Going Deeper: Meeting the Messiah in John 1-4Sýnishorn

Day 3: The Unexpected Bridegroom (John 2:1-12)

Read John 2:1-12

At this point, you might be asking yourself why it matters that Jesus is the Messiah. Sure, it might be true, but what does it mean for us, here and now? Well, this passage starts a new section in John’s Gospel, which starts to answer that question. As we’ll see, this section is all about what it means for Jesus to be the Messiah, the new age that He has begun, and why that matters for us.

Jesus, His disciples and His mother are all guests at this wedding. It should be a joyful time. But there’s a serious problem: the wine has run out (2:3). In Jesus’ day, this was important. It meant that the bridegroom hadn’t done his job properly.

Jesus’ mother obviously expects Him to fix things (2:4), so His reply to her might sound a bit strange. Now, we should say first that Jesus addressing His mother as ‘woman’ was a normal way to speak to a married woman and wasn’t disrespectful. But what does it mean that His ‘hour’ has not yet come? Later in John’s Gospel, we see that this means Jesus' death and resurrection – John 17:1 records Jesus saying that ‘the hour has come’ just before He is arrested and crucified. From the very start, Jesus is clear that He has come for something much bigger than simply fixing problems in the here and now.

And yet, Jesus acts. The water is turned to wine and taken to the man running the wedding feast. And what wine! Notice how much there is... this is an abundant, extravagant amount. The wine from these huge jars would have filled around 1,000 bottles, more than any wedding would need. And notice the quality. This wine is far too good for the end of a wedding – the very best, in fact (2:10).

The wedding party is rescued, but this is about much more than that. Back in the Old Testament, God was pictured as a bridegroom, rescuing His people and providing a great wedding feast. Isaiah 25:6 says, ‘On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare... a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines.’

As Jesus turns the water into wine, stepping into the place of the bridegroom, people around who knew their Old Testaments would have made the connection. The Messiah, God Himself has arrived, the best saved until last. This is Jesus, bringing abundant, extravagant grace upon grace, God’s underserved kindness (John 1:16) for people who will receive Him. And that includes us! No wonder John records that this miracle revealed Jesus’ glory, and that His disciples put their trust in Him.