Water transformed into wine

Who is Jesus? Part 38, 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 points two at a time.

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.

The topics already covered are:

Number 1: It’s an endorsement of marriage
Number 2: Christ’s sovereignty
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.

In Chapter 1, we met Andrew and another of John the Baptist’s disciples who were stalking Jesus, trying not to be seen. Immediately, timid Andrew became Andrew the evangelist, finding his brother Simon and bringing him to Jesus. Simon was also transformed, but it took more time than with Andrew. A lot more time.

But that sort of transformation is not just for people. In the presence of Jesus, water is changed into wine, and a potential embarrassment is turned into a success.

How water was changed is unclear. Were all six stone jars affected, or just the water taken out? Or did the transformation only happen when it was served? We don’t know; we only have a report from a disciple, likely John. What we do know is that there’s an excess of high-quality wine, far more than needed.

God is a generous giver.

Number 8: Signs not miracles

John’s Gospel has a unique way of talking about the miracles of Jesus: It uses a completely different word from that used in the other Gospels.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke use the Greek word dynamis (δύναμις, pronounced doonamis) to describe the miracles of Jesus, meaning power. After His baptism, Jesus acted in the Spirit’s power and will return in power (Luke 4:14 & 21:27). The disciples were promised this power when the Holy Spirit arrived (Acts 1:8). Outside the Bible, Homer used dynamis to refer to an army, and it is the base for the English words dynamic and dynamite. Other Gospels call the miracles of Jesus “works of power.”

John is different. He uses the Greek word semeion (σημεῖον), which means “to signify” as a verb and “a sign” as a noun. Both semeion and dynamis can be correctly translated as “miracle” in older translations. The issue lies with the English language.

I titled this series “Who is Jesus?” because it’s a key focus of John’s Gospel. The signs go beyond the miracles and point to the person performing them.

Who is this sign meant for? If it were for everyone, why didn’t Jesus make it public? He had a plan and was waiting for the right time. Meanwhile, he was teaching his disciples, who saw and believed.

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