Water to Wine (John 2:1-11)

Why did Jesus turn water to wine if his "hour had not yet come?" Did he deviate from the will of his Father in order to bow to the wishes of Mary? The key is found in the Wedding and Wine symbology of the Old Testament and confirmed by Jesus in his teachings and sayings.

Transcript

Wine of Heaven (John 2:1-11)

We have been following the Gospel of Luke. But we are going to deviate to the Gospel of John today and the next several lessons. The reason being that only John tells us what Jesus did immediately after he was tempted in the Judaen desert. The wedding feast at Cana. Cleansing the temple and teaching Nicodemus in Jerusalem. The Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. These stories are just too good to bypass, even if we are following the Gospel of Luke. 

Today the wedding feast at Cana. Jesus turns water to wine, reveals his glory, and his disciples believe in him. 

Jesus and his four disciples are on their way to Galilee. From Nazareth it was just a few short miles to Cana where Jesus and his disciples and Mary were invited to a wedding. And Cana was the home of Nathanael. (John 21:2). Nathanael is going home. And Jesus will show his glory.
 
 The Miracle [1:37]

John 2:1-11 (OEB) 

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and Jesus' mother was there. Jesus himself, too, with his disciples, was invited to the wedding. And, when the wine ran short, his mother said to him: “They have no wine left.”

“What do you want with me?” answered Jesus. “My time has not come yet.” 

His mother said to the servants: “Do whatever he tells you.” 

There were standing there six stone water-jars, in accordance with the Jewish rule of ‘purification,’ each holding twenty or thirty gallons.

Jesus said to the servants: “Fill the water-jars with water.” And, when they had filled them to the brim, he added: “Now take some out, and carry it to the Master of the feast.” 

The servants did so. And, when the Master of the feast had tasted the water which had now become wine, not knowing where it had come from — although the servants who had taken out the water knew — He called the groom and said to him: “Everyone puts good wine on the table first, and inferior wine afterward, when his guests have drunk freely; but you have kept back the good wine till now!” 

Well, this was the first miracle Jesus did in Cana. It revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him. 

How embarrassing for the groom and his family to run out of wine. Wine was the groom’s responsibility. (John 2:10; you have saved the best for last). But this groom is poor. Or, at least, he doesn’t have enough wine.

My Hour has not yet come.  [3:51]

So, Mary turns to Jesus. “They have run out of wine. “
 
 And Jesus asked, “Why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come.” 
 
Jesus says that his hour has not yet come and then the servants fill up the six jars with water. Let’s take one thing at a time. 

Years ago I taught on this passage. After the class a veteran evangelist told me that he knew a man who would not become a Christian because of this story! Mary said that they had no wine and wanted Jesus to do a miracle. Jesus said his hour had not yet come. But, Jesus went ahead and did what Mary wanted him to do. He performed a miracle and made wine. So, it was not his hour to do a miracle. It was not in his Father’s will! And yet, Jesus bowed to his mother’s request. Jesus went against his Father in heaven.

Imagine that. Well, there are a lot of people who ask that very question. Why did Jesus perform this miracle if his hour had not yet come?  

Let me give the short answer. Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is the Son of God. Therefore, whatever Jesus does is right. We may not understand why he did some things. We may not understand some things that he said.  But if we have the conviction that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, we know that what he did was right. We don’t say that Jesus did or said something wrong. We look for answers to our questions. We do not do like the Pharisees and charge him with wrong doing. We look for answers. 

Now, what is really going on?  The key is this two word phrase “my hour.” My hour has not yet come.

In John 7 Jesus was in Galilee and he leaves for the Feast of Tabernacles. He did not want to go because the rulers were trying to find a way to kill him. (John 7:1) But he went anyway and half way through the festival he began teaching in the temple (John 7:14). One day they tried to take Jesus into custody. But they could not lay a hand on him because “his hour had not yet come.” Jesus told Mary at the beginning of his ministry that his hour had not yet come. And now, his hour has still not come. 

And, again, in John 8 Jesus is teaching in the temple. But no one seized him because “his hour had not yet come.” 
 
And as Jesus gets closer and closer to the cross, his language begins to shift. 
 
Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time. Philip came told Jesus that some gentiles wanted to see him. And Jesus said to Philip, “The hour has come. The Son of Man will be exalted.” (John 12:23) 

Now I am distressed at heart and what can I say? Father, bring me safe through this hour — yet it was for this reason that I came to this hour. (OEB, John 12:27) 
 
“My soul is distressed. Shall I ask the Father to deliver me from this hour?” 
 
Do you see what is happening here? Do you see where this is going? Of course you do. When Jesus washed his disciples feet, “he knew that the hour had come.” He would be leaving this world. (John 13:1)

And finally, Jesus prays: “Father, the hour has come; honor your Son, so that your Son may honor you. “ (John 17:1) 

Jesus told Mary, “My hour has not yet come.
Jesus now prays to God, “The hour has come.” 
 
Why do they have no wine? When will they have wine? When Jesus offers himself as a sacrifice.
 
Jesus would do that. Something physical would come up in a conversation, and Jesus would suddenly turn it around and make it about something spiritual. Like the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. They are talking about the water at the bottom of the deep well. You need a bucket to bring up the water. You need to come everyday and do it again. It is necessary for physical life. Everyone knows that.  
 
And Jesus said that whoever drank the water that he gives would never thirst. And his water would well up into eternal life. Jesus changed the conversation. And he did not tell her that he had changed the conversation. 

That is what is happening here with the wine. Mary is asking about wine that grows in the vineyard. Jesus is talking about spiritual wine. And then Jesus makes wine for the guests.   

Kingdom  Symbology [11:01]

There are a lot of symbols for the kingdom of God. One symbol is a wedding banquet. In the prophets, God says that he is the husband and Israel is his bride. (Isa. 54:5). 

And Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a banquet in honor of his son's wedding.” (Matt. 22:2) 

And another symbol is wine. From Isaiah: the Lord will prepare a feast with the finest meats and the finest wine. (Isa. 25:6)  

It was very much a part of Jewish thinking—to symbolize the kingdom by sharing in a feast. 

On one occasion John’s disciples were concerned that people were going to Jesus to be baptized. They complained to John. And John said that he had told them that he himself was not the Messiah. Didn’t I tell you that? And then he said, “the bride belongs to the bridegroom.” (John 3:28, 29). 

One day the Pharisees asked Jesus why his disciples did not fast. Jesus responded with the imagery of a wedding feast. Jesus is the groom and his disciples are his guests. This is a wedding feast. It is not time to fast and mourn. (Matt. 9:14, 15) 

The kingdom has come.  Jesus is the groom. The the church is his bride. (2 Cor. 11:2) The feast has begun and the wine flows. His hour came. He has his bride and he serves the wine.    

Six Water Jars  [13:09]
 
Now for the ceremonial water jars. You know that the scribes and Pharisees followed a lot of man made traditions. The traditions were a set of commandments or rules in addition to the law of Moses. There were rules about washing your hands before you ate. It wasn’t about making sure your hands are clean. It was about ceremony. 

How did this rule develop? It may have come from the priests in the Old Testament. We don’t really know, but that is the best we can figure out. If the priests touched something unclean, they had to bathe before they could eat. (Lev. Lev. 22:1-6). So, it may have come from that. Something like, if it was good for the priests to wash before eating, it is even better if we all wash before eating. 

It would be someone like saying that a song leader cannot be a new convert because Paul said an elder cannot be a new convert. (1 Tim. 3:6). We will take standards for elders and apply them to everyone. We will be super devoted. That might sound noble, but Jesus condemned the rules of men.   

Well, back to the water jars. That is what these six water jars were for. This is where the guests washed their hands before eating, as required by the scribes and Pharisees. It was a meaningless burden on the people. It had no value in the eyes of the Lord. It brought them no joy.  It brought them no closer to the kingdom of God. 

So, Jesus had the servants fill the jars with water and then turns the water to wine. The rabbis only gave them ceremonial water which brought no joy. It did not bring them any closer to the kingdom of God.
 But, I give you wine to celebrate the wedding.
 
 Wine of Heaven [15:58] 

Did you know that the Jews spoke of the joys of the world to come as “the wine of the world to come.”   (Gills Comm. Matt. 26:29). The blessings and joys of heaven. That is a lot of blessing. That is a lot of joy.

Here is a Jewish tradition. The Messianic kingdom will be a time of abundance. Each vine will produce a thousand branches. Each branch will produce a thousand clusters. Each cluster will produce a thousand grapes. And each grape will produce a cor of wine. (2 Baruch 29:5)
 
That is 230 liters of wine per grape. Now they were thinking in terms of blessings on earth. Literal grapes. Literal wine. But what a great way to illustrate the wine of heaven. That is a lot of blessing. That is a lot of joy. 

The Bride in Revelation [17:23]

John was the only gospel writer to tell us about the very symbolic wedding feast at Cana. He also recorded Revelation on the isle of Patmos, as you well know. John was shown Jesus and the church in the imagery of a wedding. He heard a great multitude, like the sound of thunder; like the sound of rushing water. And the multitude said, “Let us rejoice. Let us be glad. Let us give him glory.” The wedding has come. The wedding of the Lamb and his bride. She is dressed in fine linen, her works of righteousness. (Rev. 19:6-8). 

And an angel said to John: “Those who are invited to the wedding feast are blessed.” (Rev. 19:9)

John saw the Holy City coming down out of heaven. And she was a bride, dressed beautifully for her husband. (Rev. 21:2)
 
 What a glorious sight. The wedding feast will begin and the wine will be served. I am sure that as John thought about the wedding of the Lamb his mind had to have gone back to Cana. Remembering Mary’s words: “They have no wine.” And remembering Jesus’ response: “My hour has not yet come.” 

You realize of course that the wine of heaven is not the wine you serve on your table. The wine that is served at the heavenly feast will not be a French wine. The wine is the spiritual glories of heaven. 

And how much will that be? Let’s go back to our Jewish tradition. Each vine a thousand branches. Each branch a thousand clusters of grapes. Each cluster a thousand grapes. And each grape 230 liters of wine. 

This is a great miracle when you unpack the symbolism. Reaches back to the Old Testament. And reaches forward to the glories of heaven.

“Jesus, they have no wine.”
 “They do now, for my hour has come.” 

Rick Walker
 Vinogradar church of Christ
 Vinekeeper Church
 Kyiv, Ukraine