2. The Miracle at the Wedding Feast John 2:1-12

3. Review John’s purpose in writing is to produce faith –John 20:30-31 He has told us of the faith of... –John the Baptizer By the fulfillment of a prophecy –Andrew, Philip, and Peter By time spent with Jesus –Nathanael By Jesus’ miraculous knowledge Now we move to a more public opportunity for Jesus to demonstrate who He is

4. The Setting John 2:1-2 In Cana of Galilee –About 4 miles from Nazareth –Home of Nathanael (Jn 21:2) The third day... –The 3 rd day after speaking to Nathanael –The 3 rd day since Jesus and disciples arrived in Galilee –The 3 rd day since they left Judea –The 3 rd day of the wedding feast (typically 7 days long)

5. The Wedding Feast Jesus and his disciples were invited Jesus’ mother, Mary, was also invited –Interestingly, John never names Mary Perhaps there was already a tendency toward worshiping Mary when John wrote –Some suppose the marriage must have been of a relative of Mary’s for her to be there The feast would typically last 7 days –The activities, foods, drink, etc were managed by “the governor of the feast” Not the couple, their family, or other celebrants Similar to a “wedding planner”

6. Wine? John 2:3 –They ran out of “wine” Were they drinking wine? –The Grk word oinos refers “to all products of grape juice” (New Testament Beverages) »Alcoholic content is not necessary »Could be juice, vinegar, or wine –Like Hebrew, there were specific words for many kinds of drink, but this is a general word

7. Wine? What kind of drink would they be serving? –Many think it had to be alcoholic because they had no way to prevent fermentation If fermentation is not controlled, the result is vinegar, not wine (“How to Make Vinegar”, Vinegar Connoisseurs International) Columella, 1 st century writer, said it was common in both Italy and Greece to boil oinos. Pliny (62 - 113 AD) wrote that Opimiam oinos had the consistency of honey –This particular product had been in production for more than two centuries Virgil (70 – 19 BC) instructed his readers to boil the juice of grapes down to or 1/3 of its original volume to make oinos keep

8. Wine? What kind of drink would they be serving? –Would boiling the juice keep it from fermenting? "By boiling, the juice of the richest grapes loses all its aptitude for fermentation, and may afterwards be preserved for years without undergoing any further change." (Herman Boerhave, Elements of Chemistry, page 81) The syrup would be mixed with water before being served –The governor of the feast would be responsible for making sure the mixture tasted right –Other ways used in ancient times to prevent fermentation were filtration and refrigeration For refrigeration sealed containers were stored in cool caves or sunk in wells

9. The problem John 2:3 –They ran out of oinos Why did this concern Mary? –Perhaps she was helping rather a celebrant –Perhaps she was a friend or relative of those who were in charge of providing the food/drink –Why did she bring the problem to Jesus? Some suppose Jesus had never done a miracle before this (based on Jn 2:12) –But Jn 1:48-49, show Jesus doing a miracle –This was Jesus first public sign It seems Mary knew Jesus could do something, and it must have been based on previous events

10. The response Jn 2:4 –“Woman” – not a disrespectful term, but a common form of address –What does it have to do with Me? Jesus was not the one responsible Running out of drink might embarrass someone, but hardly a crisis situation –My hour has not yet come Perhaps Mary wanted a display of Jesus’ miraculous power so others would know Jesus said it was not yet time for such a sign

11. The solution Jn 2:5-8 –Mary understands Jesus to be willing to help, but unwilling to perform a large-scale sign Directs servants to do whatever Jesus says –Possibly showing she did have a position of authority in regard to the feast –Servants fill 6 waterpots (20-30 gallons each) with water all the way full No room to add the customary oinos Purification pots, so no residue of oinos –Told the servants to serve it to the governor of the feast (for his approval- as normal) No big, outward sign of a miracle being done Only those present knew what happened

12. The response John 2:9-10 –The governor of the feast was not told of the miracle But he recognized the oinos as better than what had previously been served –What was better oinos? »Plutarch (46 - 120 AD) said, “Oinos is rendered feeble in strength when it is frequently filtered. The strength or spirit thus being excluded, the oinos neither inflames the brain nor infests the mind and passions, and is much more pleasant to drink." »“Historical records consistently indicate that the best wines were freshest, unfermented juice available” (Old Testament Beverages) –What Jesus produced was likely pure, fresh grape juice The governor is asking is, if you had fresh juice, why did you serve the watered concentrate at first?

13. The effect John 2:11-12 –Faith was strengthened in His disciples They already believed (as in Jn 1) This sign increased the amount of faith they had –The sign wasn’t for everyone at the feast Only a few were privileged to know what happened The sign showed His glory (Jn 1:14) –The glory of divinity, for who, but God, could change one substance into another? –Those who already believed were shown something greater

14. Conclusion As with John the Baptizer or Nathanael, a single sign showed who Jesus was –Here Jesus showed a power no person, not even the prophets, ever had God, through Elijah(1 Kgs 17:14-16) and Elisha (2Kings 4:1-7, 42-44), caused oil, flour, and bread to be multiplied But here, Jesus changed the elemental nature of water –Something even today science can’t do The only answer for that power was that He was the Son of God