Wedding at Cana-in-Galilee

Water into Wine

Just as in modern wedding celebrations, it was traditional to provide wine for the guests at a wedding at the time of Jesus. If you are going to provide food you would not forget to provide drink with it. The wedding at Cana-in-Galilee was just such an occasion. It was an important duty on the part of the bridegroom to provide the best quality wine he could afford. Naturally, the best wine was served first to impress the guests and then the everyday wine came out for the rest of the celebration.

On this day the unthinkable had happened. The wine ran out! Mary knew the importance of what had happened and asked Jesus to do something about it. Despite his protestation that now was not the time for a miracle Mary prevailed upon Jesus and he came to the rescue. Water was poured in the jars used for cleansing and what came out was hailed as better than the wine specially ordered for the big day.

At first it seems as if Jesus performed a miracle just to impress people. But when you think about it there were a number of messages in what he did. One message was that when you are absolutely stuck God is always there to help you. That could trigger off unlimited sermons for any preacher. Another meaning is that Jesus, if allowed, does not just help you – he enhances your life. Ask for water and you will be given wine. He always gives more than you are expecting. So, he is not just there for you, he is able come to your aid and give you far more than you expected, even in your wildest dreams.

Another meaning could be that when we find ourselves eventually at the heavenly banquet we shall find we have every lovely thing lavished upon us. It is difficult to be a humble follower of Jesus and still think of that wonderful welcome we shall get one day. We may be impressed by what God provides here and now but, in the words of a former USA President, "You aint seen nothin’ yet!"

What we shall receive and what we should be offering to others is of a fine quality which is beyond our imagination. When John Wesley stood at the pit heads in Derbyshire, United Kingdom, he preached the gospel of Jesus to the miners just after they had returned to the surface. He noticed that they had white lines running down their blackened faces. These hardbitten, hardworking men who put in endless hours getting coal from the bowels of the earth were standing there crying! These were tears of joy as they contemplated the gifts of heaven after they left this life on earth in which they would have nothing but hardship.

It is this ultimate promise that transcends anything that people can acquire or achieve in this present life. Think of any commodity you might like to possess. You know the sort of thing I mean – a top of the market motor car, a mansion style house, an ocean going yacht. None of these things can match what is in store for you in heaven. The master of ceremonies at the wedding said to the bridegroom, before all the guests, "Everyone else serves the best wine first, and the poorer only when the guests have drunk freely; but you have kept the best wine till now."

Jesus, himself, represents the best wine that comes later. There were many prophets preaching God’s message but now, here was Jesus, the very Son of God. What would happen in the following three years would be amazing and would show the value offered by Jesus in terms of quality of life. But later, at the very end the wine would be the best quality imaginable. That is what is on offer for you and me. Thanks be to God.