Wedding at Cana: 5 Water into Wine
John 2 v 9
When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew).
Wedding and Wine
Wine was a key part of an ancient Jewish wedding. Wine filled the Cup of Covenant, which was then shared between the bride and bridegroom. It was one of the rituals which sealed their relationship.
We can see the Eucharist as a reflection of this. If we assume the Cup of Covenant in a Jewish wedding ceremony is similar to the Chalice, then this implies that when we partake in the Blood of Christ, we are participating and becoming part of a wedding between Christ and His bride, the Church.
Moses and the Blood Red Nile
In Exodus, we see God commands Moses and Aaron to take a staff and place an outstretched hand over the waters in Egypt. God then turns it all into blood.
Exodus 7 v19
The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.
This was the first of ten plagues brought upon Egypt because Pharaoh would not let the enslaved Hebrews go. This killed all the fish in the Nile River. Even then, Pharaoh did not yield to God’s request.
Whereas this plague of Egypt turned the waters to blood (red), the miracle at the Wedding turned the waters to wine (red). This miracle in Exodus, cursed the land of Egypt. A similar miracle became a blessing in the Gospel according to John.
In a similar way, the final plague of Egypt caused the death of Pharaoh’s first born son. This caused Pharaoh to set God’s people free. In the Gospels, we see God’s own First Born Son die, which again sets God’s people free.
It is common to see the reversal of the Old Testament stories in the New Testament. Think about the Tower of Babel and Pentecost as a good example of this. The examples are numerous.
Jesus Providing the Wine
This miracle places Jesus in the position of the bridegroom. The bridegroom’s family was to make sure there was enough wine for the celebration. This could be one of the reasons why Jesus is reluctant to perform this miracle. Jesus was not the bridegroom here. Which could be why He said, ‘My hour has not yet come’ and He performed the miracle in secret.
Reject Skeptical Materialism
The miracle of turning water into wine seems completely fantastical. This was a supernatural event, much like the first plague in Egypt. It is easy for us to employ our skeptical materialistic mindset and reject these events.
But much like with every recorded miracle Jesus does, there are deeper layers of meaning. It isn’t just the miracle which is being communicated here, but so much more. By rejecting this miracle, we deny ourselves the opportunity to understand why Christ came and came for us.