Wedding, Water, Wine
Jesus was invited to a wedding in Cana, along with his disciples and family.
While they are there the wine runs out. This would have been a major embarrassment to the family.
Jesus’ mother makes a implied request of Jesus – “they have no wine (please do something)”
Jesus, noting the separation between them as He has moved into adulthood says, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour is not yet come.”
He is saying, “the hour of my revealing isn’t yet, the time when I bring reconciliation at the cross is yet a ways off.”
He knows that once the limelight is on Him that in essence the clock is ticking down to the Hill of the Skull. I will freely admit I don’t totally get how that works with God’s sovereignty… but there it is.
Mary, in good Jewish mother form, ignores his reply and says to the servants, “do whatever he tells you.” Again the implication that He will do something.
This is such a curious interaction and one completely unique as Jesus is both fully divine and fully human. And it sounds like Mary is telling her son (who is also the Son of God) what to do. Curious.
Jesus has the servants fill six stone water jars to the brim with water.
I’ve heard and read several different interpretations on this:
- the 6 jars represent the 6 days of creation, 6 being the number of man and Jesus was coming to bring to completion the plan of God
- the 6 jars represent the ‘fullness’ of the Old Covenant and Jesus is indicating that a new covenant is starting by filling them to the brim showing that the OT has served its purpose and is ‘done’.
- The water remained water in the jars, but only those who tasted it after Jesus instructions received wine.
The thing that I don’t get is the ‘why’? To help the new couple save face? Perhaps. Why does the master of the banquet indicate that most people “bring out the good wine first and then later when the guests are drunk brings out the cheap wine, but you saved the best wine until now!” Wine was a staple in their culture and was to them a sign of joy and God’s blessing. But drunkenness was specifically against the law. So who exactly tasted this miraculous new wine? Just a few? Did the entire party partake?
Surely Jesus wasn’t advocating or making it possible for drunkenness to occur.
The text indicates this was the first of His miracles.
There is much I don’t get here. But one thing is clear – Jesus, while remaining faithful to not dishonor God, was not afraid to be at a party; that He blessed a wedding celebration and that even from His very first miracle He knew He was headed to the cross.
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