The first sign
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’
‘Woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My hour has not yet come.’
His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from eighty to a hundred and twenty litres. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so, they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’ They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realise where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.’
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
John 2:1–11 (NIVUK)
Introduction
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Epiphany season is all about how God’s light breaks through the darkness of this world. It’s about how He reveals Himself through Jesus, the Light of the World.
Today’s gospel reading is an epiphany of its own, where Jesus reveals His divine nature in public for the first time. Up to this point, Jesus had used words to describe His knowledge of God and His own purpose as the Messiah. Now, at the wedding in Cana, He shows them. Jesus reveals His glory at a wedding of all places, He does so using plain old water, and He does it to help us to believe in Him.
A fitting occasion
It's very fitting that Jesus would work His first public miracle at a wedding. The Old Testament reading from Isaiah 62 compares God’s delight in Israel to a groom’s delight in her bride. Israel, at its best, is a people that are married to God. Within that relationship, there is mutual respect, delight, commitment, and love.
That same vision of love and commitment is then applied to the Christian Church in the New Testament. Ephesians 5 is the well-known text from our marriage rite:
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body.
Ephesians 5:22–30 (NIVUK)
Marriage is a vision for the Church, and the Church reflects the marriage between Christ and His people. If you take that text and remove any reference to the Church, all you have is an unbalanced and unhealthy marriage:
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands... For the husband is the head of the wife…
…wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives…
…husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body…
If a marriage, or any human relationship for that matter, is not built on Christ’s love for us, it is much less likely to stand. It’s much more likely to become unhealthy, toxic, and possibly even abusive.
And so, Jesus uses a wedding to show the world that He is more than just another wise teacher or great preacher—He is the bridegroom for His bride, the Church. He has not come to lord over us and tell us what to do. He has come, with all His divine power, to serve us, to love us, and to be our Saviour.
Just plain old water
At this wedding in particular, He uses His divine power to serve the guests and save the hosts from humiliation. Turning the water to wine is a sign that points to Himself, but it is also an act to serve people. As a guest, it might have been pretty easy to miss the point and just carry on drinking—that’s probably what most of them would’ve done. As the hosts, you’d just be glad that you’ve been saved from years of embarrassment. Because Jesus uses ordinary things to show us His glory, it can be easy to forget that the ordinary things are pointing to something extraordinary.
At a wedding in Cana, Jesus uses everyday elements—water and wine—to perform His first miracle, or “sign” as John’s gospel describes it. This sign is an epiphany—this miracle shows us something of God’s glory by using ordinary things we can all access: water and wine. As sacramental Christians, we know that God has a particular fondness for these two liquids, which regularly feature in Scripture and in our practice of faith.
The miracle is functional—a wedding reception needs wine—but it’s also extravagant. John gives us a good description of the quantity because it’s important: 6 jars, each holding from 80 to 120 litres, adds up to between 480 and 720 litres of wine. Keep in mind that this is day three of a six-day wedding marathon, too.
There are numerous mentions in the gospels of people labelling Jesus as a glutton and a drunkard. Working this kind of miracle would bring that on. But Jesus isn’t doing all this just for the fun of it—our God is a God of abundance.
Psalm 36:8-9 speaks of feasting on the abundance of God’s house, a vivid image of divine generosity. Heaven is often described as a great feast. There is a reason human beings celebrate every important occasion with food shared together—we reflect the nature of our Creator.
So, God’s glory is revealed to us in unexpected, ordinary things, and He also reveals it to us abundantly. You can trust in God’s provision, knowing that He doesn’t give us just enough—He gives in abundance.
More than just entertainment
This miracle is a sign, leading the disciples to believe in Jesus. Signs and miracles aren’t just about the “wow” factor, but they help us to believe that Jesus really is the Son of God who has come into the world.
The same could be said for any way that God reveals His glory to us. We don’t do all the liturgy and music for entertainment or to show how reverent we are—we do it because liturgy and music are ways that we can hear, speak, and sing the Word of God, which is what creates faith. Liturgy and music are just opportunities for faith to grow.
The same could be said for the sermon—it’s not just for the pastor to show off or for us all to brag that we listened to every word, but to give us all a chance to absorb and digest the Word.
1 Corinthians 12 is a great reminder for us that we don’t have any right to brag about anything we do because it is the Spirit working in and through us. The Spirit grants us His gifts “for the common good”—wisdom, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in and interpreting tongues. Any of these could be a source of pride if we’re not careful.
Instead, we’re to remember that the Spirit grants us these things for the common good—to serve one another and build each other up. Jesus’ miracles are never about the “wow” factor. He does these amazing things to help us to realise who He is and how powerful God is. He does these things to help and serve us.
Conclusion
This sign from Jesus happens at a wedding, which in itself is a reminder of His commitment, love, and self-sacrifice for His people, the Church. He used plain old water that day, and He continues to use ordinary things and ordinary people to reveal His glory to us. He does this in abundance, reflecting the abundant grace, mercy, and peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. May it keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. Amen.
