One of the more notable biblical stories related to Jesus is his first “miracle”¹ – turning water to wine at a wedding in Cana. According to the story (relayed in John 2:1-11), Jesus, his disciples, and his mother Mary were attending a wedding to which they had been invited when the wine ran out. Mary then essentially asks Jesus for help in the matter, whereupon he instructs the household’s servants to fill six stone jars with water, and then ostensibly turns that water into wine. As innocuous as it seems on its face, this tale contains many facets of intrigue & importance.

*First & foremost, it bears noting that this event occurred “on the third day” (Luke 2:1), which would have meant three days since the calling of Philip & Nathanael in John 1:43-47 and seven calendar days from Jesus’ ministry being foretold by John the Baptist (see John 1:26-27 – with seven being the number of completion &/or fulfillment in Judaism, and John the Baptist having already been announced as the one who would “prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight” – see Matthew 3:3).

*It is also worth mentioning that Judaic Law was clear a the time that if anything unclean were to fall into any vessel made of clay, then “all that is in that vessel shall become unclean” and the vessel itself must be destroyed (see Leviticus 11:33-35); making it significant indeed that Jesus instructs the servants at the wedding to place the water into urns made of stone – urns that could therefore not be similarly contaminated; urns that were also specifically designated to be used during “Jewish rites of purification” (John 2:6). Indeed, by performing his “miracle” in those same stone jars, Jesus was in effect saying that his ministry would be replacing older religious traditions with newer & better ones (John 2:10) – that he would be replacing the mere water of religious ritual with the “good wine” of selfless Love.

.*Thirdly, in marked contrast to the notorious moment when Moses helped turn water into blood as a sign of God’s wrath (see Exodus 7:14-24), Jesus makes yet another subtle call to Judaic legal reform by turning water into wine² – recalling that the Old Testament prophets tended to refer to the messianic age as a time of joy when wine would flow freely (see Judges 9:13, Jeremiah 31:12, Hosea 14:7, Amos 9:13-14, 2 Baruch 29:5, & 1 Enoch 10:19 et al).

*Finally, it is important to note that Jesus refers to his mother in this passage using the seemingly dismissive title of “woman” (see John 2:4 – also John 19:26, where he employs the same term to address her from the cross), evidencing once more that his ministry is not focused on respecting traditional familial bonds³ or fulfilling expressions of respect demanded by the Law (a la “Honor your mother & father” ~ Exodus 20:12), but rather is built around a way of living that fully transcends the same (see John 2:4‘s “for my time has not yet come”, as well as the more infamous “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and enliven it” of Luke 8:21 & Matthew 12:48-50 – see also Luke 12:52-53 et al).

“While life is the most rare of gifts, and one should always be drunk while celebrating the living of it, that stupor need not find its source in alcohol. Rather, choose to intoxify yourself with the fullness of every interaction – drinking deeply of every chance meeting and becoming unabashedly inebriated on the far sweeter succors of noble humility, selfless service, and Love most unconditional.”~ inspired by Charles Baudelaire, Paulo Coelho, & Jesus Christ

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Filed under: Jesus Christ, a most Holy Heretic by Scaughdt