1On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” 5His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. 7Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him.9When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, 10and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine;but you have kept the good wine until now.” 11This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. 12After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.
Interesting Words
gallons
metrétés – a “liquid measure containing nearly nine gallons”; ” ‘a measure’ about 39.39 litres or 8¾ gallons”, about 3 baths of water. Total volume equal to 6 x 8.75 gal = 52.5 gal (minimum), may have been as much as 120 to 180 gal (maximum). Standard mesure for measuring oil and wine (2Ch 2:10; Ezr 7:22; Isa 5:10; Eze 45:14).
headwaiter
architriklinos – superintendent of a banquet, master of ceremonies at a dinner, master of the feast. The superintendent of a dining-room, toast-master.
become
ginomai – come into being, am born, become, come about, happen, properly, to emerge, become, transitioning from one point (realm, condition) to another – Gal 4:4, Heb 11:3; John 1:3;
beginning
arché – beginning, origin, properly, from the beginning (temporal sense), i.e. “the initial (starting) point”. – Mark 1:1,21-22; Luke 1:1-3; John 1:1-5
manifested
phaneroó – (from phṓs, “light”) – properly, illumine, make visible, manifest (figuratively) make plain, in open view; to become apparent (“graspable”) – Mark 4:22; Eph 5:13; John 14:21; 2Cor 4:10-11;
Cross References
• Luke 2:51-52;
• Luke 4:14-15;
• John 1:9-11, 12-13;
• John 1:31;
• Joel 2:23, 24-25;
Discussion Questions
- What do the first two verses tell you about this situation?
• This all took place just 3 days after Jesus chose His disciples.
• They were all a part of the community.
• They were all invited to the wedding feast.
• They were not adverse to attending the wedding and the feast that followed. - Why did Mary come to her son and tell Him that they had no wine?
• She knew He was able to solve the problem.
• She could at least remember what she said at conception and was said of her son by others, since she was treasuring all of it in her heart:
> Luke 2:17-19 — When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
> Luke 2:51 — And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
• It is possible that she was anticipating the beginning of His ministry.
• Possibly, she considered Him to be the man of the family and wanted to fill Him in. - Why was Jesus so careful about when His ministry actually started, in verse 4?
• Timing is very important when you are serious about following another’s subtle leading.
• Prophecy predicted how it was to happen. He may have been waiting for the right timing from that perspective.
• He may have been deferring to the leading of the Holy Spirit that was living inside Him.
• He may have been giving us an example of how we are to function, walking in the Spirit.
• He may have been waiting , refusing to be pushed by mom or His brothers… Luke 4:14-15… it is not their decision when to start. - What other key elements can you glean from the wedding story?
• The Jewish rituals had a number of artifacts and objects the could be looked at as cold and hard elements, no life.
• To his was no small miracle, where there was a simple miss calculation of wine inventory. It was a large volume of new wine (50+ gallons)
• Jesus humbly did a miracle of creation. No big deal. No arrogant display.
• He still worked in mystery not openly displaying His power, requiring faith from those who followed Him.
• He used the incident to show Himself and His power to His disciples who in turn believed in Him - How would you paraphrase the headwaiter’s speech?
• The was truly a miracle, not some half-hearted fermenting of some old stale water.
• It appears to have happened instantaneously. It had to be quick, to fit the timeline of a single day or at the most a few days (for a week-long wedding party). The celebration was fully underway, if not near completion.
• This was high quality wine as deemed by a professional in the service industry of the time. - What other feasts does this passage bring to mind?
• The wedding party of the lamb
• It will be a week-long celebration (possibly seven years during the tribulation period)
• It will be a great celebration showing God’s glorious work in bring humanity into a right relation to God.
• It will be a holy time in complete honoring of God’s work. - Describe the scene that is highlighted in verses 11 and 12?
• This was the beginning of Jesus ministry
> Mark 1:1 – The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
• The start of His miracles
• Start of the process of showing Himself and His character to the disciples and eventually to a wider audience.
• This started Him expression of the glory of God. The display of His glorious power.
• This was also the initial signs given to Israel declaring Himself to be the Messiah. Signs the leadership failed to understand or recognize.
• This was the start of the display of his glory that would be transmitted first by word of mouth then by the written word and finally by those of us who follow Him and testify of His glorious power that transformed or personal lives and our world.