John 2.1-12
It is generally agreed that the first physical miracle that Jesus performed was turning water into wine. John's Gospel describes this event as the beginning of Jesus' miraculous signs. It came about like this. There was a wedding in a small town near Nazareth called Cana. Jesus' mother, Mary, was one of the guests at this wedding celebration. Jesus, too, had been invited, along with His disciples. A wedding feast in ancient Israel wasn’t just a one day event. It took the better part of a week. As the week wore on, the bridegroom’s supply of wine ran out. Some have suggested that the last-minute arrival of Jesus and His disciples contributed to the depletion of the banquet supplies. Possibly the host hadn’t planned adequately, or the family was too poor to make better provisions. All we really know is that there was no more wine. This would have been a tremendous social embarrassment to the bridegroom and his family.
Mary went to Jesus and informed Him of the situation. Did she have some motherly sense that her son, the Son of God, would use this opportunity to reveal Himself to the world? Jesus responded to Mary by asking why she was involving Him in this situation. After all, His time to present Himself as God’s Messiah hadn’t yet arrived. It’s always difficult to conjecture from the printed words alone the tone of voice or the facial expressions involved in such conversations. It’s possible that Jesus, with a smile and knowing wink, responded to His mother in such a way that both knew what was about to take place. After all, Mary immediately told the servants to do anything Jesus asked.
We read that there were six large stone water jars nearby. Jesus asked the servants to fill these jars with water, which they did immediately. He then told the servants to draw some water from the jars and present it to the banquet host. We can only imagine what was going through the minds of these servants. Why would they present a cup of water to the host who had run short of wine? Was this some cruel joke? Nonetheless, the servants complied with Jesus' request. The host took the cup, not knowing where it came from, and tasted its contents. The cup was filled with wine, and not just any wine, but the best of wine! The host called the bridegroom aside and congratulated him on saving the best wine until the end. The wedding feast would now continue in style. Apart from Jesus and Mary, the servants and Jesus' disciples alone knew the source of this new wine. They must have been astounded. Jesus had a great miracle. He demonstrated His power over physical elements, transforming ordinary water into wine. But He did so privately, not seeking attention nor revealing Himself publicly to the crowd. That time would come soon enough. For now, Jesus used His miraculous power to honour His mother’s request, to rescue a family from social embarrassment, to endorse forever the institution of marriage, and to reveal His glory to His disciples. John tells us that Jesus' disciples put their faith in Him as a result. They would again and again see Jesus perform miracles, and they would again and again grow in their belief in this Man who could turn water into wine.
When the wedding feast was over, Jesus along with His disciples, His mother, and His brothers, left Cana and spent a few days in Capernaum, a fishing village along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The Gospels indicate that Jesus had brothers and sisters. He was part of a family, and He spent time with His family. We also know that some of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen who had made Capernaum their base of operation. Jesus, too, would eventually make Capernaum His base of operation for His itinerant ministry. But for now, Jesus simply went to Capernaum to spend time with His family and friends. He would reveal Himself publicly not in Galilee, but in Judea.
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