Turning Water Into Wine: Excerpt from the book, "That You May Believe"

The book looks at each of the miracles of Jesus in three sections:

1) Detailed highlights of each miracle to give the twenty-first century reader better understanding the miracle

2) Insights into why John chose each miracle in light of his purpose statement

3) How each miracle impacts our lives today.

This excerpt from the first miracle of Jesus gives you highlights of the miracle

Setting the Scene

     The first sign (miracle) which Jesus performed was also the first sign that John documented in chapter two. In verses 1-11, he records the story of Jesus turning the water into wine at the wedding He attended in Cana. This miracle had a subtlety to it because Jesus intended for only a few people to witness it. The miracle was not a public sign, nor was it a private sign done in a secret place. It was intended for a specific audience with a specific purpose in mind. This selected group was His mother, His disciples, and the servants who filled the waterpots. Certainly, others became aware of the miracle after it happened, but they were not witnesses to the actual event. (Aside: can you imagine the reaction of the bridegroom when he was told about this new batch of wine?)

     A Jewish wedding during the time of Jesus was an elaborate affair which lasted over several days. There was lots of feasting with many attendees coming and going. This meant a lot of wine was consumed. This is not to imply that these wedding celebrations were drunken affairs but it does imply that a lot of people were invited to this wedding. It is likely that Jesus and His disciples did not arrive at the wedding on the first day of the celebration, because by the time they arrived the wine had run out.

     When reading the text, it seems strange that Mary specifically tells Jesus, “They have no wine” (vs. 3). She states this with the implied expectation that Jesus can fix the problem. Even though the text does not tell us, it appeared that Mary recognized that Jesus’s time to make Himself known to the public was near, if not now. Don’t forget what Mary had experienced with her son for the past thirty years. She had a clear sense His time had come to reveal Himself to the world. This recognition of her son’s imminent public disclosure was so clear to her, she was not deterred by Jesus’s response, but simply told the servants, “Whatever He tells you, do it” (vs. 5).

The Vessels Used for the Miracle

     The vessels that were used for holding the water, which was turned into wine, were described by John with some detail. John tells us the type of vessels they were, the number of vessels, and the size of the vessels. The vessels were waterpots and they were large enough to hold two or three measures of water. The sidenote of your Bible probably tells you a measure (Gr: metrétés) is equivalent to 39.39 liters or 8.75 gallons. Therefore, John is saying each waterpot holds between 17.5 and 25.25 gallons of water. John allows us to do the math and figure out that the six waterpots could potentially hold between 105 and 151.5 gallons of water. The point being made by John is that the waterpots could hold a lot of water.

     There is one other point to note on the size and number of the waterpots. John tells us that Jesus commanded the servants to fill all of the waterpots and they “…filled them up to the brim” (vs. 7). In other words, Jesus turned between 105 and 151.5 gallons of water into wine. This gives us a sense of the magnitude of the miracle Jesus performed. To put some perspective on this, wine, today, is bottled and the typical volume of a wine bottle is 750ml. If we convert this to the volume of water Jesus turned into wine, it would be equivalent to between 530 and 764 bottles of wine.

     John gives us two other important details about the waterpots. The waterpots were made of stone and their purpose was, “…for the Jewish custom of purification” (vs. 6). These two details are tied together because stone was considered the best material to use for waterpots to avoid defiling the water in the pots. In other words, wood or clay pots would be subject to contamination because wood and clay are more porous. This is relevant to the purpose of the waterpots:  for purification. John specifically describes the custom as being Jewish and not Levitical. In other words, this practice was developed by the Jews and was not a practice described in the books of the Law. We gain an insight into the use of these purification waterpots in Matthew 15: 2 and Mark 7: 2 where the Jews complain to Jesus about His disciples eating bread without washing their hands. This was a problem, as the Pharisees described it, because they were not “…holding firmly to the tradition of the elders” (Mk. 7:3). Apparently, the waterpots in the John passage were being used to allow the guests to ceremonially cleanse their hands before eating. Jesus repurposes the waterpots from accommodating a tradition of man to be used for the glory of God.

Insights from the Miracle

     This miracle did not show Jesus in all of His glory and power, but the miracle gave the disciples an insight into who He is. Jesus showed them that He had control over the physical universe and could change the characteristics of one fluid (water) into another (wine) and could do it instantaneously. This was physically impossible to occur, apart from the creator of the universe transforming the water. On a more human level we can relate to, it is similar to an artist who has created a wonderful work of art. Let’s say it is a painting of a bowl of fruit that looks so real that you believe you could take the fruit from the bowl. Suppose the artist doesn’t like the way the apple looks in the bowl and then decides to paint over the apple and paint an orange. It is the artist’s creation and he can make the fruit look however he likes. In the same way, Jesus, as the Creator (see John 1:3), decided to change the water into wine, because, like the artist, He can. He was revealing to His disciples that He had control over the physical universe and could change it in whatever way He wished.

     Another insight we gain from the miracle is the quality of the miracle. It is probably of no surprise to you that the wine which Jesus created was excellent. This was noticed by the person in charge of the wedding (the headwaiter) and he made a special point to tell the bridegroom about it. My guess is that because of his surprise, the headwaiter vocalized it loud enough that others heard his comments about the wine. Jesus could have changed the water into an ordinary wine and it would still be a miracle, but He chose to turn the water into an excellent wine. This is consistent with what we would expect from God in the flesh.

     A third insight into this miracle of Jesus was that the miracle was not merely a “magic trick” to awe the crowd. This miracle served others to meet a need. In this case, turning the water into wine served the families of the bride and groom. Imagine the embarrassment they might have experienced before their guests if they had run out of wine. Jesus not only met that need, He did it in a spectacular way by providing, my guess, the best wine they had ever tasted. Many people benefited physically by His miracle and a few benefited spiritually by it.

     This miracle introduces us to how Jesus performed miracles. The miracles were amazing and complete. In this case, ALL the water in the stone jars were turned to wine and there was no trickery involved. These characteristics will become more evident when we see Jesus begin His healing ministry. When Jesus healed, the healing was amazing because it was so much contrary to what they were used to and the healing completely restored the person from their physical malady. For example, when Jesus healed a blind person, their sight was restored to 20/20 vision. To be just a bit silly, they did not have to wear glasses when they were healed. Just to restore a blind person’s sight would have been spectacular, but when Jesus healed, it was complete.

Outcomes from the Miracle

     What was the outcome of this miracle? In verse 11, it states He, “…manifested His glory”, that is, He showed them a glimpse of who He really is. In seeing this small display of His glory, the disciples’ response was they, “…believed in Him”. Jesus did not overwhelm the disciples with this miracle, but introduced them to who He is. He confirmed to them that He was the Messiah and more than just a human being. One thing to recognize when we talk about believing, is that belief does not mean we now have a complete understanding. Typically, we start with an immature, yet sincere belief that grows as we gain understanding. My own growth in Christ from when I first believed is a testimony to that. You also see it as you read through any of the Gospel accounts. The disciples’ understanding of who the Messiah is, grows as they spend time with Him. There are “bumps in the road” of their faith as they adjust their thinking from what they had been taught about the Messiah versus what Jesus reveals and teaches them.

     Even though their faith in Jesus was in the early stages, this does not mean their commitment to Jesus was tentative or conditional. As we discussed in chapter two, they believed in (eis) Him. In other words, they were totally committed to Him. They had not spent much time with Jesus, yet, He already had a profound impact on their lives. These five men were already traveling with Jesus in the early stages of His ministry. That is commitment without having a complete understanding of who He is.