Jesus' First Miracle

1. (before beginning) If you were to select some miracle for Jesus to do to begin his ministry, what do you think it would be?

If we were to select a first miracle for Jesus to perform, no doubt we would pick something grand such as a healing or raising someone from the dead or feeding 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish. But God chose to use a social gathering for Christ’s first miracle.

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.

2. (verses 1-2) Why do you think Jesus and his mother were at this wedding?

Due to the fact that Mary and Jesus were at this wedding and that in verse 3 Mary seems to know intimately the situation of the wedding party, it is reasonable to assume that the groom’s family were relatives of Mary. This was a family gathering. Certainly this was not very important in God’s grand scheme of things, and yet he chose this family gathering to be the place where Christ would perform his first miracle.

3 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."

4 "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."

3. (verses 3-4) Read verse 4 in the King James Version and compare it to another version. What do you think Jesus might be saying here in verse 4?

The translators have done a great disservice to this verse. They make it sound like Jesus is rebuking his Mom. The Greek is Ti, evmoi. kai. soi,( gu,nai Ti emoi kai soi gunai which means literally "What I for you, woman?" The meaning of this phrase is far from clear. To get the correct meaning, we need to look at the rest of this verse where Jesus states (literally), "My hour is not yet come." This was a common phrase used in the gospels, and especially in the Gospel of John, to indicate that the hour of Jesus’ death, or fulfillment of his ministry, had not yet arrived.

Mark 14:31, "And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners."

John 7:30, "Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come."

John 8:20, "These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come."

John 13:1, "Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end."

John 17:1, "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee."

It seems to me the clear meaning of this verse is that Jesus is saying, Of course I’ll do it, I am not crucified yet. Notice that in verse 5, Mary does not respond as if she were rebuked. I believe that Christ purposely chose this event for his first miracle so we would learn something very important.

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.

7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.

4. (verses 5-7) If you were a servant and asked to do these ridiculous tasks, what would be your reaction? What do these verses teach us about obeying Christ?

Sometimes God is going to ask you to do something that you think is crazy. We need to be like the servants and willingly obey Christ’s every command.

MacDonald points out about Mary’s instructions to the servants, "Her words are important ones for every one of us. Notice that she did not direct men to obey her, or any other human being. She pointed them to the Lord Jesus and told them that He was the One who should be obeyed. The teachings of the Lord Jesus are given to us in the pages of the NT. As we read this precious book, we should remember the last recorded words of Mary, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.’ "

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

5. (verses 8-9) If you were a servant and witnessed this miracle, how would you react to the Messiah? Has God performed miracles in your life?

McGee writes, "This holds a great spiritual lesson for you and me. Jesus uses us as water pots today. We’re just beaten and battered water pots. We’re not attractive and ought to be pushed to the side and covered up. But He wants to use us."

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."

6. (verse 10) What does this verse tell us about how Jesus cared for the needs of others?

I believe Jesus purposely chose a social event for his first miracle. He wanted us to realize that he cares for our everyday needs. They may not seem very important. Certainly, running out of wine at a wedding would not be considered a world crisis, but God loves us so much that he wants us to know that he cares about the little things in our life. He wants to meet the needs in every area of our life. There is no prayer that is unimportant to God. Christ came to bring redemption to the soul, healing to the body, and joy to the spirit. But he also came to help us with socially embarrassing situations. How wonderful and marvelous is God’s love toward us!

11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

7. (verse 11) Who do you think knew about this miracle? Why would Jesus keep it a secret?

Notice that these verses never say that the groom’s family knew anything about this miracle. Apparently the only ones who knew were Jesus’ disciples and the servants. Jesus performed a miracle, and yet took none of the compliments away from the groom. This day was not a day for Christ to reveal his glory. This was a day for the bride and groom. Jesus cared that much about this family that he would keep his first miracle a secret.

12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

8. (verse 12) Do you make time to spend with your family?

Jesus was beginning his ministry. But before he did, he spent time with his family. He did not neglect them. Later on we find his brothers Jude and James are important leaders in the early church. Let us not be so involved with ministering to the needs of others that we neglect our own family.

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	A Study of John 2:1-12