John 2:1–11

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

¹On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ²Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. ³When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." ⁴And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come." ⁵His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." ⁶Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast." So they took it. ⁹When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom ¹⁰and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now." ¹¹This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

At weddings, wine is more than just a festive beverage. It's a sign. In the Old Testament, wine was a sign, a symbol, of God's grace—of joy and abundant blessings and even hope for the future. And at weddings, it's that for us too. Wine is a sign, a symbol, that God has blessed this couple and this family with good things. Wine is an invitation to make merry—with appropriate moderation, of course. Wine is even a sign, a symbol, of the couple's joyous future life together; to make wine takes time, loving care, patience, and the payoff is down the line, something to enjoy to the fullest a little later.

In our text this morning, Jesus goes to a wedding, and you know what happens. Wine, that wonderful sign of God's blessing, runs out. Jesus is going to take care of that. But in doing so, he's going to give more than wine:

At the Wedding at Cana, Jesus Gives Us Signs of Things to Come.

First of all, filling the six stone jars was a sign that the old covenant was coming to fulfillment in the new. The famous wedding at Kephar Kenna—Cana, we usually say—was one that wasn't well-planned for whatever reason (vv 1–3). Relatives had come from all over the region to celebrate with a couple whose names we don't even know. Jesus and his disciples were invited there too along with his mother. Apparently, he was part of the family or a close friend.

And we know this wedding has problems. It wasn't long into the celebration when the wine ran out and Mary alerts her Son, Jesus, by saying, "They have no wine." Major crisis! Wine, the sign of joy and God's blessing has run out.

However, nearby were six stone jars, usually holding water for ceremonial washing before offering of sacrifices and prayers (v 6). The Apostle John is very clear to point out that these were there for the Jewish rites of purification. Water was used for these rites, much as water is used in Baptism as a sign that we have been cleansed and purified of our sin.

The Gospel of John points out clearly that Jesus often used symbols in his ministry, teachings, and miracles as signs of deeper meanings. Those stone jars are just such a symbol, a sign of the old covenant between God and his people Israel. They are a sign of the washing away of sin and the drowning of our old sinful Adam in Holy Baptism. They are a sign of the death of Jesus for us to take away our sin.

Now they stand empty, declaring just how empty the old covenant would be without a Messiah! Not only are they empty, but there are six of them. Six, one less than seven, the number of perfection. Again, there is meaning in this showing that the washings of the Old Covenant are not complete, but only the washing of the New Covenant in the blood of Jesus truly wash away our sins.

Now the dilemma. What to do in this situation. The wine has run out. Mary tells the servants to do whatever Jesus says, and he gives the commands (vv 7–8). He tells the servants to fill those six jars with water. They readily obey his order. They fill the jars, not just full, but to the very brim. Water sloshing over the rim and down the sides of the jars.

Then the second command, draw some water out and take it to the master of the feast. Hastily they ran to obey Jesus' command. But when the master tasted the water, it was no longer water; it was the best wine he had ever tasted in his life. He was shocked, and not knowing from whence the wine had come, he called the bridegroom and expressed his amazement. "Friend, you have done an amazing thing. Usually a bridegroom serves the best wine first, then when everyone has had their fill, the lower quality wine. But you, my friend, have saved the best wine until last!" Of course the bridegroom too was shocked and confused because he didn't know where this wine had come from either.

But the point of this miracle is this: What was once used for ritual washing is now turned into the new wine of the Kingdom. The Old Covenant with its ritual washings was now coming to an end, and a New Covenant was taking its place, a New Covenant where the washing was no longer a symbol of something greater to come, but was now the greater washing; the true washing that washes away the sins of the world. The washing of the blood of the Lamb of God. The washing of Holy Baptism where you entered into the New Covenant with God.

Here we have the old faith coming to an end and the new faith being birthed—all in Jesus! The covenant always intended to run its course now has been replaced with new life in Christ. A New Covenant has been made, and it is made in Christ Jesus, our Lord. God's perfect Law, that light to guide our path, now had begun to be fulfilled by the "light of the world," Jesus Christ! He will lead his people into eternity. We now live under the new covenant of forgiveness of all sins; God's grace gives us everlasting life apart from any keeping of the Law.

Quite a sign Jesus gives with those six simple stone jars: the old covenant coming to fulfillment in the new! Now in the miracle itself: Changing water into wine was also a sign. It was a sign that the coming Messiah was here. He had arrived and he was Jesus, Mary's son. The servants take a sample from the water jars to the master of the feast (vv 9–10). The master of the banquet sees the new wine, tastes it, and finds it better than what they had before. (No small wonder here, is it?) One hundred twenty to one hundred eighty gallons of the "good stuff"! So the feast can now continue without embarrassment. The servants are the only ones who knew exactly what happened.

As with all of Jesus' miracles, though, there was something bigger going on here than just wine. Jesus takes a bad situation and makes it a "decisive (kairos) moment" for his disciples (v 11). The Greek word used here means an appointed time, a decisive moment in history. This first miracle, Jesus' first "sign," John calls it, and he manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him. This is the decisive moment God has appointed. The Messiah the world had been waiting for is here! Even at this early moment in Jesus' ministry, we see the One to come revealed in the sign of wine. This is the moment their eyes were opened and they saw Jesus for who he really was.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Every time we come to the Lord's Table, he comes personally to us under the sign of bread and wine, forgiving our sins and assuring us of eternal life in heaven. Every time we receive His body and blood in the Sacrament, our eyes are opened and we see Jesus, forgiveness is poured out, and our faith is strengthened.

Jesus' words to Mary were yet another sign of his time to come. Recall how Jesus first answered his mother (v 4)? The Greek here is quite simple: "What to me and to you?" meaning, "What do I have to do with this?" And then he says, "My hour has not yet come." It sounds like a put-off. Actually, it's not impolite at all, and it's not a put-off. Jesus knew he couldn't, wouldn't, put off when his hour would come. Jesus' words to Mary were a sign of the time, the hour, for which he'd come into the world. It was a time appointed by God; a decisive moment in history when that would happen at just the precise moment in time that God had appointed.

Jesus knew the cross loomed ahead of him. That would be his hour, his time. This would be the hour, the time, when he would redeem the whole world from sin. The Old Covenant had passed away, and now the New had begun.

And finally there is one more sign we dare not miss. The wedding itself. Jesus chose to perform his first miracle at a wedding. This too is a sign that Jesus came to give life. It validates God's institution of marriage and procreation as the place where life is created. This validates family and fatherhood and motherhood. As the wine is a symbol of God's blessing on this couple, by doing his first miracle at a wedding, God is blessing all married couples and the children that come from their marriage.

Today has been designated as Life Sunday. An appropriately designated Sunday to celebrate God's creation of life, of marriage, and of childhood just prior to the anniversary this coming Friday of Roe vs. Wade. This miracle at a wedding shows that Jesus stands in favor of motherhood and the giving of life. He is the defender of the weak and helpless, the baby still in the womb.

This is what this miracle is all about—your life, your marriage, your joy and abundant blessings, your future hope. Every good gift is ours because Jesus' death on the cross has reconciled us to the Father, brought us back together with the Giver.

Water into wine at the wedding at Cana is more than a party saved. It's a sign of the time, the hour, Jesus would save all of us—save us from our old sinful lives, save us for new lives of love and marriage and caring and serving, save us for life eternal . . . and the feast where the wine never runs out. Amen.