John 2:1 Water into Wine - For The Glory of Jesus

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Water into Wine

Jesus and His mother were attending a wedding in Cana where Jesus turned the water into wine. This was the first miracle of Jesus.

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John 2:1-12

1. “‘The third day’ means three days after the call of Nathanael.” (Wiersbe, Warren W, The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume 1 Matthew-Galatians. [Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2004], 290)

See Philip and Nathanael

Jesus “accepted invitations to social events, even though His enemies used this practice to accuse Him (Luke 15:1-2). Our Lord entered into the normal experiences of life and sanctified them by His presence. Wise is that couple who invite Jesus to their wedding!” (Wiersbe, 290)

2. “He was accompanied by His mother and His six disciples.” (Wiersbe, 290)

“The context of the story is a wedding celebration in which Jesus’ mother obviously was involved in seeing that the supplies for the festivities were available. Such celebration had been known to last as much as a week or two (Tob 8:19; 11:18). Presents were given, and those in charge were expected to supply plenty of food and wine. To fail in the supplies was a major embarrassment for the married parties and their families. The anxiety of Jesus’ mother is thus quite understandable. The failure of the wine here set the stage for Jesus’ action.” (Borchert, Gerald L., The New American Commentary Volume 25A, John 1-11. [Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002], 154)

“It says that ‘the mother of Jesus’ was there. She is never called Mary in the Gospel of John.” (McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible: Volume IV: [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983], 378)

No Wine

3. Wine. “The wine served was subject to fermentation. In the ancient world, however, to quench thirst without inducing drunkenness, wine was diluted with water to between one-third and one-tenth of its strength.” (MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Bible Commentary. [Nashville, Thomas Nelson Inc., 2005], 1353)

“Christ’s first miracle was turning water into wine. (McGee, 378)

“Mary did not tell Jesus what to do; she simply reported the problem.” (Wiersbe, 290)

4. “Jesus’ reply seems a bit abrupt, and even harsh, but such is not the case. ‘Woman’ was a polite way to address her (John 19:26; 20:13), and His statement merely means, ‘Why are you getting Me involved in this matter?’ He was making it clear to His mother that He was no longer under her supervision (it is likely that Joseph was dead), but that from now on, He would be doing what the Father wanted Him to do.” (Wiersbe, 290)

“John introduced one of the key elements of his record, the idea of ‘the hour.’ Jesus lived on a ‘heavenly timetable,’ marked out for Him by the Father.” (Wiersbe, 290)

“In this Gospel the ultimate focus of ‘the hour’ is on the glorification of Jesus—his death and resurrection (John 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; 17:1; cf. also the use of karos, ‘time,’ in 7:6-8).” (Borchert, 155)

5. Mary “told the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you!’ The point of the story here is that the person in charge is no longer Jesus’ mother. Indeed, readers should notice that his mother completely fades out of the story from this point on. She has served the evangelist’s [John] moving the focus to Jesus. The point of the story is not to focus on the mother.” (Borchert, 156)

Water into Wine

6. “Our attention is now drawn to these six water pots. They were used in ceremonial cleansing. Because this was a poor family, the pots were evidently beaten and battered, and probably had been pushed in the back somewhere. (McGee, 379)

7. “He tells them the exact procedure to follow and they filled them to the brim.” (McGee, 379)

8. Jesus told the servants to draw some of the water out and take it to the master of the feast. [NJKV]

9. The master of the feast. [NJKV] did not know what had happened but the servants did. He called the bridegroom.

10. “The quality of this new wine was so superior that the man in charge of the banquet highly praised it, and, of course, the groom’s family basked in the glory of the compliments.” (Wiersbe, 291)

“Jesus uses us as water pots today. We’re just beaten and battered water pots…He wants to use us. He wants to fill us with water. What is the water? The water is the Word of God.” (McGee, 379)

Signs

11. Signs. John used the word sign here to refer to significant displays of power that pointed beyond themselves to the deeper divine realities that could be perceived by the eyes of faith. (MacArthur, 1353)

“What is a sign? Something that points beyond itself to something greater. It was not enough for people to believe in Jesus’ works; they had to believe in Him and in the Father who sent Him (John 5:14-24).” (Wiersbe, 291)

Do you believe in Jesus and His Father?

“A man given to drink once said to me, ‘After all, Jesus turned water into wine!’ My reply was, ‘if you use Jesus as your example for drinking, why don’t you follow His example in everything else? (Wiersbe, 292)

12. After this. John placed this verse as a transition to explain Jesus’ movement from Cana in Galilee to Capernaum and eventual arrival at Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. Capernaum was on the northwestern shore of Galilee about sixteen miles northeast of Cana.” (MacArthur, 1353)

References

In this article Scripture quotations taken from KJV.

Borchert, Gerald L., The New American Commentary Volume 25A, John 1-11. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002
Max Anders and Kenneth O. Gangel (2012). HNTC Vol. 04: John. B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com
McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible: Volume IV: Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983
MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Bible Commentary. Nashville, Thomas Nelson Inc., 2005
Wiersbe, Warren W, The Bible Exposition Commentary New Testament Volume 1 Matthew-Galatians. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2004

Nathanael Cleansing the Temple

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