Antioch Agent

John 2:1-11 reads:

(1) And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
(2) And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
(3) And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
(4) Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
(5) His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do [it].
(6) And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
(7) Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
(8 ) And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare [it].
(9) When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew; ) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
(10) And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: [but] thou hast kept the good wine until now.
(11) This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

Amazing! That’s what i thought when I read the account of Jesus’ first miracle in Cana of Galilee in John chapter 2. The eye witness account of the apostle John in retelling the incident was fascinating. The account gave no place for accusations of it being a deliberate set up by a first rate first century conjurer. There are some noteworthy observations (with thoughts from my Emmaus Course material on John). Firstly, it was an unprepared request by His earthly mother, Mary. It was an unforeseen circumstance which threatened to wreck the celebrations. Think of a Chinese wedding dinner where the special drinks have run out and then having to revert to lukewarm water (they had no ice cubes back then). So this was not a manufactured scenario a person would have created, it was only when the situation was brought to their attention that a contingency plan was sought for.

Secondly, the pouring of the water into the 6 pots was not done by his disciples but rather the servants, thus no corroborating was possible. It was done in the plain sight of all the servants present there. To add to that, the disciples had not ever seen their leader perform such any miracles prior to this (only day 3 of following Jesus), and certainly had no part to play in it. It was only later as a result of seeing this miracle that it was said of the disciples .. “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him“(v11)

Thirdly, the water jars were rather large vessels. Each jar would contain 2 to 3 firskins apiece. Approximately, 1 firkin equals 7.5 gallons which translates to around 34 litres. Each jar would have been more around 70-102 litres each. Therefore when Christ asked them to fill up all 6 jars to the very brim, you would be dealing with more than 500 litres of water. If it was merely some additive (taste enhancers) that was placed in each of the 6 pots, there was no place for that, and you can rule it out. Why? Because it was filled right to the brim. For this, imagine just how much cordial concentrate you’d have to put into just 10 litres of plain water to have a sweet taste.

Fourthly, in all in this, Jesus did not handle the pots and the water but it was all being carried out by the servants employed for the wedding. He was merely giving instructions on what to do. I only imagine the look of incredulity the servants must have had when performing the seemingly pointless task.

Fifthly, the wine was brought for the final taste test by the governor of the feast who had no knowledge that it was originally water. It says “only the servants knew”(v.9). Upon sipping the wine for the very first time i believe he may have been tasting the best he’d ever taste for the rest of his earthly life. The best wines in the world require painstaking processes. Right from the cultivation of the vine, to the wine press, preservation and care, plus the considerable time it takes to vintage it in order to arrive at it’s optimum smell, taste and texture. This miracle, was instantaneous.

To turn water (H₂O) to ethanol (CH₃CH₂OH) was and remains an impossible scientific feat which will never be replicated. What makes it more amazing is also the manner in which it was performed. But not only did Jesus totally reorientate the composition of the water … not only was it totally transformed in it’s chemical organic bonding … it was then flavoured into something which in and of itself could never produce. The verdict was that it was good wine, as good as it gets. That to me is how our Lord consistently works experientially in the lives of men and women down the ages who would attest to a great transforming work of the Spirit and giving their life it’s true savor.

It was unmistakable and unedited proof, just as all the other amazing miracles that our Lord Jesus went on to perform later, all this was done to authenticate and serve as visible proof that He was indeed who He claimed to be, the Son of God. It was of His works that He went on to say in John 10:38 “But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.” While a person may not at first agree with what Jesus taught, one need only to examine the facts of the case which are truthfully presented in the scriptures to come to a solid conclusion. Many fulfilled prophecies relating to the the manner in which He was to suffer and die were fulfilled not by His trusted disciples but by His very enemies and people who had no knowledge of it.

There are a few other aspects of the story which I have learned which i can’t detail in this article. But i’d probably end with a last observation. Whenever i read of the words of the governor of the feast in which he said ” … thou hast kept the good wine until now. ” I remember the wise words of my aunt when we were getting ourselves ready for our wedding. She said, “With Jesus, the best is yet to come”. I’d say amen to that.