45 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
45 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
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title = "John 2:1–12"
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date = "2026-01-03"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/John2.1-12)
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"On the third day" may continue the progression that had been building in chapter one.
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("The next day" repeated in [John 1:35](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/John1.35) and [1:43](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/John1.43).)
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It may also be that it refers to the third day Jesus spent in Galilee after arriving there, which seems more likely as it could have taken a week for travellers to go from the Jerusalem area to Galilee on foot.
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In any case, that day was the day of a wedding in the town of Cana.
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It suddenly occurs to me that the words are "the mother of Jesus was there", but "Jesus also was invited".
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That almost implies that Mary wasn't invited to the wedding herself, but attended in some official capacity.
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Almost, considering the "also" in v. 2.
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At the wedding feast, Mary finds out that there were not sufficient preparations for the number of guests.
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The wine had run out, but the feast was not close to being done.
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She makes this observation to Jesus, but from His response it's clear that she was making a subtle request.
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(Jesus addresses His mother as "Woman", but at the time it was as polite as calling her "Ma'am".
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It amuses me that today addressing someone with "Hey, man" is normal, but "Hey, woman" is not.)
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By saying "My hour has not yet come," He lets her know that He is the one who decides the timetable and methods of His ministry.
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Despite this, she tells the servants to do whatever He tells them.
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It is hard to figure out what her motivations and expectations were here.
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Clearly, from the other Gospel accounts, she knew that He was the promised Messiah, but perhaps she was wondering when He was going to get on with it.
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That doesn't explain what she wanted Him to do about the insufficiency of wine at a party, though.
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The first miracle that Jesus performs publicly is to turn water into wine.
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Specifically, the transformed water comes out of large storage basins which held the water used to wash guests' feet when they arrived, as well as other purification rites.
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That the wine is used for a wedding feast alludes to the wedding banquet of the Lamb when God's plan of salvation comes to its ultimate fruition.
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(Cf. [Isaiah 25:6–9](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Isaiah25.6-9) and [Revelation 19:6–9](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Revelation19.6-9).)
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While I have heard this passage preached on several times, I don't think any of them paid much attention to verse 11.
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With this first sign, Jesus "manifested His glory", the glory "we have seen" ([_John 1:14_](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/John1.14)).
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By performing this miracle, Jesus was revealing His deity to those who saw it, that is, His disciples.
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They believed in Him because of what they saw Him do here at this wedding, even more than when He called them.
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This is why He did the miracle the way He did.
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If the point was just to keep the party going, it could have been done more subtly.
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("Go look in the basement again, maybe there's more you missed", or "There's more wine in this barrel than expected. It just keeps coming out.")
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Instead, the symbolism of the water of purification being turned into the wine of salvation shows everyone the point of Jesus's ministry as the Messiah in the first century.
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* * *
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We look forward to the ultimate wedding feast, when we celebrate Your eternal victory over sin and death.
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