March 18
Jesus’s 72 Steps From Glory to Glory
Step 13: From Bethsaida to Cana
Wedding at Cana
Last week, Jesus called two more men to follow Him. First was Phillip, who then finds Nathanael. Nathanael is skeptical, and Philip challenges him to “come and see”. Then Jesus makes his first prediction. This prophecy is that one day He will ascend to His throne in Glory. This week, we will see Jesus perform His first recorded miracle.
John 2:1-11
- V.1 Jesus, Mary, and some of His followers attend a wedding in Cana.
Why the third day? What did this mean? Two things;
1. Possibly, this is the third day since John pointed Jesus out as the Lamb of God
2. The third day of the week is significant in Jewish wedding traditions. Many Jewish people are married on the third day. If you are in Israel on the third day of the week, you’re going to see many weddings taking place. The reason it’s traditional is that the third day is the only day in the Creation account that God blessed twice. Doubly blessed, the third day of the week is Tuesday, and it’s considered an auspicious day for weddings because “God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:10, 12).
- Mary tells Jesus that they have run out of wine.
- Does He already plan to solve this problem? Probably. But he reminds His Mother that His purpose was more important than performing miracles. See John 2:4 and 12:23
- Mary instructs the servants to do whatever He says. See Luke5: 5-6, Acts9:6, Heb.5:9,11:8.
- What do we learn from these verses?
- He tells them to fill six twenty or thirty-gallon waterpots with water. (Fixing to have a party!)
Turn to 1 Kings 4. Maybe Jesus was providing a fund for the young couple to set up housekeeping.
- The first of Jesus’ miracles: Changing water into wine.
- Significantly, Jesus chose a wedding to perform the first miracle.
The oldest and greatest of the three important institutions given by God is that of marriage. God Himself performed the first wedding in Eden. Gen.2:20-25
- God would later choose the relationship between a man and his wife to illustrate the love Christ has for His church. Eph.5:22-23
- Yet to come is The Greatest event of all time, is a wedding – the marriage of God’s Son to His chosen bride, the Church. Rev.19:6-9
- Jesus used Water Pots to perform the first miracle. He wants to do the same thing today, but now He uses living, earthly vessels. If we allow Him, He fills us with the water of God’s Word, and when we pour it out, it becomes the wine of the Holy Spirit.
- The head of the feast testifies to the excellent quality of the wine. In Genesis 1:31, we read, “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.”
It makes sense that when Jesus makes wine from water, it is going to be the very best!
Step 14 From Cana to Capernaum
John 2:12
While they won’t stay there many days, this will become what many believe to be His home city.
“And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah (9:1) the prophet, saying: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.”
Matthew 4:13-16 NKJV
Capernaum means City of Nahum or Nathans village. On the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, it was the home of Peter and Matthew. It was near a major trade route, so stories about Jesus would travel faster.
