John 2:1-11

This text is used for the Lectionary Year C on January 17, 2016.

Schnoor Von Carolsfeld
Schnoor Von Carolsfeld

There was a reoccurring segment on Sesame Street in which the camera would focus on four items.  Three of them would be the same and the fourth, similar in some way, but distinctively different in another.  In this reoccurring segment, a song would always accompany the puzzle with the lyrics, “one of these things is not like the others.”  That is not a bad way to think about John.  John is a gospel and as the other three do, tells the passion of Jesus with an extended introduction.  But John is also distinct.  Let me point out two the obvious ways in which it is a departure.  In the synoptics, Jesus is an advocate of the Kingdom.  In John, Jesus is an advocate of Jesus, who is the full revelation of God’s glory.  In the synoptics, Jesus preforms miracles, the Greek dynamis.  That word means acts of power and it is the word from which we get the word dynamite.  In John, Jesus preforms signs, the Greek semeion.  Miracles point to the features of the kingdom; signs establish Jesus’ credibility.

John is divided into the “book of signs,” chapter 1:19 – chapter 12, and the “book of glory,” chapters 13-20.  The wedding at Cana is the first sign.  I gave that long introduction because it is crucial for understanding this otherwise seemingly odd and uniquely Johannine miracle.  This story is loaded with symbolic imagery, each of them worthy of extended attention.  But what remains most important is that Jesus is establishing credibility and unveiling his nature, which was mapped out for readers in the prologue found in the previous chapter.  Wine is very often associated with joy.  This sign characterizes the nature of Jesus’ reign.  In this regard it is worth noting that the sign is not without eschatological significance.  In the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus begins the party that will reach it’s fulfillment in his Eschaton.

Having established that it’s worth talking about some of the imagery, of particular note are the stone jars.  They are massive; the six of them holding between 120-130 gallons.  More importantly is the material.  These stone jars were used for ritual purification.  According to Levetical law, clay jars could become impure and were consequently destroyed.   Stone jars did not run that risk.  It is interesting that Jesus should turn the water into wine in these jars.  You have purification jars full of wine, which would eventually become a symbol of Jesus atoning work and a centerpiece of the Eucharistic meal.  Perhaps the abundance of wine also communicates something about the scope of Jesus’ atoning work.  As has been alluded to in the prologue, John’s gospel is cosmic in scope.  While the other gospels mention cosmos a few times, John uses the word nearly eighty times.  I submit the abundant volume of wine communicates not just that Jesus’ ministry comes in abundance, but also that the atoning work is cosmic in scope.

These two features taken together, wine and abundance, point to Jesus as a messianic figure (Amos 9:13-14, Gen 49:10-11).

Readers should also take note of a concluding comment in the pericope.  The headwaiter poses a question to the Bridegroom, why has the good wine been saved until now?  Surely this question intends to point us to Jesus and not just the value of the wine.  Here’s one way to think about what is happening.  In the life of Israel, there have been two major seasons of miracles.  The first comes when God uses Moses to deliver the children of Israel.  The second period accompanies the work of Elijah and Elisha.  Taken together it would seem that miracles establish major movements in God’s story, namely the law and the prophets (Matt. 17:2, Rev. 11:3).  Jesus’ ministry accompanied by miracles should not only indicate a major movement in God’s story, but as the question indicates, the best kind of miracle.  The wine foreshadows the miracle (or sign) that defines God’s story, which is the resurrection.

When I was little I read Max Lucado books.  In one of Lucado’s books, he introduced Jesus through the contemporary voice of characters from the miracle stories.  Two of those characters were the parents responsible for the wedding party.  They talked about their gratitude for Jesus and how he had saved them from a great deal of embarrassment.   I remember being confused when I read this part of the book.  It’s true that I was trained be grateful for the small things that God had provided, but why develop this form of thankfulness when there were so many extraordinary miracles that Jesus preformed.  As I grew in my understanding of this text and the high stakes game of party throwing, especially weddings, in the ancient near east, I developed a sense of appreciation for the point Lucado was trying to make.  Weddings lasted between two to seven days and usually involved most of the local village and family.  Imagine keeping that many people fed for that long.  Weddings were events that defined the financial life of an individual.  Running out of wine would not have just been a party faux pas, it would have been a sign of disgrace for the newly wedded couple and a severe violation of ancient near eastern hospitality.  Jesus providing the wine doesn’t just keep the party going, it’s a healing gesture to restore the emotional and spiritual well-being of the party’s host.

With a little bit of research, we find an interesting story that is not addressed explicitly in the text.  Back up to chapter one.  When Jesus calls Nathanael we sense a small amount of reluctance in him, he asks, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”  Keep that apprehension in mind and keyword search “Cana” in the book of John.  My search tells me that Cana occurs four times in John, the last occurrence in chapter 21 in which we learn that Nathanael is, in fact, from Cana.   I think Nathanael’s story presents preachers with a unique angle.  If we fail to follow Jesus we just may miss something extraordinary happening in our backyard.

 

carneyJoshua Carney
Lead Pastor
University Baptist Church, Waco, TX
josh@ubcwaco.org

 

 

Tags: wedding, party, stone jars, cana, wine, sign

Post a comment

You may use the following HTML:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>