“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding….“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.” What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭2‬, ‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Without going into the details of this story which we know well, let’s examine John’s reason for beginning his record of “signs”, that Jesus was both the Son of God and the Messiah, with a story about a wedding. 

Wine and a wedding? Not unusual in the context of Jewish life but significant in Jesus’ life because it symbolised the purpose of His sojourn on earth. 

Marriage is God’s idea. The Bible begins with a wedding…Adam and Eve joined together in a union authorised by their Creator, the beginning of their love story…and ends with a wedding, between Jesus and His bride, the church joined together forever in a union of love…the culmination of His love story. 

An integral part of a wedding celebration is, of course, wine! Strangely enough, wine is also God’s idea. “Religious” people might repudiate drinking wine but God chose to include it in His Word and in the context of a wedding. 

“He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate— bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭104‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Wine heightens and enhances human enjoyment when taken in moderation but causes havoc when imbibed to excess. So do many other things when taken too far. 

Jesus’ presence at this wedding and His subsequent intervention to provide wine endorses both marriage and the drinking of wine.   However, it has an even greater significance, as John points out, in our understanding of Jesus’ mission on earth. 

Among the many miracles Jesus did, John chose this one to introduce his readers to Jesus’ glory. This is a mystery. How can a wedding and some wine cast light on Jesus and magnify His character and attributes?

We must dig deeper to find the significance of Jesus’ action in these human activities. The entire record of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation is a love story…of a Father seeking a bride for His Son.  After wooing Israel, His chosen people, to no avail, the Father sent His Son in person to purchase, save, and set apart a people for Himself.  

The purpose of the Son was to espouse to Himself a people who would be filled with the “new wine” of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit would restore the joy of the true and eternal union of God and His people. 

Paul endorsed this symbolism in his encouragement to the Ephesian church….

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The ”sign” of the abundance of the “best wine” at the wedding in Cana of Galilee was the greatest possible way of introducing Jesus to His people… the glory of the God who came in person to find a bride and to fill her with the joy of His own presence in her forever. 

So, this story heads the list of “signs” because it starts with a picture of the end result, the marriage supper of the Lamb and the union of Jesus and His bride forever. We celebrate the anticipation, sealed and filled with the “new wine” of the Holy Spirit, we await the moment of our marriage to our eternal bridegroom on that day when He returns to take us to Father’s house to be with Him forever.