The Wedding at Cana

Introductory thoughts

The miracle that the Lord Jesus performed at the wedding in Cana—the transformation of water into wine—is the first of a total of eight signs of the Lord in the Gospel of John (John 2:11). It particularly presents to us the grace of the Lord, who had come to bless his people. When we compare this first sign of the Lord with the first miracle of Moses (Exodus 7:15–21), we notice major differences: Moses’ first miracle was a sign of judgment (water was turned into blood), whereas the Lord’s first sign was a sign of grace (water was turned into wine). “The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

In the New Testament, we find three different terms for the Lord’s miracles (Acts 2:22). Each term has its own focus in terms of content. In the Gospel of John, however, the term “sign” is used almost exclusively.

• “Mighty deeds”: The focus is on the deeds that were performed.
• ‘Miracles’: The supernatural work of God is emphasized.
• “Signs”: The miracles that were performed have primarily prophetic significance.

Prophetic perspective

The wedding at Cana took place on the “third day” (John 2:1). If we count back from this (third) day, we arrive at the following division:

• The first day is found in John 1:35–42: This day represents the Christian era of grace, in which the person of the Lord Jesus is in the foreground.
• The second day is found in John 1:43–51: Here we find a foreshadowing of the future remnant of believers from Israel who will accept the Lord Jesus as the Messiah.
• The third day is presented to us in John 2:1–11: This passage speaks of the blessing and joy of the millennial kingdom.

Some practical applications

• The first person mentioned in the account of the wedding at Cana is Mary, the mother of Jesus (John 2:1). She obviously played an important role at the wedding. Perhaps she was related to the bride and groom or entrusted with the organization. The Lord Jesus was also invited to the wedding with his disciples. It is always good when the Lord Jesus is present. However, he was apparently just one of many guests (“also invited”). This reminds us that the Lord is never satisfied with second place. He always wants to have first place in our lives. This is important for all of us, but also and especially for married couples, particularly at the beginning of their life together.
• In the midst of the wedding celebrations, the wine suddenly ran out—an embarrassing situation (John 2:3). Mary noticed this and turned to the Lord with this problem, because she knew that no problem was unsolvable for Him. The same is true for us: our embarrassments are His opportunities. When we don’t know what to do in a situation, He is there to help us.
• But sometimes He has to wait until we are “at our wit’s end,” because only then are we ready to expect everything from Him.
• It is also noteworthy that Mary simply presented this problem to the Lord—without giving Him any suggestions or well-meaning advice (John 2:3). She trusted completely that He knew everything about the situation and would therefore do the right thing. We, too, can present everything that troubles us to Him in prayer and trust that He will do the right thing.
• Wine speaks of joy (Judges 9:13; Psalm 104:15). Just as the wine suddenly ran out in the midst of the celebrations, so too does every earthly joy soon come to an end. But the Lord wants to give us a better and lasting joy (“the good wine”). Earthly joys depend on circumstances, but the joy that the Lord wants to give us does not depend on circumstances, but is based solely on Him Himself: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, Rejoice!” (Phil 4:4).
• At first glance, the Lord’s response to Mary’s words may seem dismissive and abrupt (John 2:4). But He wants to make it clear to His mother that the timing of His actions does not depend on human needs, but solely on the instructions of His heavenly Father. His hour to take action in this matter had not yet come.
• The instruction that Mary then gives to the servants is also extremely important for us: “Whatever he tells you, do it!” – If we want to experience spiritual joy and the Lord’s blessing, then we must do what the Lord tells us (in His Word) (John 2:5). Obedience is always the way to blessing. That has not changed to this day.
• There were six stone water jars there, which together held at least 600 liters of water (John 2:6). The Lord then instructed the servants to fill the jars with water. This was certainly hard work, but it was not in vain, for it was precisely this water that the Lord wanted to turn into wine and thereby glorify himself (John 2:11). Our service will also ultimately bring joy and glorify the Lord—even if it sometimes seems tedious or monotonous to us.
• In some places in Scripture, our body is compared to a vessel, and water is often a reference to the Word of God (2 Cor. 4:7; Eph. 5:26). Perhaps we can apply the following in connection with this: just as the jars were to be filled with water, so we too should allow the “word of Christ” to dwell in us richly (Col 3:16). To do this, however, we must spend a lot of time with God’s Word.
• The servants filled the jars to the brim (John 2:7). They did not show half-hearted obedience, but acted exactly according to the Lord’s instructions. The result was an abundance of joy and blessing. Joy and blessing will also be the result for us (even if perhaps not immediately visible) when we do exactly what the Lord tells us in His Word out of love for Him.
• After that, the servants were to draw water that had turned into wine and bring it to the steward. When he tasted it, he expressed his astonishment that the bridegroom had kept the good wine until last (John 2:8–10). While the master of the banquet did not know where the good wine came from, the servants knew exactly what had happened. They knew that the Lord had performed this miracle and was behind the blessing. We too can hold fast to the belief that every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights (James 1:17).
• The good wine was served later (John 2:10). Believers know that the best is yet to come. When our time on earth is over, we will be with our Lord in glory forever, where our joy will be complete and nothing will cloud it. So too will the millennial kingdom on earth one day come to an end, but our unclouded joy in the Lord will last forever. We can look forward to this moment every day.