John 2:1-5
 
John 2:1 (KJB)
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
 
Jesus had promised Nathanael that he would see greater things than Jesus knowing where he was sitting. Here we have the first visible miracle which Jesus performed. It is also interesting to note that this first miracle was done in the home town of Nathanael. The ones who were being married must have known Jesus and His family since the mother of Jesus was attending the wedding. If you notice, Joseph, Mary‘s husband is not mentioned and that is probably because he had died some years ago and Mary was a widow. Since Nazareth was only 9 miles from Cana, it would not have been a long trip for Mary who was probably in her late 40’s. In the Gospel of John, the name of Mary is never used in reference to the mother of Jesus. The weddings in Israel at that time could last up to seven days. The betrothals were made years before the actual wedding ceremony.
 
Let me just say at the outset that it is reprehensible that some Christians try to use the wedding at Cana as an excuse to drink alcohol. Many say it is okay to drink wine but let us be honest. They try to justify their drinking of all kinds of alcoholic beverage, from beer to whiskey, by referencing the miracle at the Cana wedding. The Lord Jesus Christ was not soft on sin and the fact that He is going to be the judge on the last day, makes that obvious. Jesus would never endorse anything which is sinful because it is sin that would be sending Him to the cross. The changing of water into wine had a very specific message to the world.
 
John 2:2 (KJB)
And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
 
Called - Invited
 
Since Mary was already there and probably helping with the preparations, they probably also knew Jesus and Nathanael. This is probably why they were invited to the wedding. It is always a nice courtesy to accept an invitation to someone’s wedding because that means they want you there to be part of their joy on that special day.
 
John 2:3 (KJB)
And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
 
Wanted - Lacking
 
Here Mary tells Jesus that they were lacking wine. Now she would have known about what was left since she probably was involved with the preparations. In Middle East custom, if they ran out of wine, it would be considered a calamity. So maybe Mary was hoping they could pool their money and go buy more wine or since Mary was now cognizant of the fact that the ministry of Jesus had begun and since she probably heard and saw the baptism and announcement of Jesus, plus His miraculous birth, she may have hinted for Him to supply the wine by miracle.
 
“They have no wine,” those who defend drinking believe that both the wine provided at the wedding and the wine made by Jesus were intoxicating. We need Scripture to clear up any misconceptions, now if the wine was intoxicating then the following must be considered:
 
“The guests would likely be drunk because weddings normally lasted for seven days. Secondly, Mary, the mother of Jesus would be regretting that the intoxicating drink ran out and would be asking Jesus to furnish the already drunken festivity with more fermented wine (Vss 6-9), more than enough to keep the guests totally drunk.
 
In order to oblige, Jesus would be making between 108-162 gallons of intoxicating wine as His first “miraculous sign” in order to reveal His glory, and to persuade people to believe in Him as the Holy and righteous Son of God.”
 
The above implications must be avoided because alleging that Jesus used alcoholic wine is leading us into moral conflict against Scripture. In light of God’s nature, Christ’s righteousness, His loving concern for humanity, and Mary’s good character, the implications of the above statements that the wine was fermented are blasphemous.
 
An interpretation that involves such assertions and contradictions cannot be adopted. The only plausible explanation is that the wine made by Jesus to reveal His glory, was the non-intoxicating pure juice of the grape. The water used was a reflection of the Holy Spirit being placed into us “the water pots or earthen vessels” making us useful to Christ for His service. (2 Cor 4:7 KJV) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
 
John 2:4 (KJB)
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
 
Jesus was basically testing Mary to see if her faith in Him was firm. The way He answered Mary was not that He was rebuking her, but He was stating that His time had not yet come, that is, His time to be manifested to the world. He was not going to do any miracles based upon human request because the miracles had to be done in order to confirm that Jesus was the promised Messiah, to confirm His ministry, and to teach the lesson at the moment the miracle was performed. Jesus had to be in control of what miracles He performed not anyone else, even His earthly mother, since no human could know the plan of God for every situation.
 
John 2:5 (KJB)
His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
 
Mary obviously was satisfied what the answer she received from Jesus and now conveyed to the servants at the feast that whatever He says to them, they should do, since Mary was now convinced that Jesus was going to do something about the situation they ran into. This is also a great spiritual principle for every Christian. Whatever we read in Scripture that Jesus tells us to do, then we need to be obedient to His commands. The word “do” in the Greek is in the Imperative Mood meaning that what Jesus says to do is a command and not a suggestion.
 
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