The Wedding and the Wine

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with His disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him.

John 2:1-11

As a pastor, I have the unique privilege of spending significant time with a bride and groom in the months before their wedding. It’s always a season of great preparation and greater anticipation. When the wedding weekend arrives, the couple experiences an incomparable rush of joy. The bride glows, and the groom has a twinkle in his eye. The time has finally come. In the best sense, it’s time to party.

Most of us love weddings, but do we realize how much God loves weddings? When we zoom out on the story of Scripture, we see a marital thread that the Lord is weaving from Genesis to Revelation. After Creation, Genesis 2 invites us to witness the wedding of Adam and Eve. In their union, Adam and Eve enjoy the longing of every human heart, to be fully known and fully loved (Genesis 2:24-25). At the end of Revelation, what future glory does God invite us to anticipate? Nothing less than the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19) and God Himself being united and dwelling with His people forever (Revelation 21).

In between these weddings that bookend Scripture, we’re left asking, “How will God be reunited with His people?” We’ve turned our backs on the Lover of our soul, and our infidelity has brought devastation to every relationship. The prophets often prosecute God’s case like lawyers representing a heart-broken husband crushed by his spouse’s betrayal (Jeremiah 2-3, Hosea). Our Maker declares Himself our Husband (Isaiah 54:5), but we won’t stop running after other lovers. God gives us marriage as a picture of His desire to be united with us, but we seem to have broken the engagement. The wedding’s off, right?

If we think it’s random that Jesus would perform His first “sign” at a wedding (John 2:11), maybe we’ve missed the previous episodes in this drama. On this best day in their life, the bride and groom in Cana have no idea that the true Bridegroom walks among them. They’re hoping for a great party with food and drink and dancing, but they don’t realize that the Bread of Life stands in their midst. And then the wine runs out. The bride and groom are racing toward a full-blown wedding crisis, and Jesus’ mother knows it. Mary shares the problem with Jesus, and He responds, “Woman, what does this have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”

I wish we could hear Jesus’ tone or see His expression when He responds this way. But we know He didn’t sin. He isn’t disrespectful or rude, and He quickly gets to work. He repurposed massive jars used for ritual cleansing. After having them filled with water, Jesus miraculously turns that water into some of the best wine humans ever tasted. In terms of the drink menu, Jesus saves the best for last, and in doing so, He saves the day for the bride and groom. But why? Saving newlyweds from embarrassment is a worthy cause, but certainly a “sign” means more than this. The beginning of Jesus’ ministry is like the arrival of His wedding weekend. He is the true Bridegroom, and His people—you and I—are the bride. When Mary tries to involve Him in the wine problem, I picture Jesus as the Bridegroom…with a smile on His face and a twinkle in His eye. It’s true: in the ultimate sense, His “hour” has not yet come, for He came ultimately to die and rise again. But in another sense, the time has finally come, the Kingdom of God is at hand, and we should all repent and believe in the good news (Mark 1:15). Jesus is the Word who came to reveal God to us (John 1:14-18), the Lamb who came to take away our sins (John 1:29), and the Bridegroom who came to win us.

Brothers and sisters, do we glow with the wonder of being engaged to the Lord? When the wine of this life inevitably runs out, do we turn to the only One who can wash us clean and satisfy us forever? We should rejoice in our union with our Bridegroom, even as we wait for the great Day that is coming. On that day, it will truly be time to party, because Jesus is saving the best for last.