Taste and See the Messianic Wine

The Wedding at Cana: Water Turned to Wine

On the third day, a wedding was to be held at Cana, a rural area near Nazareth. Weddings were usually held at the bridegroom’s house for about a week. People would dance, drink, and enjoy sumptuous meals. Mary, the mother of Jesus, attended the wedding and so did Jesus and his disciples.

During the banquet, the wine for the guests had finished. This disappointment was very embarrassing for the host. Well, in life, sometimes we do miscalculate. What should we do?

Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.” She was gesturing to Jesus to solve the problem.

Jesus replied, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

Jesus may sound somewhat disrespectful in his reply, but his mother was not displeased. She nevertheless, instructed the servants, “Do whatever he tells you!” Although Mary did not really understand the situation, she still trusted Jesus and submitted to him. This confirms the sovereignty and transcendence of the Messiah.

Now we understand why Jesus answered in such a way, from a theological point of view.

The Gospel according to John opens in this way, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”

Before anything existed, the Word, Christ Jesus was. From a human perspective, He was the son of Mary but, actually, He was the Son of God who became flesh to dwell among humanity.

The eternal Word, God the Son, has an intimate relationship with God the Father. The Father is the one who decides the hour for Jesus His Son. The hour is the timing of His ministry on earth, especially with regards to His death and glorious resurrection. This hour was to be determined by the Father.

Compared to the intimate relationship between God the Son with God the Father, Jesus’ earthly mother, Mary was an outsider who had no right to intervene. Jesus was about to enter into public ministry. Thus, his status as the Son of Mary must fade because His true identity was the Son of God, the Lord of all humanity.

In Israel’s tradition, the “third day” refers to the manifestation of the glory of God when the Law was promulgated at Mount Sinai (Exod 19:16). Jesus was glorified in resurrection on the “third day” after His death. Will Jesus display His glory on the “third day” of this wedding at Cana? The answer is “Yes”!

Jesus then commanded the servants to fill up six stone jars to the brim with water. These jars were used for the Jewish rites of purification. So the servants filled up the jars with water. Then, Jesus commanded the servants to serve the water in the jars to the guests. And the servants did so. The servants were likewise in complete obedience to Jesus.

When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from. He called the bridegroom 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.”

Master of the feast was essentially a master of ceremonies. It was his job to call people to celebrate and to make sure the conditions for that celebration were all in place. Bottom line: It was his job to make the party great. And when Jesus turns water into wine and saves the day; he is saying, as it were, I am the true master of the feast. I am Lord of the Feast. Jesus came to bring festival joy, to rescue lives.

The miracle of turning water into wine at Cana was Jesus’ first miracle which displayed His glory. His disciples came to believe in Him (v. 11).

The Christology of Water Turned to Wine at Cana Wedding Feast

The miracle of turning water into wine at Cana was not Jesus’ inaugural speech but his inaugural act. As Jesus’ ministry unfolds, we see that the hour that Jesus referred to was ultimately that of His death on the cross and His glorious resurrection.

In Judaism, marriage symbolizes God’s close relationship with Israel. In the New Testament, marriage symbolizes the relationship between Jesus and the Church. Jesus is the bridegroom and the Church is His bride.

Besides, the Old Testament frequently uses a sumptuous feast to point to the coming of the Messianic era where God rules.

Isaiah 25:6-8 say, ““On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of this people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.”

To John, the miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding at Cana was a sign. This sign is to point to Jesus’ identity and ministry. He is the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. Jesus not only turned water into inexhaustible wine, it was also the best wine which was kept to the end.

This shows us that Jesus was not merely a prophet or a king like those in the Old Testament. He was not merely the kind of Messiah that people generally expected. He was indeed the Son of God who came from heaven – the Savior of the world! He is the “latter wine”, the inexhaustible best wine to satisfy the whole world.

Jesus died on the cross to bear the penalty for our sin for us, in our place. Whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life. This salvation of Jesus is just a feast. He is calling us to “taste and see” that is good.

Feast is a very real thing and wine is all the more a real thing! When we believe in and rest in Jesus’ salvation for us, it becomes real to our hearts. Jesus’ love is like honey, or like wine. Rather than only believing that he loves us, we can and we ought to sense the reality, the beauty, and the power of his love.

If you are filled with shame and guilt, you can come to Jesus and sense, on the palate of the heart, the sweetness of his mercy. Then you will know you are accepted. If you are filled with worry and anxiety, you can come to Jesus and you will see, with eyes of the heart, his dazzling majesty. You will be united with Jesus Christ here on the earth just like the intimacy of marriage.

Trust and Obey the Lord Leads to Transformed and Blessed Lives

In Jewish thought, the number seven signifies perfection. Six stone water jars signify imperfection. Moreover, the stone water jars were the most ordinary of objects – for the cleansing of hands and feet. This symbolizes that the Jewish law-keeping faith was impotent to patch up defects or bring about the transformation of life.

When Jesus’ mother and the servants obey the command of Christ, who is the Eternal Word, the water in the jars was transformed into the best of wine.

The wine supplied by Jesus is an allusion to the cup of the Lord’s Table, which symbolizes His sacrifice of His own life, His redemption of sinners through His precious blood, so that human life may be made complete and abundant.

Jesus came to surpass and transform the impotency of Jewish rituals. He came to accomplish in reality what the ceremonial and sacrificial laws of the old Testament pointed to. Those who believe in Him and obey His commandment may have new life.

Human beings are limited and unable to fully grasp the potential of life. But we have Jesus. He is truly the master of feast of our lives, who is able to transform imperfections, shortcomings, and crises into perfection abundance and joy.

We are unable to ensure that our lives are lived wonderfully and to the full. We often experience difficulties due to our own miscalculations. We also often hurt others due to our own weak human nature.

We also know that our overcoming of obstacles in life to move on to the next level does not come from our ability to make perfect calculations or deep resources. Yes, we do our part. But we only overcome and succeed in many things by learning how to grasp the grace of God through trusting and obeying Him.

Just like Mary and the servants, let us obey the words of Jesus even though we may not comprehend what is going on. Jesus is our timely help and, today, He is still performing miracles of transformation. Jesus wants to turn the useless “water” in our lives into good use.

Come, taste the wine of the Messiah, Jesus Christ! How to do it?

We must draw near to the Lord every day, pray to the Lord, listen to His word, obey His leading, and live according to His will.

We should pray now, “Lord Jesus, please come into our lives! We pray that you will perform the miracle of transformation in our lives so that negativity may be transformed into positivity and so that deficiencies and weaknesses may be transformed into abundance and strength. Please turn the useless aspects of our lives into blessing.”

Desire the Lord with a Grateful Heart in Everything and Grow in Faith

The first miracle that Jesus performed at Cana reveals to us His identity and power. His disciples respond with faith. This is an example for everyone who follows Jesus. Conversely, although the servants saw the miracle that Jesus performed, they did not have the right response to come to the Lord. The glory of Jesus passed by them and they just walked past Him.

This is such a pity, yet this is something that often happens to us. The truth is, unless we continually grow in faith, spectacular experience cannot guarantee a long term God-fearing, God-abiding relationship. A believer that is fed with a diet of signs and wonders will sooner or later have days of withering.

Although the grace of God constantly surrounds us and His love is revealed to us unceasingly, we must not only see the benefits of the gifts and neglect the Giver. Let’s give more and more of ourselves to the Lord who gives us grace. How?

Let’s desire after Him and pursue to know Him even more. We should serve God diligently and offer our lives as living sacrifices to God. Only by then we may, by His grace, grow in faith, move from strength to strength.

Not only did the master of feast and the guests of the wedding not know that Jesus turned water into wine, they even complained that the bridegroom only brought out the best wine at the very end. Likewise, we often experience God’s blessing without understanding or awareness. We complain a lot and fail to appreciate good things around us.

Or, like the master of feast, we may expect that our life and God’s work must fit into certain patterns—good wine must be served first. We may think that we know everything when, in fact, we are ignorant. As a result, we have ignored the mystery of God and miss out on the wonderful work of God.

No matter what the situation or challenges, whether we see His work or not, understand His work or not, we ought to humble ourselves and fear God. We must trust in God’s wisdom and action by giving thanks in everything and constantly pursue spiritual growth. This is the way of becoming Christ’s disciples, the way to grow in faith.