Jesus’ turning water into wine (John 2:1-11) is not about rescuing a wedding party from a premature ending or saving a groom from the embarrassment of running out of libations. The biblical writers often used the image of abundant wine as a sign of God’s goodness, and as a sign of fulfillment of their hopes for redemption and renewal when the Messiah came. The prophet Amos proclaimed, “The time is surely coming, says the Lord, when …the mountains will drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it” (Amos 9:13).
The Fourth Gospel announces that this was the first of the “signs” Jesus did. Over the course of John’s gospel, there are a total of seven signs, deeds of power that reveal Jesus as Son of God. More than miracles demonstrating divine power or proving that Jesus is divine, the signs point us to a deeper meaning. They point beyond themselves to show us the character of God as revealed in Jesus. The water turned into wine points toward God’s abundance and goodness.
This message is excerpted from the Bible study “Meetings with Jesus” by Julie A. Kanarr in the January/February 2019 Gather magazine.
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