The First Sign: John 2:1-11

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

A wedding. Celebration, feasting, community gathered. Jesus' mother was there—perhaps a relative or close friend of the family. Jesus and his new disciples were also invited.

When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, They have no more wine.

Wine was gone. In a culture where hospitality was sacred, running out of wine at a wedding was a devastating social failure. The family would be shamed. Mary noticed and told Jesus.

Woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied. My hour has not yet come.

Woman—not disrespectful in that culture, but formal. Why do you involve me? Jesus sensed his mother's expectation. My hour has not yet come. The phrase would recur throughout John—Jesus lived according to a divine timetable.

His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you.

Mary's response was not argument but instruction to the servants. Whatever he tells you, do it. She expected him to act, despite his apparent reluctance.

Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

Six massive stone jars. For ritual purification—washing hands, feet, vessels before meals. Each held twenty to thirty gallons. Combined: 120 to 180 gallons of water.

Jesus said to the servants, Fill the jars with water; so they filled them to the brim.

Fill them. The servants obeyed, hauling water until all six jars were full to the brim. No room for additives. Pure water.

Then he told them, Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. They did so.

Draw some out. Take it to the master of the banquet. The servants obeyed again, trusting Jesus—or perhaps just curious. They carried water jars to the one in charge of tasting and approving the wine.

And the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.

Water had become wine. Somewhere between the jars and the master's lips, transformation occurred. The master tasted and did not know the source—only the servants knew.

He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.

The master was puzzled. Everyone serves best wine first, cheap wine later—when palates are dulled. But this wine was exceptional. You saved the best till now.

The bridegroom received credit he did not deserve. Only the servants knew the source.

What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

The first sign—sēmeion, a miracle that signifies something deeper. Not just power but revelation. Jesus revealed his glory—the glory John mentioned in the prologue, the glory of the Word made flesh.

And his disciples believed in him. The sign accomplished its purpose. Faith deepened. The disciples saw and believed.

Why water to wine as the first miracle? The transformation was extravagant—120 gallons of the best wine. The abundance was excessive. The joy was rescued and multiplied.

Jesus was revealing the nature of his mission: transformation, abundance, celebration. The one who changed water to wine would change sinners to saints, death to life, mourning to dancing.

The best was saved for last. The bridegroom did not know it, but the Kingdom had arrived at his wedding.