“On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” –John 2:1–5
There was a wedding at Cana. John says this is the first of Jesus’s signs (v. 11). I usually have found it puzzling that Jesus tells his mother that his time has not yet come and then changes around 180 gallons of water into the best of wines. “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” There’s something in the interaction that we miss, I think, that doesn’t seem to be conveyed in the writing of the incident unless, maybe, we are more steeped in the story of Israel. There’s a passage in Isaiah 25:6 that possibly sheds more light on what was taking place with Jesus and his mother:
“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.”
This passage is speaking of the coming Kingdom, the Day of the Lord and the reign of the King. When Jesus says to his mother that his hour has not yet come, he is asserting that this is not yet the time spoken of in Isaiah. He is not yet bringing his Kingdom which is spoken of there. Maybe Mary has this in mind when she makes her request—the promised wedding feast, the Bridegroom of Israel, the coming Messianic Kingdom when there will be a new heavens and new earth. That time, he says, has not yet come—that day of judgment, of vengeance, of righting all wrongs, of restoring all things, of reigning in righteousness and justice forever. The ushering in of that Kingdom has not yet come, but it is true that he is the one that will usher it in.
So, Jesus gives a sign that he is who his mother knows him to be. He gives them a glorious taste of that well-aged wine that is spoken of in Isaiah. He gives a sign that that day is coming, but his hour to usher that in has not yet come. At this time, in this present evil age, as Jesus will say in the next chapter of John “…God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (3:17). This is the part of the story that is so hard to grasp. But as the writer to the Hebrews states, “so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28).
The wine is brought to the master of the feast who believes the bridegroom has saved the best for last. But the truth is, the true Bridegroom of Israel has given them a foretaste of the best wine that is being saved for last—that last Great Day and the long-awaited Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and joy in his presence forevermore.
By giving this sign, Jesus is saying “I am who you understand me to be mother, but the hour you are thinking of is not yet. I have a work to do first that will make that day possible for all peoples.” He gives a sign of who it is, in fact, that is at this wedding. It is a miracle but so much more than that. The sign is that he is the Bridegroom of Israel who will spread a feast of well-aged wine when he finally brings his Kingdom. His hour had not yet come, and no one knows that exact hour. But there will be signs. Be alert!
Every time we share the Lord’s supper it acts as a sign, a foretaste. It is meant to fill us with longing for that day. Each time we take it we declare the Lord’s death until he comes; the death that makes it possible for us to feast on the well-aged wine with him when his hour does come. Only that death and that resurrection; only that Name makes it possible to join in the marriage supper of the Lamb.
We are still in the age of mercy and the invitation is still extended to all who wish to come to the Great Wedding Feast. “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” (Romans 10:14–15). Come Lord Jesus!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jim Bloom and his wife Raquel have served with Novo/InnerCHANGE in Minneapolis for the past 27 years primarily with a focus on house church planting. Jim has also served as a US Regional Director and is now part of the Horizons Team in InnerCHANGE. Prior to serving with InnerCHANGE, Jim served as the minister for college, young adults, small groups and urban ministry for Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. Jim and Raquel have two adult children. Jim has his M.Div. from Bethel Theological Seminary and his DTL from Bakke Graduate University.