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. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” ~ John 2:1-4
John 1:16 sets the tone for all of John's Gospel. It reads, “And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” The fullness of Christ addresses all of mankind's emptiness only if we turn to the Lord Jesus for the free gift offered. And, that free gift is a personal relationship with Him.
In John 2:1, we discover that on the third day, Jesus and his new friends attend a wedding. Since it was a two-day walk to Cana from Bethsaida, the Lord Jesus and his six disciples arrived in Cana on the morning of the third day. The number three is important throughout the scriptures, ultimately pointing us to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It was on Friday that the Lord Jesus was buried, and He was raised on Sunday, the third day.
The first miracle performed by the Lord Jesus at Cana was a miracle which emphasizes going from emptiness to fullness. Also, the miracle illustrates bringing life out of death. This is the significance of all of the miracles of the Lord Jesus, this is the significance of Zoe or eternal life.
Unlike weddings in America, in Middle Eastern weddings the groom is most prominent. He is the featured one; the bride merely shows up for the wedding.
Not only is the groom the featured person, but he also pays for all of the wedding! Some of those weddings went on for as long as a week, with all the relatives of both sides of the family joining together for a big celebration. This is the kind of wedding John is describing in our text.
The Lord Jesus had just called six disciples to himself, and they had then walked two days from Judea. So, the disciples come with Jesus as unexpected guests. This explains, of course, why the wine ran out. A wedding celebration called for so much wine, and when an additional six people show up, well, the wine runs out. Such is the plight of man who has turned his back on God.
Mary, Jesus mother, seized the occasion to tell the Lord Jesus, “They have no more wine.” Mary brings to the Lord Jesus a problem and expects him to do something about it.
The response of the Lord Jesus is, “Woman, why do you involve me?” “My hour has not yet come.” In addressing His mother this way, the Lord Jesus uses a common title of respect. He addresses Mary from the cross in the same way, "Woman, behold your son!" (John 19:26) This was a term of endearment.
When he says, "why do you involve me?", He is simply saying, "You don't understand. Doing this will not accomplish what you are hoping. It will not persuade the nation that I am the Messiah." Of course, miracles were part of God's plan, especially for the Jews, but the miracles never changed the hearts of the nation.
In v.4, the Lord Jesus says, “My hour has not yet come.” Jesus’ hour was the hour of his death, when, He, as the Lamb of God, would take away the sin of the world. This response of the Lord Jesus and the fact that He went on to do what His mother asked of Him shows that He was a man under authority.
The fifth command of the Ten Commandments is: "Honor your father and your mother." There are two sections found in the Ten Commandments: the first section addresses our relationship with God, while the second addresses our relationship with other people.
Now, the first commandment of the second section of the Ten Commandments is about respecting our fathers and mothers. The reason God instructed us accordingly is that the habit of respecting our parents provides for us the infrastructure in our souls that will enable us to be successful for the remainder of our lives. Study after study shows that the most successful people in the world have the ability to relate well with others, especially those who are in the authority structure of our lives.
