Cork Free Presbyterian Church, 10 Briarscourt
(Annex) Shanakiel, Cork, Ireland
Pastor: Colin Maxwell. Email: colin.maxwell@fpcmission.org
THE WEDDING FEAST IN CANA OF GALILEE
ONLINE EDITION OF GOSPEL BOOKLET
1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and
the mother of Jesus was there: 2 And both Jesus was called, and
his disciples, to the marriage. 3 And when they wanted wine, the
mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. 4 Jesus saith
unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet
come. 5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith
unto you, do it. 6 And there were set there six waterpots of
stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or
three firkins apiece. 7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots
with water. And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he saith
unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And
they bare it. 9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water
that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which
drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth
good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but
thou hast kept the good wine until now. 11 This beginning of
miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory;
and his disciples believed on him. [John 2:1-11]
* This was the first of many miracles which the Lord Jesus performed
during His ministry on earth. He did these to show forth His glory
(v11) i.e. give irrefutable proof that He really was God the Son as
this account of the gospel proclaims him to be (John 1:1-3)
* The disappointment experienced by the wedding guests when the wine ran
done reminds us of the emptiness of the world’s pleasures without
Christ. Many seek to feed their soul on the world’s pleasures, only to
meet with the greatest disappointment: ”Even in laughter the heart is
sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness”. (Proverbs 14:13)
* On the other hand, this same parable teaches us that there is real joy
in Jesus Christ alone. He alone can give us “life more abundantly”
(John 10:10) with “joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8) He
alone can “put a new song in our mouth” (Psalm 40:3) There is no real
satisfac-
tion outside of Christ.
* Many folk misunderstand
the role of Mary, Christ’s mother, in this miracle. They believe it
gives them reason to pray to her and ask favours in the knowledge that
they will be given without fail. Such a belief is without warrant, even
from the passage itself. The complete absence of proof that these
disappointed guests approached Mary to ask her help (along with the
silence of of Scripture as a whole) shows that faith here is misplaced
and erroneous.
* This passage also gives us another often
unpalatable truth about Mary i.e. that she was not without personal
sin. Christ effectively rebuked Mary for seeking to interfere in His
earthly ministry. St. Augustine comments: “He, as it were, does not
acknowledge a human womb, when about to work Divine works ...” (Homily
8 on John’s Gospel)
* Again, in regards to Mary, it was
Christ’s glory that was on view at the end of this miracle (v11) - not
that of Mary. We may acknowledge her kindness etc., in seeking to help
these disappointed wedding guests, but this is no more than we would
expect from any follower of Christ and this
incident should not be used to prop up any teaching that is totally unsupported by any other Scripture.
* His disciples believed on Him after this great miracle. This means more
than a bare acknowledgement of facts, but means that they “believed to
the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39) They ventured the destiny of
their immortal souls upon the Son Of God. They quit believing in
themselves or in their religion to save them, but looked to Him and His work to be their all sufficient Saviour.
*Today, you too can be saved like these disciples. You have a soul. You
are a sinner but "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15)
Christ demonstrated His almighty power in this miracle, not only to
change water into wine, but sinners into the Heaven bound people of
God. Make Him your Saviour even as you read these words.
END OF TRACT