The Wedding

Jesus and His mother Mary were guests at a wedding, which was being held at Cana in Galilee. This was three days after Jesus had been baptised by John in the Jordan, and the Holy Spirit had descended upon Him as a dove, and rested on Him (John 1:32). The following day Jesus began to seek out His disciples, who were to be with Him for the next three years. They were all invited to the wedding.

Mary said to her son, “I think there might be a problem. They’ve run out of wine” (John 2:1).

“My time has not yet come,” Jesus replied. But the time was near, when He would reveal Himself as who He truly was (John 2:11). Unperturbed, Mary said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

Jesus ordered that six stone water jars be filled with water. They each held about twenty-five gallons. The master of the banquet tasted the water and found it had become the finest wine, much superior to any other he had tasted. He called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine ... but you have saved the best till now” (John 2:10).

The disciples were witnesses to this miracle, and no doubt realised that there was something very special about the man who had called them. For some reason they had been drawn to Him the moment they first met Him, but now they knew why. Nathaniel had had an insight the day before, when he declared to Jesus, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel” (John 1:48). And now Jesus had taken something ordinary and transformed it into something extraordinary.

Was this a sign that He was about to dramatically change people’s lives and their perception of God - taking that which was mundane and transforming it into the finest wine? Could this be a symbol of the Holy Spirit, filling empty lives by the power of God? ‘This, the first of His miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples put their faith in Him’ (John 2:11).

Have we seen His glory? Do we believe He is who He said He was? We must, because He is the essence of life itself. Ever since the day when God said, “Let there be ...” and mankind was created.

He is the beginning and the end. The first and the last. Without Him we are as dust, which is blown away by the wind. From dust we were created, and to dust we shall return. But like the new wine in stone jars, we can be transformed from the mundane to be holy and pure. This is by the Holy Spirit, living in us.