Sunday – February 26, 2023
Word On Worship – Sunday – February 26, 2023
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 Miracle at Canna is an interesting event in that there is no mention of who bride or groom were or their families. There is no mention of how the wedding party or the guests responded to the miracle, if they even knew about it. Jesus didn’t call all the guests around and like a magician have someone confirm that it was only water in the pots. Then, “Abracadabra,” He had them taste it again. Everyone marveled, “Wow! How’d He do that?” In fact, so far as John reports, Jesus didn’t even touch the waterpots or pray. The focus is not on the spectacular part of the miracle, but on Christ and His glory. Those who had eyes to see knew what He did and believed in Him.
John calls this miracle a “sign” pointing to something beyond itself, namely, to Jesus and what He came to do. It was an actual historical event—if you had been there, you could have tasted the new wine after the miracle. But the miracle is like a parable, in that you have to think about the meaning behind it. With some of the other miracles that John reports, the significance is more obvious. In chapter 6, Jesus feeds the 5,000 and then proclaims (6:35), “I am the bread of life.” In 8:12 He claims, “I am the light of the world,” and then in chapter 9 He opens the eyes of a man born blind. In 11:25, He asserts, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and then He raises Lazarus from the dead.
But here there is no explanation to tell us the significance or deeper meaning of the miracle. We see empty waterpots that were used for the Jewish custom of purification filled with the new wine that Jesus gives. And, we have John’s statement that this sign manifested Jesus’ glory with the result that His disciples believed in Him. Remember John’s purpose for writing these “signs” in John 20:30-31. The result of this miracle is that His disciples believed in Him. They had already believed, but for John faith isn’t a “one-time and you’re done” sort of thing. You believe in Christ at the moment of salvation, but you go on believing more and more as you see more of who He is.
Some here may be like these waterpots: empty or only partially full with the water of religion, but you’re lacking the joy of knowing Jesus as your Savior from sin and judgment. The solution is to believe in Him as your Savior and Lord. Others of us may have believed in Christ as Savior, but we’re not experiencing the abundant joy of the salvation He has given to us. We need to see more of His glory so that we believe in Him again and again. Jesus wants to change the water of dead religion into the joyous, abundant wine of His kingdom rule.