“Wine that gladdens human hearts…” – Psalm 104:15 (NIV)
The wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2) is not just wine but a revelation of joy and God’s blessings.
No more ‘wine’ symbolised spiritual deficiency and the need for divine intervention, meaning a crisis moment. It’s a powerful symbol of human need that only God can fulfil. It reminds us that when Jesus is present in our lives, He provides abundantly.
In John 2:4, Jesus responds to His mother’s alert about the finished wine, saying His hour had not yet come, but His purpose allowed Him to perform this act of kindness, which was a deliberate demonstration of His power, of which we saw more after His baptism and wilderness experience. This was now the foreshadowing of His ultimate power (John 2:6-9).
The water jars were a part of the old Jewish religious system. Jesus is about to transform something used for external ritual into a source of internal joy and abundance. Jesus doesn’t create something from nothing; He uses what is already present. The six water jars represent incompleteness or human limitations, the effort of falling short of the religious system or tradition, all of which are insufficient without Christ.
In actuality, these jars held water for the washing of hands and bodies of the Jews; it was their custom and religious practice. Jesus had them filled to the brim with ordinary water, mirroring how He brings new life spiritually to dry people. The water represents law (purification by works). The wine Jesus creates represents grace and joy (God’s gift, not man’s efforts). This is a transition from law to grace, from religion to relationship, and joy into a new life. (John 2:11).
The beginning of Jesus’s miracles in Cana manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him. The miracle demonstrates God’s ability to transform ordinary things into something extraordinary, reflecting His desire to bless humanity with abundant joy.
Read: Daniel 2:11; Ephesians 3:20-21
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 116:12-19; Colossians 1:1-23; Jeremiah 7:30-34; Jeremiah 8; Jeremiah 9:1-16