The act of changing water into wine is one of the most well-known displays of the Lord’s power. This is the first of Jesus’ miracles. Through this miracle, Jesus “revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him” (John 2:11). This grand display of power serves as a call to faith.
Have you wondered why this was Jesus’ first miracle? After all, one might have expected that Jesus would do something as dramatic and profound as the first display of messianic might.
One might assume that Jesus would raise someone to life or drive out a demon. Such a display of power would show Jesus to be the person who has mastery over all life and death.
Jesus, of course, does perform these miracles, but not as his very first display of power. What does Jesus do? He makes 180 gallons of wine!
At first glance, this miracle seems out of place. The miracles of Jesus normally tackle a physical or spiritual problem. The wedding of Cana, however, is a celebration. Yes, the wedding hosts have run out of wine, yet this doesn’t constitute a physical or spiritual crisis.
So why did Jesus perform this miracle? Was he just being obedient to his mother Mary? Is there more going on?
As noted, the end result of the miracle is that the disciples place their faith in Jesus. Reading about this miracle, therefore, is to lead us into deeper faith. In order for that to occur, there are three important things we must know.
1. The Messianic Age
To make sense of this miracle we need to recognize the messianic expectations playing in the background. Scripture is clear that everyone expected the Messiah’s arrival. Throughout the nation, there was an intense longing for the Messiah to be revealed.
So great was this longing, in fact, that people even wondered if John the Baptist might be the Messiah (Luke 3:15).
In Jewish thought, the Messiah was to inaugurate what was known as the Messianic Age. Importantly, the beginning of the Messianic Age was to occur through the pouring out of fine wine. This expectation is frequently voiced throughout the prophets.
Amos, for example, speaks to the final restoration of Israel as a day when “new wine will drip from the mountains and flow from the hills” (Amos 9:13). Similarly, the prophet Joel picks up the very same image.
He proclaims “Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, dwells in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her. In that day, mountains will drip with new wine and hills will flow with milk” (Joel 3:17-18).
Just as the Promised land was imaged as “flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8), the abundant flowing of fine wine became a well-known picture of the Messianic time. New wine spoke of God’s rich blessings poured out over Israel.
Due to the heightened expectation of the Messiah’s coming, it would be hard to miss the significance of this miracle. Not only does Jesus make an over-abundance of wine, but Jesus also changes water into fine wine.
The steward of the wedding notes “you have saved the best till now” (John 2:10). At the wedding of Cana, an abundance of new wine is poured out upon the people. This miracle, therefore, speaks to the dawning of the Messianic Age.
2. The Messianic Banquet
The miracle’s link with Jewish messianic expectation continues. The inauguration of the Messianic Age, seen through the pouring out of abundant wine, was to take place during “the Messianic Banquet.” This banquet was often described as a marriage feast.
In the Messiah, God would return to God’s own people in an act of divine marriage. Isaiah speaks most succinctly about this. He prophesies, “As a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you; as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride so will your God rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:5).
The Messianic Banquet revealed God as a heavenly bridegroom. In fact, the Book of Revelation picks up this very image when it speaks of the marriage supper of the lamb (Revelation 19:7). God would return to wed the people of Israel.
Changing the water into wine, in the context of a wedding celebration, therefore, points to Jesus’ true identity. Jesus is the Messiah, or in other words, the divine bridegroom. In Jewish wedding tradition, it is the bridegroom who is the host of the feast.
The bridegroom is the one to supply the food and wine for the guests. This is why, at Cana, the steward of the wedding goes to the bridegroom and praises him for the quality of the wine.
Of course, as the disciples of Jesus are aware, it is actually Jesus who supplies the wine! This points to Jesus as the true host of the banquet: the divine bridegroom.
This miracle, therefore, is not simply a feat done to further the wedding celebration. Jesus does not change water into wine to save the host from embarrassment, or to maintain social conventions. This miracle points to his fundamental identity and mission.
3. Pointing to the Cross
Does all this mean that the wedding at Cana is the Messianic banquet, the inauguration of the new age? No! Although this miracle proclaims Jesus as the heavenly bridegroom, the one to inaugurate the Messianic Banquet, the wedding of Cana is only a foretaste of it.
Jesus’ words to Marry are important. When Mary comes to inform Jesus of the lack of wine, he rejects the inference that the time had come to reveal himself. Jesus responds, “Dear woman, what is that to you and me. My time has not yet come” (John 2:4).
Of course, as a faithful Jewish person, Jesus is obedient to his mother. Per her unstated request, Jesus performs this miracle. Even so, Jesus is fundamentally clear that the wedding of Cana does not serve to inaugurate the Messianic Age. That time had not yet come.
Jesus frequently refers to “my time” in response to suggestions that he should display his power. For example, when some suggest that Jesus “show[s] himself to the world” (John 7:4), Jesus says, again, “My time is not yet here” (7:5).
The Messianic Age is not inaugurated through miracles or acts of healing, it is revealed only in light of the cross. Thus, throughout his ministry, Jesus points to the cross as the place where his messianic identity is fully revealed. The Messianic Age begins with the Lord’s passion.
Furthermore, there is a Messianic Banquet that takes place, but it is not a marriage feast, it’s the Last Supper. It is only at the beginning of this final meal with the disciples that Scripture notes that “the time had come” (John 13:1).
Here, like at the wedding at Cana, wine is a central image. Jesus takes a cup of wine, blesses it, and gives it to the disciples saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20).
In the true Messianic Banquet, the rich wine poured out on all people is the wine of Christ’s blood. Jesus is not the bridegroom who sits at the head table and enjoys the lavish delights of the feast, he is the bridegroom who sacrifices himself for his bride. His love is displayed in his death on the cross.
Why Does This Matter?
We can now understand why this is the first of Christ’s miracles. This miracle points to the fulfillment of messianic expectations. The Messiah had come. He would soon inaugurate the banquet by which blessing and new life would be poured out over the people.
Ultimately, the wedding at Cana isn’t about the wine at all; it is about who Jesus is. In changing water into wine, Jesus showed himself to be the divine bridegroom come to redeem and save. In doing so, he highlights the cross as the true place where new life is found.
For further reading:
Why Did Jesus Turn Water into Wine?
Why Did Jesus Want His Miracles to Stay Secret?
Why Was Jesus’ Ministry So Short?
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