John 2:1-12
1 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. - John 2:1-12
Sign(s)
Why this for the first of the signs? Why at a wedding? Why something like wine?
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. - John 20:30-31
Doesn’t mean miracle in the power sense
Greek word - sēmeíon, which means to authenticate the Lord and His eternal purpose, especially by doing what mere man can not replicate of take credit for.
What’s this first sign pointing to?
7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” - Revelation 19:7-9
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. - Revelation 21:1-2
19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord. - Hosea 2:19-20
5 For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. - Isaiah 54:5
Marriage as a Sign
The theme of marriage to Christ is all throughout Scripture
We see marriage in the form of man and woman as a motif to explain this theme
The marriage of Adam and Eve in the garden
The two shall become one flesh
31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. - Ephesians 5:31-32
The theme of marriage is all throughout Scripture
Exodus 19 God marries Israel to Himself
The verses above speaking of marriage to Christ
Later in John 14 Jesus will speak of going to the Father to prepare a place for us
Preparation for Marriage
So why this first sign?
Jesus is our future bridegroom Who is preparing His bride for the wedding to come
Jesus is preparing us for the marriage ceremony (Revelation 19:7-9)
How does God do this? How does he make us ready for this marriage ceremony?
He is cleansing us to present us pure and spotless
The Hour
1 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.” - John2:1-5
Hour had not come
Speaks to the cross, not miracles
Ultimately the glorification of Jesus is seen in His death on the cross, resurrection from the dead, and ascension to the Father
Jesus’ ministry before the cross was all in preparation for His glorification
individual elements in that ministry anticipated the glorification of Jesus on the cross
This first sign is an individual element in this preparation
There is another layer to this
The prophets of the OT would often characterize the messianic age as a time when the wine would flow greatly (Jeremiah 31:12; Hosea 14:7; Amos 9:13–14)
In Scripture, Jesus alone is emphatically identified as the messianic bridegroom
At a Jewish wedding, it was the groom’s responsibility to provide the wine
In the future, after His glorification, as the Messianic bridegroom, He will supply all the ‘wine’ that is needed for the messianic banquet, but his hour has not yet come.
The Sign
As this story unfolds, He graciously makes good the deficiencies of the unknown bridegroom of John 2, in anticipation of the perfect way he himself will fill the role of the messianic bridegroom.
Purification
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. - John 2:6-8
Six stone water jars for Jewish rites of purification
Jewish rites of purification
Jewish rites of purification were ceremonial washings prescribed by the Law and tradition to make a person or object ritually clean before worship, meals, or sacred events
One of the cleansing rituals that would take place would be the bride’s bath before the ceremony
To prepare to become ritually cleansed before a wedding the bride would take a ritual bath called a mikvah
The bride would completely immerse herself under that water
This symbolized spiritual and physical purification, washing away ritual impurity and preparing oneself to enter into a holy covenant
The act was not just about outward cleanliness, but about being set apart, ready to enter into a new, sacred relationship.
For the bride, this act represented: “I am leaving my old life behind and preparing myself to become one with my bridegroom.”
These stone jars of water for ritual purification during the week long wedding celebration
These would have been symbols of an outward cleanse
The law required a cleansing and purification on the outside
When Jesus turns the water into wine, He is saying I am doing something greater than what the Law requires
The water represents the old order of Jewish law and custom, which Jesus was to replace with something better
He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. - Hebrews 9:12
For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. - Matthew 26:28
18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. - Isaiah 1:18
Jesus instructed the servants to fill the jars completely full, to the brim
Colossians 2:9-10 speaks of the fullness of deity being filled in Jesus in bodily form
Paul then tells us we have been filled in Christ
Sign
When He turned that water into wine, He revealed that:
External rituals could no longer bring true purity and only His blood, symbolized by the wine, could purify the heart.
Justification and Sanctification
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. - Ephesians 5:25-27
The Jewish bride immersing in a mikveh before her wedding:
She had already been chosen and betrothed
The cleansing was her preparation for the wedding day
In the same way:
Christ’s blood secures our betrothal, our covenant relationship
The washing of water with the Word prepares us for the marriage feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7–9)
What Christ has done through His blood is sufficient and complete
This is your justification
Now God is working through His Holy Spirit to sanctify you, make you holy, through His Word
This is your sanctification
Living out His Word, doing what He instructs us in the Bible
2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. - 2 Corinthians 11:2-3
Paul is the Father of the Bride in a sense.
He planted this church and he has presented this church which in Scripture is called bride, to her husband, Christ.
Now we know that we are cleansed by the blood of Christ and nothing can take that away as long as we have faith in Christ. but he wants them to remain having a pure devotion to Christ.
Our job now is to cling to Christ; to remain fully devoted, in covenant relationship with Jesus.
What in your life do you need to rid yourself of to remain purely devoted to Christ?
What in your life do you need to repent of and come back to remain fully and purely devoted to Christ?
What are you not doing, that according to His Word that washes us, you should be doing?
How are you preparing yourself to meet Christ as Christ prepares a place for you?