Christ changes water into wine
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📚And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there,2:1 Cana was a small town about 15 kilometers north of Nazareth. It seems from what follows that Mary the mother of Jesus was helping the host at the feast.⚜
2 📚and both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding.
2:2 The Lord Jesus approved the institution of marriage and honored it with His presence (compare Matt 19:4-6; Heb 13:4).⚜
3 📚And when the wine was gone, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine”.
2:3 In the midst of a formal and joyous occasion, this would have been very humiliating to the host. Mary expresses her concern and implies that Jesus might do something about it. Up to this event Jesus had performed no miracles, at least in public (v 11). But Mary knew He was no ordinary person (Luke 1:35).⚜
4 📚Jesus said to her, “Woman, what have I to do with you? 📖 My time has not yet come”.
5 📚His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you”.
2:5 Jesus’ manner of speaking evidently indicated to Mary that He was going to do something. Her word to the servants was appropriate to them then and, in a higher, fuller sense, to all men always. We can never go wrong by doing what the Lord Jesus tells us. We will certainly go wrong if we do not.⚜
6 📚And six stone waterpots were placed there, according to the custom of Jewish purification, containing eighty or a hundred and twenty liters each.
7 📚Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water”. And they filled them up to the brim.
8 📚And he said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the master of the feast”. And they took it.
9 📚And when the master of the feast tasted the water that had been made wine, and not knowing from where it came (but the servants who drew the water knew) the master of the feast called the bridegroom,
2:9 There is no description of the miracle itself. All we are told is that water went into the jars and wine came out. The wording in no way suggests that it differed from the wine drunk before, except that it was better. Wine is fermented grape juice. The Greek word for wine (“oinos”) is used 33 times in the New Testament, including here, and is seen to be intoxicating when drunk to excess. This is clear from v 10, Eph 5:18; and Matt 9:17 (wineskins would not burst if there were no continuing fermentation).
Is it possible that what Jesus made was unfermented grape juice which miraculously tasted like real wine and completely deceived the master of the feast? There is no hint whatever in the Bible itself that this is what happened. In fact John 4:46 clearly states that Jesus “made the water into wine (oinos)”. In any case, can we think that Jesus who is the Truth (John 14:6) and who hates all forms of lying and deception, would use deception in this the first of his miracles?
In those days the drinking of wine at meals was a common practice, and it was not regarded as harmful. Usually it was mixed with water – one part wine to three parts water. Some commentators have suggested that wine used in this way acted as a water purifier in that time when there were no filters, chlorination of water, etc. Of course, drinking wine in excess (or any other alcoholic drink) is everywhere condemned in the Bible. See notes at Gen 9:21; Prov 23:29-35; Eph 5:18; 1 Tim 3:8; Titus 2:3.
The word “wine” is sometimes used in the Bible as a symbol of something good (Prov 9:1-2, 5; Isa 55:1; Matt 26:37-39). In Matt 9:17 the Lord Jesus used “wine” as a symbol of the gospel. His gospel was new “wine” in contrast to the old covenant of the law. Here He makes wine from water that came out of jars the Jews used for washings related to their religion. This may be a little picture of what Jesus came to do: He came to establish His Kingdom of grace and joy which would replace the old covenant.
As for the drinking of wine now (or any kind of alcoholic beverage) Christians should follow certain principles clearly laid down for us in the New Testament. We should all study and practice Rom 14:1-4, 10, 13, 19-23; 15:1-3; 1 Cor 8:9; 9:19-23; 1 Cor 10:23-24. In these days some Christians may be stumbled if they see or hear of other Christians drinking even a little wine. Therefore it is better to abstain completely than to indulge oneself and be a cause of stumbling to any of God’s people. Loving one’s brothers and sisters in Christ and trying to encourage their faith is the important thing, not eating and drinking (Rom 14:17). And giving our money to help those in need, or for the progress of the Gospel, is far better than using it for self-indulgence or self-pleasing.⚜
10 📚and said to him, “Everyone at first sets out the good wine, and the inferior wine after men are intoxicated. But you have kept the good wine until now”.
2:10 The man was making a statement about feasts in general. He is not saying that people at this wedding feast were getting drunk. The Lord Jesus would not have participated in a feast where the guests got stupefied by drink, nor would He have provided more wine for such.⚜
11 📚This, the first of his miraculous signs 📖, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and revealed his glory 📖, and his disciples believed in him.
Christ clears the temple
12 📚After this he went down to Capernaum, he, his mother, his brothers, and his disciples, but they did not stay there many days.
2:12 Capernaum was a town on the lake of Galilee. It became Christ’s headquarters in Galilee (Matt 9:1). Jesus’ brothers are mentioned in John 7:3; Matt 12:46; 13:55.⚜
13 📚And the Jewish Passover was at hand. And Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
2:13 Notes on the Passover at Exodus chapter 12; Lev 23:4-8.⚜
14 📚and found in the temple compound those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting there. 15 And when he had made a whip out of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, together with the sheep and the oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned the tables, 16 📚and said to those who sold doves, “Take these things out of here. Do not make my Father’s house a house of trade”.
2:14-16 Matthew, Mark and Luke all record an event similar to this which occurred shortly before Christ’s crucifixion. See notes at Matt 21:12-13. John refers to a time toward the beginning of Christ’s ministry. It appears that Jesus twice cleared the temple of things which didn’t belong there.⚜
2:16 They had perverted the proper use of the temple and thought only of the profits they could make through it. Compare 1 Tim 6:5.⚜
17 📚And his disciples remembered that it was written,
Christ is asked for a miraculous sign
Zeal for your house has consumed me.
18 📚Then the Jews responded and said to him, “What miraculous sign do you show to us, since you are doing these things?”
2:18 Verse 11.⚜
19 📚Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up”.
20 Then the Jews said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”
21 📚But he spoke of the temple of his body. 22 📚So when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this to them, and they believed the Scripture, and the words Jesus had spoken.
2:19-22 These words of Jesus were later twisted and used against Him at His trial (Matt 26:61). Jesus here very early in His ministry speaks of His death and resurrection. His body was a temple – the dwelling place of God (compare 1 Cor 6:19-20). They would put it to death but He would raise it. The Jews misunderstood Him and mocked. Even the disciples did not grasp His meaning until after His resurrection. See Matt 16:21-22; Luke 18:31-34.⚜
2:22 See John 14:26. As used in the New Testament the word “Scriptures” means the Old Testament. “Scripture” in the singular may refer to a single verse or promise such as Ps 16:10.⚜
23 📚Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, on the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miraculous signs which he did.
2:23 Verse 12. Believing in His name means to believe in Him, to receive Him (John 1:12).⚜
24 📚But Jesus did not commit himself to them, because he knew all men, 25 📚and did not need anyone to testify about man, for he knew what was in man.
2:24-25 Some put their trust in His name but He did not put His trust in them. Jesus was God in the flesh (John 1:14) and had God’s knowledge of human nature – 1 Kings 8:39; Jer 17:9-10. There are several examples in this Gospel of His supernatural knowledge (John 1:48-49; 4:17-18; 5:42; 6:26). He knew that all men have a sinful nature and that even believers are sometimes fickle, superficial in their faith, and unreliable. Even His closest and best disciples were often spiritually dull, did not always follow His ways, and were no help in the time of His greatest crisis (Matt 26:36-56).⚜