Water Into Wine The Other Message John 2

Water Into Wine: The Other Message John 2: 1 -11

There’s one “conspiracy theory” I fully embrace: the notion that John 2: 111 contains both a primary and secondary message.

John 2: 1 -11 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, {2} and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding….

… {3} When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine. " {4} "Dear woman, why do you involve me? " Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come. " {5} His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you. " …

… {6} Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons….

… {7} Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. {8} Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. " …

…They did so, {9} and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew….

… Then he called the bridegroom aside {10} 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. ". . .

… {11} This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

John 2: 11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

The main reason why John included the story of Jesus turning the water into wine at a marriage festival in Cana of Galilee was to help his readers understand why the disciples became so convinced so soon that Jesus was no ordinary rabbi or religious teacher! He was also encouraging his readers to become convinced of this as well!

John 20: 30 -31 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. {31} But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 1: 49 -51 Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel. " {50} Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that. " {51} He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. "

What other message might John have been trying to send as he related this story of Jesus turning water into wine early in his ministry career?

John 2: 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

Here’s a picture of a stone water jar on display in a Greek Orthodox church in Cana of Galilee. It’s very likely that we’re looking at here is a stone water jar very similar to the ones talked about in John 2!

Many biblical scholars believe that John 2: 6 is a such a passage and that this detail about the six stone water jars being “the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing” was pregnant with a deeper meaning.

John 2: 6 (KJV) And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

The way in which our Evangelist speaks of the Jews’ purificatory practice. . . gives the clue to the spiritual meaning of the present narrative. The water, provided for purification as laid down by Jewish law and custom, stands for the whole ancient order of Jewish ceremonial, which Christ was to replace by something better. – F. F. Bruce

By including the essentially unnecessary detail that the water jars were the kind used by the Jews in their ceremonial washing, John was saying that Jesus had come to confront the ritual religion of the Jews and to replace it with something far better.

In the same way that wine is more colorful, more aromatic, more potent in both taste and effect than mere water, a real relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ is far superior to a slavish devotion to a religion consisting of mere rules and rituals.

Jesus has come to make it possible for people to make the journey from ritual religion to a real relationship with God!

But since it’s true that there are some religious folks who simply don’t want to be delivered from ritual religion, we shouldn’t be surprised to find, in succeeding chapters of John’s Gospel, Jesus being fought tooth and nail by the majority of Israel’s religious leaders.

Does this secondary (other) message have any relevance for us?

Some scholars believe that, writing later on in the first century, John had begun to see the beginning stages of the institutionalization of the Christian church and the ritualization of the Christian faith.

Could it be that another reason why John included the story of Jesus turning the water into wine was not only to win new converts to the faith, but also to remind late first-century church-goers of the abundant life Jesus died to provide them with, and to encourage them to avoid the tendency to allow their faith in Christ to devolve into a new set of rules and rituals?

Is it possible for Christ-followers, if we’re not careful, to take the wine of real relationship with God and turn it back into the mere water of ritual religion?

How would we know if we were guilty of allowing this devolution to occur?

According to the Bible, one indication that our faith has devolved from wine back to water—from a real relationship with God back into a ritual religion—would be that we find ourselves going to church, engaging in Christian ceremonies and observing Christian traditions, but doing so without a truly powerful, potent sense of genuine joy in our hearts!

The following passages all associate “wine” with the experience of “joy”: 1 Chronicles 12: 40 Isaiah 24: 11 Psalms 4: 7 Jeremiah 31: 12 Ecclesiastes 9: 7 Jeremiah 48: 33 Isaiah 16: 10 Zechariah 10: 7 Isaiah 22: 13

Perhaps John, knowing the biblical connection between wine and joy, had the experience of joy in mind when he related the story of Jesus turning the water into wine. Perhaps, one big earmark of the new kind of life Jesus died to provide his followers with is the experience of an intoxicating joy!

John 15: 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Luke 24: 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

Acts 13: 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14: 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. . .

Romans 15: 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. . .

Galatians 5: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is. . . joy. . .

1 Peter 1: 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. . .

Jude 1: 24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy. . .

1 Thessalonians 5: 16 Be joyful always. . .

“To miss out on joy is to miss out on the reason for your existence. ” -- Lewis Smedes

The bottom line is that the “other message” of John 2: 1 -11 is that Jesus has come to enable those of us who truly believe in him to live our lives here and now as people intoxicated with great joy!

I think the time has come, strange as it sounds, for us to take joy seriously. You can become a joyful person. With God’s help, it really is possible. The biblical writers would not command it if it were not so. But joyfulness is a learned skill. You must take responsibility for your joy. Not your friend, not your parent, not your spouse, not your kids, not your boss—your joy is your responsibility. For some of us, this does not come easily. You may be joyimpaired. You will have to fight for it. But it can be done.

First, we can take seriously the vital connection between joy and thanksgiving.

The following passages all associate “thanksgiving” with the experience of “joy”: Nehemiah 12: 27 Psalms 100: 1 Psalms 28: 7 Isaiah 51: 3 Psalms 42: 4 Jeremiah 33: 11

Do we really want to be more joyful people? Then we really need to cultivate a spirituality that has us giving thanks to God on a regular basis. To what degree does your spirituality have you doing this? Seriously?

Second, we can take seriously the crucial connection between joy and generosity!

Acts 20: 35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive. '"

There’s just something joy-producing about doing the right thing: giving generously to resource your church, and to bless anyone God brings into your life who’s in some sort of need.

“To miss out on joy is to miss out on the reason for your existence. ” -- Lewis Smedes

Jesus has come to enable those of us who truly believe in him to live our lives here and now as people intoxicated with great joy!

Water Into Wine: The Other Message John 2: 1 -11