Jesus
Changes Water into Wine John 2:1-11
Background
to the Story:
Turning the water into wine was the
first miracle that Jesus did, John tells us in v.11 that it was done to reveal
the glory of Jesus. John calls miracles signs, because like signs Jesus’
actions point towards something – his glory. Throughout the Gospel of John
Jesus’ glory is revealed bit by bit till we have a complete picture of his glory.
Weddings at the time of Jesus were
grand affairs often lasting a week or more. It was the bridegroom’s
responsibility to fund the feast, so it would reflect on him if the wine ran out.
To run short of food or wine would be seen by the guests as inhospitable and
rude. So when the wine did run out the groom was facing social rejection and
ridicule. The best day of his life was about to become the worst.
Jesus helps
out:
The groom was in great need and a
desperate situation; Jesus steps in and saves him from inevitable social
disgrace. Jesus is compassionate, he cares about the big
and small things in life. He wants us to invite him to be involved and to
expect him to be involved in our struggles. We should aim to follow Mary’s
example and ask Jesus for help as a natural reaction to our needs and do so
with expectation & faith.
In this story Jesus performs a
miracle. This is stating the obvious but sometimes we forget that Jesus does
the extraordinary. By his miracles Jesus reveals that he has the power of God
and begins to reveal his identity. Jesus is not only compassionate but has the
power to do something about our needs.
It’s easy for our understanding of
the character of Jesus to get a bit wonky. What we read and hear about him
looses clarity in our minds and the mental image we have of Jesus isn’t what he
is really like. We need to thoughtfully measure up what we hear and read about
Jesus so we can identify where our understanding of the nature of Jesus isn’t
quite right.
The Jars:
The jars were used for the
ceremonial washing of hands before eating. They represented part of the
requirements of the law, which Jews of the time lived by. For Jesus to use
these to hold wine for a wedding feast was a strong statement. It could easily
have caused offence and certainly caused inconvenience when people came to wash
their hands before eating. Jesus was effectively saying you don’t need the law
anymore, you need me.
The law was based around us having
to live by certain rules and standards in order to be close to God. However,
despite our best efforts we always fail and can’t fulfil the requirements of
the law. So Jesus came and fulfilled the requirements of the law and removed
the need for us to live by the law. Through his death, Jesus took the
punishment for our wrongs, clearing the way for us to be right with God.
This is the grace that Jesus offers;
completely undeserved. By grace we don’t get what we do deserve and do get what
we don’t deserve. Grace is tricky for us to grasp because it doesn’t exist much
in our society. We need to be students of grace seeking to understand it better
and learning how to live in grace.
Quality and
Quantity:
John highlights two details about
the wine which represent characteristics of the grace that Jesus offers. The
jars used held ~25 gallons (~100 litres) of water/wine each, there were six of
them so that equates to ~800 bottles of regular wine. There was an excessive
amount of wine, likewise the grace of Jesus is more
than sufficient for us.
Also the Banquet Master commented
that the wine was the best he had tasted at the feast. Just as the wine Jesus
provided was better than the wine previously served, so the grace of Jesus
sustains a better quality of relationship with God than the law could do.
By grace we can have a relationship
with God never possible under law. Understanding the contrast between living by
the law and living by grace can feel a bit hard as we aren’t familiar with the
law as experienced by those at the wedding. However unwittingly we can find
ourselves living under law without even realising it.
Every time we are convinced that we
just aren’t trying hard enough in our relationship with God and feel that if we
made more effort it would make a difference, we live by law not grace. Every
time we believe that our efforts matter more than God’s efforts, we live by law
and not grace. Every time we despair at our struggle with sin and how we
constantly we get it wrong, we ignore God’s grace and opt to live by the law.
Living by grace enables us to have
life and live it to the full (John 10:10b).
Summary:
The glory of Jesus revealed here to
us in this passage is the glory of his grace. This first miracle of Jesus
marked the beginning of a being in relationship with God by grace and not the
law. Our challenge is to embrace grace, live in it and be the people God made us
to be through it.
