Wine that showed God’s glory

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

John 2:11

 

This was the first miracle that anyone ever saw Jesus do. The people who really knew about what happened were Jesus’ disciples, His mother, and the servants at the marriage feast. And exactly what did Jesus do? He provided the wine for the party. Given current evangelical sensibilities, what would we have thought of this had we been there? What would we say if we heard that someone like Billy Graham showed up at a shindig bringing with him an ample supply of the best booze? This is sort of what happened at this event.

 

How did furnishing wine for partygoers show the glory of God in that culture? First, it revealed Jesus as the Creator God with control over the material world. He took a very simple chemical compound, water (H2O) and converted it to a complex, nuanced consumer item and organic compound. Wine ranking is notoriously nuanced and snobbish, but everyone agreed, this stuff was the best ever. So there was something of the artistry of God being displayed. And not once did Jesus need to touch the water to convert it over. He just created with control over the material world.

 

He was also seen as merciful in supplying joy to the people. In the Old Testament wine is symbolic of joy, not drunkeness (Psalm 104:15; Proverbs 3:10). Jesus provided joy, which is always an outcome of mercy. Wow!

 

The result of this first miracle was FAITH in Him. His first disciples believed in Him. They knew what had happened by him. What had they gotten themselves into?! This was no mere man, and this miracle proved it.

 

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