fulfillment of the proto

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Evangelion that is first given in Genesis chapter three, verse 15, where it says,

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I will put enmity between your offspring and the woman's offspring. He will crush your head and you will bruise his heel.

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So this could be referring to Mary as Eve only in the sense that she has brought about the offspring who will crush the head of the snake.

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But when it comes down to it, this address of Mary as woman was just a kind, proper title that a son would give his mother.

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Now, if you try to call your mom woman, you'll probably get slapped. But it's OK for Jesus to do it.

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He's the son of God. So anyway, there were six stone water jars. This is in verse six for the

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Jewish rites of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. It was supposed to be water that was very pure, untouched, set aside, set apart, not corrupted by anything else.

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So these were very clean jars. And Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water since they were for for purity rites.

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There could have been no other substances in the water that would have turned water into wine.

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The servants know this. They know exactly what the jars are supposed to be used for. So the servants fill the jars up to the brim.

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And Jesus said to them, now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. So they took it.

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And 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.

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Now, the interesting thing to note here is that he's talking to the wrong bridegroom, right?

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Who is the bridegroom? Jesus is our bridegroom. We as the church are the bride of Christ.

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Jesus is the bridegroom. The master goes and congratulates the wrong bridegroom as Jesus is the one who actually turned the water into wine.

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And again, as I mentioned earlier, this shows that it is Jesus who gives life the water of life.

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And we'll talk about that when we get to John chapter four. And Jesus gives that life more abundantly, which is

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John 10, 10. So all of these things pointing together to show Jesus divinity and that what he came to give the people was what they lacked life and even more than that abundant life.

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So the master of the feast says, everyone serves the good wine first. And when the people have drunk freely than the poor wine, but you've kept the good wine until now.

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And yes, indeed, the best that God has to offer us has not yet come until the giving of his son,

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Jesus to the world. God had indeed given good things to his people in the past, but now he's given them the best thing.

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And that is Jesus Christ. And then we go on to read in verse 11, this, the first of his signs,

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Jesus did at Cana in Galilee and manifested his glory. So this is not just some average thing that Jesus did.

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It was just kind of like, Oh, I'm snapping the fingers. There you go. It is the manifestation of his glory.

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In this very sign, Jesus was able to call something out of nothing.

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No one can get wine out of water. You can't turn water into wine. It takes all other kinds of substances and ingredients to go into that mix to develop fermented wine.

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They didn't even have grapes in those jars. And yet Jesus did it because he is the creator of all things who is able to call light from darkness.

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And so he also changed water into wine. In the book of Exodus, Moses turned water into blood, which signifies death.

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But Jesus turned water into wine, which signifies not only life, but abundant life.

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John 10, 10. Once again, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

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I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.

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Amen. Let's pray. Our great God, we thank you for the abundant life that we have been given in Christ, not only with the promise of eternity that is to come, but also with what we receive in life right now.

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There is fulfillment in life. There is meaning and purpose because we are followers of Jesus Christ.

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Without Christ, life is nothing. There is nothing to this life. And we would just be walking dead men, just keeping time until the day of judgment.

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But in Christ Jesus, we have been rescued and we have been given joy in God and fellowship with you and all of these abundant blessings that have been bestowed upon us by our

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Lord. So there is nothing that the world can give us that can possibly be better than this, nor can the world take any of this away.

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So let us not fall into despair for we have the greatest thing that could ever be given to mankind, and that is

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Jesus. Help us to rejoice in that name today and keep those promises in our minds and in our hearts as we go throughout our week.

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And it's in the name of Jesus Christ that we pray. Amen. You've been listening to When We Understand the

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Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study.

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Then on Thursday, we look at an Old Testament book. On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers.