As we come to the end of Chapter One of the Gospel of John, we get to part 4 of our Soul Inspiring Commentary from the Gospel of John, and we see Jesus calling His disciples.
We get to verse 46 where Philip is telling Nathaniel to “Come and see” the “one who Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth.” (verse 45).
Just like Nathaniel here, and as we will see later with Nicodemus, everyone has to “come and see” Jesus for themselves. There is no substitute for personally investigating Jesus Christ.
“How do you know me?” Nathaniel asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
- John 1:48
Here we see that Jesus knows us and sees us before we ever meet Him. With Jesus, we cannot pretend to be something or someone that we are not.
He knows who we truly are, the real us. And the best part is, He is waiting for us with open arms. He is waiting to forgive every sin we have ever committed.
A quick note on this verse before we move on. “Under the fig tree” is a Jewish term that really means meditating on scripture.
“He then added, very truly I tell you, you will see Heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
- John 1:51
Jesus is THE ladder between Heaven and Earth. He is the One, the only One, through whom a person can have fellowship with and access to God.
Through Jesus, Heaven will be opened and we are given insight into the things of Heaven.
In this verse, Jesus is referring to Genesis 28:12 where Jacob had a vision of a ladder that connected Heaven and Earth.
As Chapter Two of the Gospel of John begins, we see Jesus attending a wedding at Cana in Galilee.
Jesus was on the greatest mission in the history of the world, yet He took time out to take part in a wedding.
While we are on the mission of sharing Jesus with everyone we meet and evangelizing the world around us, near and far, we need to take time to have joy in our lives.
At this wedding in Galilee, Jesus performs the first of the eight miracles mentioned in the Gospel of John.
John presents these miracles as verifiable proof from an eyewitness that Jesus is the Christ, The Messiah, The Son of God.
John Chapter 2
1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,
2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[b]
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so,
9 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
10 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.”
11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
Jesus performed 36 detailed miracles while He was on Earth.
As with most everything about God, there is a significance and a purpose to what He does and how He does it.
In the turning of water into wine, we see Jesus has the power over nature to meet everyone’s needs.
In the Gospel of John there is deeper meaning behind just about everything within.
Here in Jesus’ first miracle, there is deeper meaning and significance behind so much.
You can see the symbolism in things such as the third day, the wine, the grape vine, the water, the six water pots, the wedding and more. They all have deeper meaning and point beyond.
There is a great parallel between the first miracle and Moses.
The first miracle God did through Moses was the turning of water into blood, which eventually led to him leading his people out of bondage in Egypt.
The turning of water into wine indicated God taking His people out of the bondage of sin in this world.
The signs that God gave to Egypt in the Old Testament were plagues, death, and destruction.
The signs and miracles Jesus did in the New Testament were blessings, joy, healings, and life.
We see how John carefully chooses his words to the point of mentioning that the pots were, “filled to the brim,” with water so there could be no mistake as to their contents.
The stone water jars that were used for ritual cleaning could hold up to 27 gallons of wine which means they could contain up to 160 gallons of wine.
At this point in the wedding, this was much more than was required for the guests.
As we will see when Jesus feeds the 5,000, not only does He supply our needs, but He supplies more than what we need. Live with Jesus gives us an over abundance of what is necessary.
“His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever He tells you.’”
- John 2:5
Just as Mary tells the servants to, “Do whatever He tells you.” We must do the same.
Rather than question what God tells us to do, our reaction must be to listen to Him. Even though, like the servants here, there will be times we have no idea what God’s plan is for us, we must be ready to obey Him.
Take a second right now and ask yourself, “Am I ready to do whatever God tells me to, no matter the cost?”
The “wine” was most definitely fermented juice from grapes. However, it was much different than the wine of today. It was usually a mixture of about one part wine and three parts water.
This then brings up the topic of drinking and the Christian.
As everyone must make a decision about Jesus, once you have become a Christian, you must decide whether or not you will use alcohol.
But Bob, you say, Jesus created alcohol here in this first miracle so it must be okay. And yes, there is no place in Scripture that says drinking alcohol itself is wrong. It is drunkenness that is wrong.
That being said, Romans 14 tells us that if drinking, or anything else, will make a less mature believer stumble, we should abstain.
Let me give you an example from my own life.
I was in a men’s study at a local church that sponsored guys that were part of a recovery group.
One night at the study one of the guys brought up the topic of if drinking is okay for a Christian. I don’t even remember what the Pastor told him, that’s not really the point.
The point is a few days later, I was coming out of a local Walmart with some beer for my 80-year-old dad for Father’s Day and what do you know I run into this same gentleman.
He saw the beer in my cart and the last I heard of him, he had left the recovery ministry and returned to his old lifestyle.
What we do as a Christian does make a difference in others’ lives. The more you grow in your relationship with Jesus, the more the world, and other believers, will be watching, waiting for you to slip up.
As a Christian, you do have freedom, the freedom to drink or not to drink alcohol, but remember what Peter said in 1 Peter 2:9, that we must keep our behavior above reproach.
While setting this good example for others, both believers and non-believers, we must then remember to avoid legalism. We must avoid and guard against prideful attitudes.
Jesus’ miracles confirmed who He truly was and is. This inaugural miracle showed His disciples who He was.
They believed in Him after one miracle. He performed at least 36 miracles detailed by eyewitnesses that give us the proof we need to know who Jesus Christ absolutely is.
After we know who Jesus Christ indeed is and we begin to grow in our walk with Him, we will realize that life has a new quality to it.
It is no longer dull, flat, uninteresting, or boring. With Jesus, life becomes vivid, thrilling, exciting, and joyful.
Wherever Jesus is, it is like water has been turned to wine.
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