John 2:6-11 (NIV): Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 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.
Once Jesus was sure that it was the Father’s will that He solve the wine problem at the wedding, He did so quickly and effectively. There were a few servants standing by, waiting for His orders. Even though He could have produced wine from nothing, He decided to use the servants’ help.
Filling these large stone jars took several trips to the local well – a total of about 150 gallons had to be carried back to the house. And, of course, Jesus did not have to engage in any hocus-pocus. He did not spend minutes or hours pouring out pleading prayers to the Father. He knew that the Father’s will was to turn the water into wine (cf. John 5:19-20) in order to increase the faith of His followers. So He simply obeyed the Father’s will, while His handful of disciples watched in silent amazement.
At the moment the jars were filled with water the miracle was done. They were instantly filled with the finest quality wine, which was taken to the master of the banquet for his approval, which he gave to the completely mystified bridegroom.
Some people get hung up on the fact that wine was created in this first miracle, and fine wine at that. But that misses the point. This miracle is not a rebuttal to scriptural injunctions against over-indulging in wine. Nor is it a divine approval of the modern wine industry. It was simply a concrete demonstration of who Jesus really was: the Creator God in bodily form, performed to foster deeper faith in His disciples. And that’s exactly what it did.
Father, it is so easy for us to hang ourselves up on the details of an event, and completely miss the main point of why you included that event in the historical record of your Scriptures in the first place. In this case, like the disciples, we need to come away from this miraculous event more convinced than ever that Jesus really was the eternal Word made flesh, seeing in it a demonstration of His glory as they did. Help us, Lord, to have eyes that truly see all that You want to show us in Your word. Amen.