Jesus Changes Water Into Wine

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

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

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

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

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

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

They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. 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."

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.

After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.   John 2:1-12 NIV


There is so much I wish I knew as I try to imagine myself attending the wedding at Cana, perhaps as one of Jesus's unnamed disciples.  

I  have studied commentaries; my favorite being Frederick Dale Bruners'

The Gospel of John. Each of these 12 verses are carefully analyzed by  the author, as well as many others he references. Seventeen fine print pages are devoted to the 'Wedding at Cana".

I found out that Cana was between five and eight miles from Nazareth and that Mary, Jesus, and perhaps a couple of the disciples would have known the family members in Cana, which is why they were all invited.  

I wish I knew how it felt to be in that group and hear their conversations as they walked to the celebration.  

 I wonder how many people were there, how long it was before the wine ran out and how Mary learned of the problem. I wish I could have heard Mary's tone of voice as she told Jesus of it, and especially his as he responded to her.  It appears to me that she trusted him enough to tell the servants to follow Jesus' instructions.

There is no indication in these verses that the master of the banquet or the bridegroom knew anything about how the best wine came about, but I can't imagine that they didn't eventually learn who and how it did.  But the disciples knew and at this first sign where Jesus reveals his glorious power, they became, not only followers, but also believers in him.

I checked on the distance between Cana and Capernaum as Jesus, His mother, brothers and disciples left Cana and went down to there.  Cana is in the inland hills of Galilee and Capernaum is a sea port on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, 20-25 miles away.  

Darrell W. Johnson, A professor at Regents College, shared something encouraging in one of his books from a teaching he did on The Wedding at Cana. 

The stone jars were empty until filled with water, but, with no other ingredients, were changed into wine by Jesus' power. If God calls us to a new work, He will provide the ingredients to enable us to be and do the work as we Follow Jesus.


by Carolyn Schmitt