Lord of Abundance & Wine Overflowing: John 2:1-11 Reflections
Hey Everyone, Good Morning,
Read John 2:1-11
In ancient Jewish weddings, the bridegroom was the center of attention, and was expected to throw a lavish party to celebrate the beginning of his marital union. Jewish wedding ceremonies were said to last a week so the groom was expected to provide a lot of wine. The bridegroom would have been looked upon very poorly if his guests found out that he was unable to provide enough wine for the celebration—hence the predicament with the lack of wine at the ceremony. Jesus’ mother brings the problem to Jesus who is with His disciples. However, when Mary first approaches Jesus and informs him that “they have no more wine”, his initial response is unexpected.
“Woman, why do you involve me…my time (or hour in some translations) has not yet come,” Jesus responds to his mother. It’s important to note that although in our reading of this phrase, Jesus’ response may appear rude. “Woman,” as Jesus employs it here was not understood to be rude or derogatory. And yet, in referring to his mother as “woman” instead of “mother,” Jesus seems to be placing a familial distance between Him and His mother—the reason why may become more clear with his next sentence Usually, in the gospel of John, when Jesus refers to His “hour,” He is referring to the time of His eschatological fulfillment, or His crucifixion, and resurrection. Though Jesus’ mother may know that He is special (she was the one who conceived Him through immaculate conception, after all) and is more than capable of solving the problem of the lack of wine, Jesus’ response may be a reminder to His earthly mother that He is under a higher authority than her and that His purpose on Earth is not one of a magician who steps in to solve wedding fiascos and other worldy problems, but rather His gifts and ability are to testify to the reality that the Kingdom of God has come and is breaking out on Earth through Him. Though Jesus is not under his mother’s authority to solve this problem, out of His grace, He still responds and His disciples and the servants present learn something very powerful about Jesus.
Jesus tells the servants to fill the ceremonial washing jars to the brim with water. There are six of them that hold between 20-30 gallons of water each. The jars purpose as ceremonial washing jars may be a salient point to the author because they point to the importance of ceremonial washing and cleanliness/purification in Jewish tradition. Jesus’ use of these ceremonial washing jars hold symbolic importance in that “new wine is created in the ‘old’ vessels of the Jewish purification rites, symbolizing that the old forms—are given new content. It is inaccurate to describe this miracle as Jesus’ rejection of the waters of purification and hence a symbol of Jesus’ rejection of Judaism. Rather, jars stood empty, waiting to be filled. Jewish vessels are filled with a wondrous new gift (cf. 1:17). This miracle is thus neither a rejection nor a replacement of the old, but the creation of something new in the midst of Judaism” (NIB, 538). Besides the fact that Jesus uses the ceremonial washing jars, another reality that the author John makes sure to highlight is the sheer magnitude of water that Jesus turns to wine. Jesus tells the servants to fill all six jars with water, it seems that we are to assume that Jesus turned all of that water into wine, that is 120-180 gallons of wine. And this isn’t just wine, from the words of the steward who is surprised that the bridegroom has served the “best [wine] until now,” we see that Jesus has turned the water into quality wine—Jesus produces the very best wine. Here, we see that Jesus takes a situation of lack, and fills it with His abundance
“In the OT, an abundance of good wine is an eschatological symbol, a sign of the joyous arrival of God’s new age (Amos 9:13; Joel 3:18). This eschatological symbolism suggests that John 2:1-11 can be read as more than the first act in Jesus’ ministry. It also stands as the fulfillment of OT eschatological hopes, as the inaugural act of God’s promised salvation.”
This miracle provides a significant instance in which Jesus fulfills the responsibility of the bridegroom in providing wine for this wedding ceremony. Now let’s fast forward to one of the last time that Jesus provides his disciples with wine at the end of his ministry when in in the Last Supper, Jesus says that the wine of the supper is His blood of the covenant poured out for forgiveness of sins. Couple this with the reality that Jesus is described as our the eternal bridegroom with the church as His bride, we see that the wine Jesus is the ultimate bridegroom who indeed provides the most precious wine for His bride—that is His blood shed that we may enter into an eternal relationship with God through Him. When we enter into relationship with God through Jesus Christ, He seeks to take our situations of lack and fill them with His abundance.
Where are the areas in your life where you may feel depleted or you’re experiencing lack that you are believing and desiring God to fill with His abundance?
Maybe you’re experiencing loneliness and believing God to make Himself known as a God of comfort and to surround you with a community where you can experience His love and comfort? Christ would have you to know that He is with you and in Him you are never alone.
Maybe the area of lack you're experiencing is one of low confidence or low-self esteem and you need Christ to affirm that He has made you beautiful, that in Him you are loved and cherished, and that He has made you worthy.
Maybe you’re believing God for healing because you’ve experienced depression, have a broken heart, or have a family member experiencing depression and you want Jesus to heal your/their heart and fill it with His abundant love and joy. Whatever it is, Jesus would have you to know that He is the eternal bridegroom who offers us the abundant wine of His precious blood shed on the cross that we may know fulfillment in Him.
