John 2:1-11
Grace to you and peace God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
On this second Sunday after Epiphany Jesus once against manifested his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). He manifests His divine glory and sonship by turning water into wine. God alone can bring something into being by speaking. David says in Psalm 33[:6, 9], “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” On the third day after entering Galilee—with the five disciples He had so far called—and with a word changes one substance into another. By this Christ demonstrates His divinity, that God is His Father and He is equal with Him. But there’s more to it than that. The circumstances around the miracle reveal His divine glory and sonship as well.
What do we notice about the circumstances of changing water into wine? First, He performed this miracle, not at Passover or a religious feast, not in the Temple or synagogue, but at a wedding. He inaugurates His public ministry at a wedding to reveal Himself as true God and true man simultaneously. When a man and a woman pledge themselves to each other in marriage, they become one flesh. Our father Adam confessed this by faith when the Lord brought Eve to him. He said, “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh” (Gen 2:23). By assuming human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the eternal Son of God marries Himself to human flesh, so that He can say of humanity, ““This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh.” For although everyone present at the wedding sees Him as a man—which He is—but He, by His miracle, shows them that He is also true God. He also foreshadows His entire work. He comes to win a bride. The bride He comes to win is His church—the body of believers. He will give Himself for her, sacrifice Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish (Eph 5:26-27). By changing water into wine at a wedding, Jesus manifests His glory as the only begotten Son of God in human flesh, who will win His bride.
The second thing we notice about the circumstances of changing water into wine is Jesus’ interaction with His mother. When the wine runs out, Mary says to her son, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” Jesus reprimands His mother her, not in rudeness, but to remind her that while He is her Son, He is chiefly the Son of God in human flesh, and that it is His prerogative to decide when and how to act in His office as Messiah. He calls her “Woman” and not mother because as the Messiah who has come into His office, He is not subject to her, just as He is not subject to anyone but God the heavenly Father. He impresses the point on her by asking her, “What does your concern have to do with Me?” or literally, “What do I have to do with you?” This is a Hebraism, a way of speaking among the Hebrews that we see used in the Old Testament. In 2 Samuel 16:10, Abishai the son of Zeruiah wanted to cuff of Shimei’s head for cursing David. “But the king said, ‘What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah?’” It’s as if David had said, “Why are involving yourself in my responsibilities, in my things?” This is even how demons responded to Jesus when He approaches them in the gospels, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” (Mk 5:7). By answering His mother this way, He reveals His glory as the only begotten Son of God who acts according to His own wisdom and His own time. No one, not even His mother, can direct Him. When it comes to discharging His office as Messiah, His mother is no different from any other woman. She has no special prerogative with her son. Later in His ministry Jesus will even say, “Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother” (Matt 12:50).
This is especially important because there are many who extoll the Mother of God more highly than they ought, invoking her in prayer, asking for her aid, or asking her to join with them in their prayers. Scripture nowhere commands us to do this, nor has God promised that they even hear us. Instead, God commands us to call upon Him in the day of trouble (Ps 50:15). And if Jesus reserves for Himself when and how to act during His earthly ministry, how much more, having been exalted to the right hand of God the Father almighty does He reserve that for Himself? Mary doesn’t err in asking Him for help. She doesn’t err by interceding for someone else. She errs in the fact that she tries to use her relation to Jesus—the fact that she is His mother—to get Him act. Mary understands, for doesn’t tell the servants that she will try again later with her son. She directs them to Christ Himself. “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Why? Because He will act when and how it’s best for you. Thus, we should direct all our prayers to the Triune God alone, and ask those who we know can hear us to pray for us and join with us in our prayers to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost alone.
There is one more circumstance of changing water into wine that reveals Christ’s glory as the only begotten Son of God and Messiah, and that is the fact that He changes water into the good wine, the type that is usually served first. He begins fulfilling the prophets, one of who said, “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined” (Is 25:6 ESV). Not only does He act in His time and according to the manner He prescribes, but He gives us over and above what we need. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (Eph 3:20). If wine that makes glad the heart of man as the Psalmist says (Ps 104:15), Christ making abundant and good wine from water shows us that His blessings and benefits gladden our hearts! That’s what the forgiveness of sins does to the heart. It lightens and gladdens the heart that was once burdened by its guilt. The promise that God hears our prayers and answers for Jesus’ sake rejoices the heart, because we are certain that we have a gracious God who will act when and how He knows best for our good and His glory. He gives forgiveness, righteousness, peace, joy, and all His gifts in such abundance. How can our hearts not be gladdened and rejoice whenever we consider the great blessings He earned for us by His life, suffering, and death, and gives to us freely in His Word and sacraments without any merit or worthiness on our part?
This epiphany of our Lord also teaches us about the life we live in Christ. By inaugurating His public ministry at a wedding, Jesus shows us that He approves of marriage and all that comes with it, as it is written in Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled.” If anyone would say that marriage isn’t as holy an estate as celibacy, or if anyone would probit marriage of man and woman, they have Jesus’ to deal with here, not to mention the rest of the Scriptures. The Son of God, who instituted marriage in the beginning by forming Eve and bringing her to Adam for a lifelong union of love, inaugurates His public ministry at a wedding to bless the married estate with His presence. We ought to treat marriage as such holy and divine estates, our marriages if God has given us a spouse, and the marriages of others, honoring them and defending them against all of Satan’s destructive temptations and schemes.
Christ also teaches us how we are to pray in this epiphany of His. Like Mary, we present our trouble to Christ. She simply says, “They have no wine.” Although she presumed that her relationship as Jesus’ mother would make Him act, she learned what we continually learn in our lives: God answers prayer in His time, in His wisdom, in His manner. We aren’t to presume to tell Him how and when to answer our prayers. As Paul says, we are to let our requests be made known to God (Phil 4:6) and trust His promise to answer. Christ also shows us here when the hour arrives for Him to act on our behalf, He will act in goodness and graciously toward us, answering our prayer and rejoicing our heart. Christ wants to strengthen your faith in Him by hearing about this miracle once again. That was its original purpose, after all. This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. Christ wants you to believe in Him all the more confidently, so when need arises, when trouble and affliction are laid upon you, when the wine runs out, you trust Him to act in the hour He appoints, in the way He determines. For His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. They’re better. In fact, they are perfect. Amen.
May the peace of God which suprasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
