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Chapter 14
Glory Revealed — The Creation of Faith
“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do [it]. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare [it]. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: [but] thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.” (John 2:1-11)
Here we see the Lord Jesus performing his first miracle, turning water into wine at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee. In performing this miracle the Holy Spirit specifically tells us in verse 11 that “Jesus manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.” I take those words to mean that our faith in Christ is created and sustained by the manifestation of his glory to us.
Practical Lessons
Without question, there are several very practical lessons to be drawn from that which is recorded in John 2:1-11. Like all the miracles that were to follow, “this beginning of miracles,” performed by our Savior just a few days after he began his public ministry, “manifested forth his glory” and is preserved upon the pages of Inspiration for our instruction and edification. In this miracle there are five things for us to learn.
1. The Omnipotence of Our Lord Jesus Christ — Our Savior turned the water into wine, not by his touch, or even by his word, but his will. No prophet or apostle ever did such a thing. He who can turn ordinary water into extra ordinary wine, by a mere act of his will, is the omnipotent God. If he wills my salvation, none can prevent it. If he wills my safety, none can harm me. If he wills my everlasting inheritance in heavenly glory (And he does. – John 17:24), I cannot fail to attain it.
2. The High Honor Our Lord Places upon Marriage — By his presence at the marriage feast, the Son of God said, “This is an honorable thing” (Genesis 1:28; 2:18-25; Hebrews 13:4). One of the first steps toward moral decadence in any society is a low esteem for this ordinance of God. Where there is no sanctity of marriage, there is no regard for God or his law, no regard for moral decency, and no regard for human life. These things stand and fall together!
3. The Propriety of Feasting and Laughter — In this passage of Scripture the Son of God gives his approval both to the party and to the moderate use of wine. — “A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry” (Ecclesiastes 7:19). Christianity was never meant to make people miserable. On the contrary, true Christianity increases real joy among men and makes people happy in this world, as well as in the world to come.
4. The Blessedness of Obedience to Christ — “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it” (v. 5). The Son of God could have supplied all the wine that was needed without employing these servants. He did not need them! But they would have missed the blessed benefit of being instruments by whom the Son of God brought his miraculous boon of mercy to the wedding guests.
5. The Character of Christ’s Gifts — The Son of God always saves the best wine until the last. Marvelous as his grace is, it is only the earnest of our inheritance, a mere foretaste of the glory that is to be revealed in us! In spiritual matters, the best is always kept for the last. The sorrow of repentance is followed by the sweetness of forgiveness. The bitterness of conviction is followed by the gladness of conversion. After the cross follows the crown. After the valley of the shadow of death comes the glory of life eternal with no sorrow, no sin and no death!
Spiritual Significance
Those are very practical things that should not be overlooked; but we should always look beyond the letter of the Word for that which is spiritual. Did you notice that this chapter begins with the word “and”? That indicates that what we read about here is closely connected with what we saw in the first chapter. One of the things prominent in Chapter 1 is the failure of Judaism and the turning away from it to Christ. The Priests and Levites came to John to inquire who he was. He said, “There standeth one among you whom ye know not” (John 1:19-26). They did not know the forerunner and did not know the Christ (John 1:11).
“He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:11). The Jews were his own nation and all the ordinances of the law (Judaism) were his own things; but neither his own nation nor his own things would have him.
The Holy Spirit uses those exact, same two words, “his own,” in John 13:1 to speak of his true people, God’s elect, those who are truly, everlastingly, eternally “his own.” — “Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.”
“The law and the prophets were until John” (Luke 16:16). John wound up the Old Testament system. When Christ appeared, Judaism was an empty, meaningless, dead, useless religious form. — Nothing else! The wine was gone. It had given out. Wine in scripture is the emblem of joy (“Wine maketh glad the heart of man” Psalm 104:15.). Judaism still existed as a religious system, but the joy was gone. It gave no comfort to the heart. It had degenerated into a cold, mechanical routine, utterly destitute of joy in God.
They set six water pots before the Lord Jesus. Those empty water pots of stone represent religion without Christ. Six is the number of man. It was on the sixth day man was created. Six is the number of the beast, antichrist (Revelation 13:18). There were six water pots, not seven, the number of perfection. All that was left of Judaism was the flesh. The feasts of the Lord had become the feasts of the Jews (John 2:13).
The water pots were water pots of stone, not silver which speaks of redemption, not gold which symbolizes the Divine glory. And they were empty! These water pots were used by the Jews in their observance of their religious traditions, their various religious washings (v. 6); but they were empty. — Religion without Christ is empty of joy or comfort!
The Spirit of God specifically calls our attention to the fact that this marriage feast took place on the third day. — “And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee” (v. 1). But he does not tell us when that was. We may deduce that this took place on the third day after John the Baptist first declared, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world,” but we are not specifically told. Why? Is it because there is something significant about the third day? I think so. The third day is the day of resurrection. It was on the third day in creation that the earth was brought forth from its watery grave (Genesis 1:9-11). Our Lord arose from the dead on the third day.
Judging by 2 Peter 3:8, this is the beginning of the third day of time since this Gospel Day began. Could it be that the marriage supper of the Lamb shall take place in this third day? — Perhaps (Hosea 6:1-2).
Another Marriage Feast
I have no idea when it will take place, but I do know that there is a day appointed when that marriage shall take place (Isaiah 54:1-8). The Book of God says, “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And…these are the true sayings of God” (Revelation 19:9). Jesus our Savior will be there. All his disciples will be there. And we will never run out of wine!
“And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” (Revelation 19:1-9)
The Wine
The water we are told was made wine (v. 9). The water was not made to look like wine. It was made wine. The water was not made to taste like wine. It was made wine. The water was not treated as though it were wine. It was made wine. Here are three other things made to be what they could never be, had not God done the work.
The good wine of the gospel is Christ himself. When he was made sin for us, it was he and he alone who trod the wine-press of his Father’s wrath as our Substitute, when the Lord bruised him and put him to grief. This is the wine that cheers both God and men. When God’s justice took the full draught of Christ’s blood for the sins of his people, the Lord declared himself well pleased. And when the poor sinner, by sovereign grace, is first made to drink of the blood of the Lamb, he feels constrained to cry,
“Hallelujah! I have found Him Whom my soul so long has craved! Jesus satisfies my longings, Through His blood I now am saved.”
Moses’ first miracle turned water into blood, because the law is a ministration of death. Christ’s first miracle turned water into wine, because once he comes into your life, he makes even the most common mercies (water) boons of grace. Truly, the Lord has kept the good wine until now. Never before has my soul been satisfied.
Mary and the Master
It is not accidental that the Scriptures frequently show us incidents of the Lord Jesus gently reproving his mother, even publicly. He knew the papists would arise, seeking to deify Mary. Therefore, the Lord Jesus made it obvious that such heresy is altogether of man’s doing. But do not imagine that the Lord Jesus was being disrespectful to his mother. He called her “woman,” because that was the common way to refer to married women respectfully. But Mary seemed to be asserting her parental authority, and the Lord Jesus let her know that that authority over him no longer existed. He teaches men (and women) to cut the apron strings! And Mary accepted the Lord’s rebuke, recognized his right to act as he pleased, and left the matter entirely in his hands. — What a lesson for us!
His Hour
In verse 4 the Savior said to Mary, “Mine hour is not yet come.” Seven references are made in the Gospel of John to that “hour” (John 2:4, 7:30, 8:20, 12:23, 12:27, 16:32, 17:1). Our Lord had lived in quiet seclusion for thirty years. From this point on he would become a public and a marked man. His hour refers to the hour of his suffering and death as our Surety. This is the hour for which the world was made (John 12:27-33; Romans 5:5-11).
The Method of Grace
We have in this story of our Lord turning the water into wine a good picture of God’s method of grace, a picture of the way God saves sinners. It was the Lord Jesus Christ who performed the miracle. Yet, men were called to fetch the pots, fill them with water, draw off the wine, and carry it to the governor of the feast. The means used were human; though the power that performed the miracle was Divine. It may have seemed foolish to fill the pots with water, but water is a symbol of the written word (Ephesians 5:26); and the way to bring joy and comfort to the human heart today is to fill it with the preached word. God will make it effectual (Romans 10:17).
The sinner is empty like the water pots. He receives the water of the written Word at the command of Christ. The water produced the best wine by the power of Christ; and the change wrought in the new birth is a miracle of grace, as clearly miraculous as the water being turned into wine. This miracle manifested forth his glory (v. 11). The governor proclaimed it to be the best wine. Truly the grace and redemption that is ours in our Lord Jesus Christ is far better than the best the world can give.
Glory Revealed
In verse 11 we are told that our Lord Jesus, by performing this miracle, “manifested forth his glory,” and when he did, “his disciples believed on him.” The long and short of that is just this: — Faith in Christ depends upon and is caused by the revelation of Christ, the manifesting forth of his glory: the glory of his person, the glory of his accomplished redemption, the glory of his all-sufficient grace, and the glory of his transforming, saving power. — The Son of God takes common, ordinary things and transforms them into something that manifests forth his glory (Isaiah 6:1-7; 2 Corinthians 4:6-7; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31).
May God the Holy Spirit grant us unceasing grace to believe on our Savior! He promises to all who believe that they shall see the glory of God (John 11:40). — “Come and see!”
Don Fortner
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