Water transformed into wine

Who is Jesus? Part 35, John 2:1-11

Have you noticed the passage I’m talking about? It’s the same passage again. The first time, I dealt with the obvious theme of obedience to Jesus. This time, I will briefly examine eight other points found in this short reading. Having written it, it’s too long, so I’m dealing with these two posts at a time. I’ve used a clickbait title for this one.

There is a structure to these three chapters. They are one big chiasmus. Chiasm, meaning crossing over, is a poetic form used in nearly all Psalms and is a repetition of similar ideas in the reverse sequence. Where there is a central section, here marked X, that is usually the focus of the poem.

A. John 2:1-11 Miracle at Cana – Water into wine.
B. 2:12-22 Temple cleansed – new Temple of his body.
C. 2:23-3:13 We must be born from above.
X. 3:14-21 God so loved the world that He gave His Son.
C’. 3:22-4:3 Christ comes from above.
B’. 4:4-46 Temple to be replaced by a new place of worship.
A’. 4:46-54 Miracle at Cana – healing of a nobleman’s son.

And now on to this week’s passage, again.

2 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. ³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” ⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” ⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

⁶ Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸ And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. ⁹ When 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 ¹⁰ and 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.” ¹¹ This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

John 2:1-11

Here are 8 findings from this passage. You can create a three-point sermon from these 9 topics (there is another in the previous post), leading to 84 different combinations. If the order matters, there are 504 possibilities. This will give you plenty of sermon material.

Number 1: It’s an endorsement of marriage

Jesus, who was never married, supports marriage and enjoys celebrating it with a party that includes alcohol. Celebrating love is important. He doesn’t need to say, “I approve of marriage”; his presence at the party speaks for itself. While John the Baptist preached in the wilderness, Jesus participated in social gatherings, such as parties.

Number 2: Christ’s sovereignty

Jesus was on a mission. You could tell that by his answer to Mary, “My hour has not yet come.” But Jesus can do something; he has full sovereignty and is not a robot to the will of the Father. However, Jesus does not yet want publicity, so he acts as surreptitiously as possible so that no one except himself, Mary, the Disciples and the servants knows what has happened.

The other 6 points are:

Number 3: This sign is a parallel to the first plague of Egypt
Number 4: It is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ sacrifice
Number 5: The water of purification deals with sin
Number 6: Jesus’ power over creation
Number 7: Transformation not just of people but of nature.
Number 8: Signs not miracles

---

< Previous | The Gospel of John | Next >