What's so great about a wedding?

"A Wedding in Galilee"

(John 2:1-12, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, January 11, 2009)

John 2:1-12 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. ³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." ⁴ And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." ⁵ His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." ⁶ Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars 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." So they took it. ⁹ 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 ¹⁰ and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now." ¹¹ This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. ¹² After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

The setting: A wedding… (1-2)

The covenantal union between a man and a woman is a very special occasion. Since Genesis 2 when God created Eve as the one who would be the intimate life-long partner of Adam, the coming together of two individuals in marriage has been full of wonder. The Lord speaks of marriage at both the beginning and the end of the Bible. While Jesus was not married during His earthly days, it is the destiny of the church together with the Son of God to be the fulfillment of everything that marriage was ever intended by God to be. The glorified church that comes down from heaven, the New Jerusalem, is said to be prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. There is a sense in which every wedding throughout the centuries of life in this world is to be a display of that perfect union of Jesus Christ as our Husband and the church as His bride.

For this reason, it seems especially fitting that the first miracle recorded in John's gospel is at a wedding. We are told that this wedding took place on the third day after our Lord's meeting with some of His disciples recorded in the previous verses. We are also told about the location, although after so many centuries have passed it is difficult to be sure of exactly where the small town of Cana was located in Galilee. The region of Galilee was in the very northern part of what was Israel. Nazareth was also in Galilee, as was Capernaum and several other places that were around the Sea of Galilee at the north end of the Jordan River. The invited guests at this wedding included Mary, the mother of Jesus, the Lord Himself, and the few disciples that He had with Him at this point.

The problem: They have no wine. (3-5)

Wedding celebrations in that culture often went on for several days. Food and wine were a part of the normal hospitality that one extended to guests who were witnesses of this joining together of a man and a woman. There was a public, almost community-wide feeling to these events. When the wine ran out, something of the celebration was over. Throughout the Old Testament, passages that referred to a coming age of great blessing often spoke of bountiful quantities, not as an encouragement of drunkenness, which is never a good thing. Good wine, just like good food, is everywhere presented as a gift of God, though like good food it can be abused, and should be consumed with modesty. Good wine and good food are especially associated with times of healthy celebration, and there is no doubt that a wedding should be that kind of occasion.

Here it is Mary who says to Jesus, "They have no wine." We know from the rest of the passage that they previously had wine, but that now all the wine is gone. The response of Jesus to this information seems to us to be rude. This is probably because we do not understand the cultural standards in first century Galilee. There is no indication that Mary took any offense at the way her Son spoke to her. Beyond the use of the word "woman," which does not work well in our culture, our Lord is indicating something else that does sound like a correction. "What does their running out of wine have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." However we understand these words, we see that His mother knows her Son well enough to know that He actually is going to address this issue, a fact that does not at all come across from the specific words used. We communicate our intentions with our facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice. Somehow Mary knows, perhaps through a simple smile that says it all, that a very good provision is coming. Therefore she says to the servants, "Do whatever He tells you."

This turns out to be another one of these mysterious statements recorded in John's gospel that has meaning beyond the specific situation where it is used. "Do whatever He tells you." This is good advice for all of us. In the meantime, in the actual situation in the wedding at Cana, despite whatever non-verbal clues or prior conversation allowed Mary to realize that Jesus was about to do something wonderful, His response to His mother does teach us some important things. Notice that He does not refer us to His mother for anything. He simply never tells us that if we need help in some way that Mary is the answer for us. She, on the other hand, as every true worshipper of God should always do, refers everyone to Jesus and points us in the direction of both hearing and obeying Him. He never refers us to her. She always refers us to Him. Also, it is a fact that in some way, His time has not yet come. While the time has come for a miraculous sign, it has not come for the fullness of the best wine at the best of all marriage feasts. It is time for a taste, but it is not yet the time for the wedding supper of the Lamb of God.

That day will come, and it seems very likely that the best wine in bountiful supply is a very appropriate sign of the fullness of resurrection blessings. Several Old Testament prophetic books end with descriptions of the new heavens and the new earth that are coming with the return of Christ. Amos is one such book. Almost every word in the book is about the judgment of God against Israel, but the last seven verses speak of a new time coming. In those verses we hear these words about wine: "Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit." There is a sense of the inauguration of the Resurrection era in the ministry of Jesus. In fact the last verses of Amos are referred to in Acts to speak of New Covenant blessings. Therefore it is very appropriate that, at a simple wedding feast in the small village of Cana in Galilee, our Lord gave the guests a taste of resurrection wine.

The miracle: A sign… (6-12)

This is a good enough reason for us to celebrate, but we are not finished. The way that the miracle actually took place has more meaning. Jesus used six stone water jars that were filled to the brim with well over 100 gallons of water in order to give these Jewish guests resurrection wine. He did not have to do it that way. We should not miss the point here. All that water was to be used for purification rituals that had become part of good religious Jewish life, rituals that were not commanded in the Bible, but were treated by many as if they were God's Law. The way that people and everything around them became ceremonially clean was through all these washings with water. The truth is that this kind of water could actually do nothing to take away the true stain of sin. It would be through the blood of Christ that people would be cleansed, and the application of that blood would come by the work of the Holy Spirit upon the consciences of believers. That would be the real way to be clean and to gain an invitation into the true wedding feast as the bride of the Lamb of God. He gave Himself for us to be our glorious Husband.

Here in Cana of Galilee, the ceremonies of men had to give way to the abundance of the grace and power of God. Jars full of water cannot bring about a wedding celebration. For that purpose they could bring nothing but shame to the hosts at this wedding. But then they were suddenly filled with the best wine, with the wine of the long expected age of resurrection. Do you want to taste that wine, the wine of the resurrection? This is the true wine from heaven that is better than the kind of wine that men fill themselves with now just to forget their misery. Isn't that why we do so many of the things that we do now? Why do we gorge ourselves with food when we are already full? Why do people keep on drinking when they have already had too much? Why do we go on to the next form of escapist entertainment when it can do nothing for us? We are trying to forget our misery. We are looking for something that would take the vague smell of a world of death out of our nostrils. What we really want is the resurrection, and the best way to taste that is to receive the Holy Spirit. That is why the apostle Paul writes to the Ephesians, "Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit." Every good property of water and wine is pointing forward to the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ and the glorious rejoicing of the Spirit-filled people of God in the age to come.

This first sign recorded by John in this gospel manifested the glory of Jesus Christ. The answer for you is not in any wine that men can make. The answer for you is not in the sweet and humble mother of Jesus Christ. The answer is certainly not in man-made rules and ceremonies that are designed to make you forget your misery or teach you that you are purer than everyone else. The answer is in the Son of God who showed something of His glory when He produced such good wine at that simple wedding, that the person in charge of the festivities was shocked. This Jesus is your Provider. He is your Protector. He is Your Husband. He has invited you to His resurrection wedding, not to be just a guest, but to be a part of His glorious bride, without spot, or blemish, or any such thing.

Those who begin to love the truth about Christ and the resurrection can hardly keep themselves from telling people about the wedding they have been invited to. Those who do not know such things, even though they be ever so religious, deep inside they wonder what all the fuss is about. They certainly would never talk to anyone about Jesus, unless the other person absolutely insisted. But we have not only been invited to attend that great wedding. We are to be the bride. And the Man who is marrying us gave Himself for us. He has risen and lives forever, and we speak.

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. What can we understand about first century wedding customs in Galilee from this passage?

2. What do you make of the interchange between Jesus and Mary?

3. What is the meaning of this first sign of Jesus in John's gospel?

4. Why is a wedding such a wonderful time to celebrate?