This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him

 

 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.  And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come."  His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."  

 

Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water."  And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast."  And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior.  You have kept the good wine until now!"  This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.  After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. 

 

- John 2:1–12 

 

Yesterday we were given the fourth day of the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, corresponding to the fourth day of creation in Genesis.  The Gospel told us that Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said to him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."  And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

 

  On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.  This wedding in Cana is the setting for the first of seven signs performed by Jesus which are given to us in John's Gospel.  John uses the term "signs" to show that these miraculous actions are pointing beyond themselves to the truth of the presence of the Kingdom of  God, come among us in the Person of Jesus Christ, as my study Bible notes.  It adds that the setting is very significant.  In the Old Testament, marriage feasts were symbolic of the union of God with God's Bride, Israel.  Jesus starts His ministry in Galilee.  My study Bible notes that Galilee had a large Gentile population, and so this is a sign of the spread of the gospel of Christ to all the world.  That this wedding took place on the third day gives a resurrectional tone.  It shows that the marriage of God and God's Church will be fulfilled in the Resurrection of Christ.  There are other parallels between this marriage and the Resurrection account in John 20:1-18 cited by my study Bible are that both involve a woman named Mary who makes an appeal, and in both passages the disciples are invited to witness this event.  Moreover the Resurrection account (John 20:11-18) has a striking similarity to Song of Solomon 3:1-5, which again shows the unity between marriage and Christ's Resurrection.  Moreover, Jesus' presence at the wedding is a declaration that marriage is holy and honorable (Hebrews 13:4).  Today's passage is read at weddings in the Orthodox Church, and the images in today's reading incorporated into many prayers in the wedding service.  On the third day is an expression which means "two days later" (after the events of our previous reading, above), as it includes the current day in the calculation. 

And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come."  His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."  My study Bible calls this an example of Mary's gift of intercession.  Even now, Mary continually speaks to her Son on our behalf and is our preeminent intercessor before Christ's throne.  In the words of an Orthodox prayer, "The intercessions of a mother have great effect to win the favor of the Master."  This is illustrated in today's reading when Jesus grants her request.  Additionally, my study Bible notes that wine is symbolic of life, and so there are two levels of meaning to Mary's statement, "They have no wine."  First, without the presence of Christ, a marriage is not complete; second, the old covenant could not bestow life even on the most faithful people.  Here, we are also to understand that Woman is a sacred title in Scripture.  It's an address which my study Bible says conveys deep respect and distinction (John 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:13; compare to Genesis 2:23).  Christ's question, "What does your concern have to do with Me?" is an important one.  It is more literally understand, "What is that to me and to you?"  However, in Greek it is an exact quotation from a passage in the Septuagint (Greek) version of the Old Testament, found in 1 Kings 17:18, in the story of the widow Zarabeth.  Zarabeth addresses it to Elijah when her only son dies after she helped the prophet.  In this Christ is warning her, even reminding her of what is to come once His signs become well known.  That Christ fulfills her request teaches several things, according to my study Bible:  First, He is Lord over hours and seasons and is not subject to them.  Second, the wedding party first needed to be aware of their lack of wine so they ight learn it is Christ who fulfills all needs.  Additionally, it teaches us to have persistence in our petitions before God (Matthew 15:21-28).  Finally, there is great power in the intercessions of the righteous (James 5:16). 

 

 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water."  And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast."  And they took it.   These waterpots are made of stone because, in accordance with rabbinical teaching, stone could not contract ritual impurity.  There there are six (which is one less than the perfect seven) is an indication that the Law, illustrated by water reserved for Jewish purification, was incomplete, imperfect, and not able to bestow life.  This water changed into wine symbolizes the old covenant fulfilled in the new, my study Bible says, which is capable of bestowing life.  These overabundant gallons of wine portray the overflowing grace which Christ grants to all.

 

 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior.  You have kept the good wine until now!"  In patristic commentary, this transformation of water to the good wine is seen as prefiguring the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. This concludes the sixth day given in John's Gospel of this beginning of Christ's public ministry.  The wedding at Cana parallels the sixth day in Genesis 1:26-31, the creation of man and woman. 

This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.  After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. Here in this first sign Christ manifested His glory as expression of His divinity Incarnate in His human life, to which the disciples are witness.  Jesus going down to Capernaum with His mother, His brothers, and His disciples parallels the seventh day of creation in Genesis 2:1-3, in which God rested.

That Christ manifested His glory in this sign before the disciples is an aspect of something we understand throughout His ministry, and indicated in the word "epiphany."  To manifest is root of that word "epiphany" in Greek, literally coming from an original word that means "light."  In other words, to bring to light, to show forth.  While the past two readings have shown us Christ's ability to know and to fully see into people as part of the divine nature He brings to the world, today's "sign" is a more full expression that the Kingdom of God is present in Jesus Christ, as my study Bible put it -- and all the disciples, plus Christ's Mother Mary, are witness to it.  Moreover, those who know the story, and those who tasted the wine, can affirm it was indeed "the good wine" that was in those waterpots.  My study Bible has an interesting note in a passage on the identity of Christ (the knowledge of which is called Christology).  It notes that Christ acts both as God and as human being, doing what is appropriate for each nature in the unity which is provided by His one divine Person.  It suggests that never does divine nature and activity become changed into human nature and activity; thus, the two are in union without confusion.  But Christ "energizes" human nature with divine energy (this is the activity of grace), so that human nature is redeemed from sin an death and brought into union with God.  So, therefore, Christ present and Incarnate in our world "deifies" humanity.  So the manifestation of Christ's miracles in this sense are extremely important, for as He has said Himself, "With God all things are possible"  (Matthew 19:26), and the angel Gabriel said to Mary, "For with God nothing will be impossible" (Luke 1:37).  The "impossible" is the manifestation of the glory of God, the glory that belongs to Christ in His divine nature.  Without God's grace manifesting to us, where would we be?  What would we know?  Let us remember that all the work of grace is for us, given to us from the love of God.