John 2:1-12. Creator, Lion King, Bridegroom
Weddings and Glory
People love weddings. They capture two things that many people long for: fun and love.
As far as parties go, it doesn’t get much more fun than a good wedding. You get to hang out with fun people, get heaps of free food, dance, hang out and have fun. And if dancing and having fun isn’t your thing, you can sit back and watch other people dancing and making fools of themselves. For some people, that is fun. Most people crave fun. We want to have a good time, and we want someone to provide that good time for us.
Many also crave the love that comes with weddings. We like the idea that one day, maybe, we too will get married and share our lives with a significant other who loves us more than anyone else. We look forward to the day when the wedding is ours. We love the idea of, well, love that comes with weddings. There’s something special about that, glorious even.
Well, Jesus is glorious too. That is, he is majestic, awesome, brilliant and lots of other big words like that. In John 1:14, we learn that Jesus’ glory was revealed to John, the Gospel writer, and to others who saw Jesus. He came to reveal glory:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The rest of chapter 1 introduces us to various aspects of his glory. We get glory vibes from his various titles: he’s the Lamb of God (1:29, 1:36), the Chosen One of God (1:34), the Messiah/Christ (1:41), the Rabbi (1:38, 1:49), the Prophet (1:45), the King of Israel (1:49), the Son of God (1:49), and the Son of Man (1:51). In chapter 2 Jesus begins revealing his glory through various actions or “signs”:
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory.
Today’s sign is given at a wedding.
Signs in John
John’s Gospel is a story of signs. That’s what the whole book is about:
30 Jesus performed many other 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 Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
In the first twelve chapters of John’s Gospel there are seven signs, five explicit signs and two implicit signs:
✅ Water into wine (2:11);
✅ Healing the official’s son (4:54);
❌ Healing the lame man at Bethesda (5:1-15);
✅ Feeding the 5,000 (6:14, 6:26);
❌ Walking on water (6:16-21);
✅ Healing the man born blind (9:16);
✅ Raising Lazarus (11:47, 12:18, 12:37).
Two of them are not explicitly called “signs.” However, the crowd in John 7:31 recognise Jesus' miracles as signs. So it’s legit to conclude that they are “signs,” albeit implicitly. The important thing is that each of these signs reveals Jesus’ glory. Now let’s consider how turning water into wine shows us Jesus’ glory.
Jesus Shows His Glory as Creator
Firstly, the water–into-wine episode shows Jesus’ glory as creator. In 2:1 we read, “On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee.” The time reference probably means three days after the Nathanael chat at the end of chapter 1. Cana is a small, reasonably insignificant village in rural Galilee. Jesus is attending a wedding there. His mother happens to be there too, and lets him know that they are out of wine. This is kind of embarrassing. At a wedding, you’re supposed to provide the good stuff for your guests. This has not happened.
Jesus says something strange: “Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come.” Most people get a shock when Jesus calls her word “woman.” Don’t worry—Jesus isn’t being sexist. The commentators tell us that this is a polite way of addressing a woman in this context. He’s certainly not anti-mum. When he’s dying on the cross, he calls her “woman” again and then asks John to look after her (see John 19:25-27). That said, his response is kind of abrupt. It seems that he’s trying to draw our attention to a point—it’s not yet time for the best of the best wine. More on that when we get to our next key heading. This will come at the appropriate “hour,” the “hour” when it’s time for him to give up his life at the cross (see John 17:2). That will be when it’s time for the best of the best wine.
However, in this episode, Jesus still has plans for wine. Mary tells the servants to listen to Jesus (2:5). Jesus tells the servants to fill six ceremonial stone jars with water (2:6–7). These were used for ceremonial washings. In the Old Testament, people had to wash themselves all the time, especially their clothes, so that they could be clean and do business with God (see Bible verses here). That’s just what people did in the old days.
Note: they are filling these up with water. Then Jesus asks the servants to draw some liquid from the jars and give it to the MC (2:8). They expect water. But the MC of the wedding tastes it, and he knows what he tastes. It’s wine. Jesus turned water into wine.
Jesus just broke the rules of science. This reveals his glory. He has shown that he can do something nobody else can do. He has control over the entire creation. But we shouldn’t be surprised by this. After all, we’ve just been told that “all things were created through him” (John 1:3).
2. Jesus Shows His Glory as the Lion King
This miracle also reveals that Jesus is the Lion King. In the previous chapter we’ve been told that Jesus is the Christ, the King of Israel and the Son of God, all of which are Messianic titles. In the Old Testament, the coming of the Messiah means an abundance of the good stuff, including wine. Passages like Isaiah 25:6, 55:1, Jeremiah 31:12, Joel 3:18 and Amos 9:13-14 talk about how the Messiah will bring the good stuff when he comes. There will be joy, feasting, shouting, and thirst-quenching wine. But the OG Messiah/Wine prophecy comes in Genesis 49:8-11. Here Jacob says to his son Judah:
8 ‘Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? 10 The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. 11 He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
Here, Jacob prophesies to his son, Judah, that his descendants will be lions and rulers. They’ll have sceptres and ruler’s staffs, just like the Messiah has in Psalm 2:9. Jacob is ultimately to the coming of the Messiah. He’ll be a Lion and he will be a Ruler or King. So, he’s the Lion King. And when this Lion King comes, he’ll bring so much abundance that people will wash their clothes in wine.
Some time after Amar’e Stoudemire signed a $100 million contract with the New York Knicks, he famously started bathing in wine. Well, when the Lion King comes, he’s going to bring a crazy amount of wealth too.
Back in 1:29, we learned that Jesus, the Lamb of God, takes away the sins of the world. This means that we don’t need to worry about ceremonial washings to keep ourselves clean any more. Jesus makes us clean. This means that we no longer need to worry about ceremonial washing—or ceremonial washing jars. We can repurpose them. They’re not needed. The Lion King has come.
Jesus’ miraculous water-to-wine conversion shows us that the age of the Lion King has come. An age of abundant wealth is just around the corner. An age where things are so good that we can wash our clothes with wine. That’s how glorious Jesus is. That’s what this sign is pointing us to.
3. Jesus Shows His Glory as Bridegroom
Finally, this episode shows us Jesus’ glory as the Bridegroom/Groom. The MC at the wedding thinks that the Bridegroom brought the wine. The MC says to the Bridegroom, “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” (2:10). It was the Bridegroom’s job to look after the party. He failed. They ran out early. Jesus brings the party that the Bridegroom failed to bring.
As Jesus steps in for the Bridegroom, he reminds us of a prophecy from Isaiah 62:5, where God says:
As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.
By stepping in as the Bridegroom, Jesus tells us that God is rejoicing over his people yet again. It is party time.
Response: Believe
Earlier, we considered how many of us long for fun and love, two themes that are often associated with weddings. We want to have a crazy good time with lots of good food, tasty drinks, and fun people. We want to have that special someone who rejoices over us.
Weddings offer the fun and love we crave, but the fun and love offered are limited. In John 2, we’re given a hint that Jesus offers something greater, something more glorious.
Jesus provides like no other host. Jesus brings the party. Jesus brings the love. The water-into-wine miracle gives us a small taste of what Jesus offers. Jesus offers us a party that goes on forever, where the wine doesn’t run out, and the fun never stops. Jesus offers us a love that doesn’t fade due to old age. John 2:1-12 gives us a small taste of what is to come.
As John tells this story, I think the response he wants from his readers is one of faith. In verse 11, we read:
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
The disciples here model the appropriate response to the Creator/Lion King/Bridegroom: they believe in him. That’s why John shares all of these signs, and that’s why John writes his Gospel. Remember what we saw in 20:31?
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Signs —> Believing —> Life. Jesus performs these signs so people believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, the King. When they believe, they receive life in Jesus’ name. Jesus offers a life “to the full” (John 10:10). We don’t receive all of the good stuff this side of death. But a day is coming when Jesus will return and invite us to hang out with him at a never-ending party. It will be more fun than anything we’ve experienced in this life. And we’ll experience a love that way surpasses the kind of love married people experience.
Weddings are great. Fun is great. Romantic is great. But what Jesus offers is truly glorious. Do you believe that Jesus, the creator, the Lion King, and the Bridegroom really has this in store for you?
Discussion Questions
Pray and Get Going
1. Why do people love weddings? What’s so good about them?
Read John 2:1-12
2. What’s the purpose of Jesus’ miracle?
3. What does the miracle teach us about Jesus’ identity?
4. How do passages like Genesis 49:8-12 and Isaiah 62:5 help us understand the significance of Jesus’ miracle?
Implications
5. Is what Jesus offers us better than the fun and love that the world offers? Why (or why not)?
6. If someone believes that what Jesus offers is better than the fun and love that the world offers, how might this impact the decisions we make when it comes to things like parties and romantic relationships?
