Washed With Wine

Isaiah 62:2-10                                      John 2:1-12

Washed With Wine

What do you do when you accidentally put diesel in your petrol tank? Do you just drive anyway, hoping for the best? Do you just add more petrol with the hope that it will dilute the diesel?  No, you need to call the breakdown service immediately to come to you to drain and flush, not just the fuel tank, but the whole fuel system. You cannot and must not drive your car until it has been thoroughly cleansed and “purified”.

This is true of our spiritual lives as well. When we allow the impure to invade us…or to use the words of Paul, when we conform to the ways of the world…we too need to be drained and flushed…we too need to be cleansed and purified…we need to be transformed.

There is so much going on in chapter 2 of John’s Gospel…so many images…symbols of deliverance and abundant life…so much that needs to be seen, acknowledged, and examined if we are to fully comprehend and appreciate what John is trying to convey to us. There is a wedding, there is an abundance of the best wine, and there is a reminder of liberation from slavery: the Passover. In both the stories told in this chapter, the wedding in Cana and the cleansing of the Temple, John spoke of “signs”…the first is a sign Jesus performed to reveal his glory to his disciples…the second is a sign demanded, by non-disciples, for Jesus to reveal the source of his authority. 

Also in both stories, the need for purity or purification is emphasised…the use of purification jars for the transformation of water into wine would not have gone unnoticed by 1st century believers, as would the need to purify a defiled Temple. This act of cleansing or purifying is coupled in both stories to the death and resurrection of Jesus as at the wedding he referred to his “hour” or his “time” that had not yet come, and at the temple he spoke of the destruction and subsequent raising up of his body as the new Temple. We also know that later Jesus referred to himself as the True Vine and to his blood shed for the atonement of sin as the cup of wine at Passover…his body broken, his blood shed…words used at the institution of the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper. 

I believe it is also significant that the sign at the wedding was performed on the third day and that Jesus said that the sign to prove his authority would become apparent on the third day. 

So much to explore in this chapter and yet so little time…for this reason, we are going to limit ourselves to the first story today, but I do want you to have both connected in your minds as we examine them separately. 

Weddings in the Ancient Near East were grand affairs. There were great celebrations, with the ceremony usually taking place in the evening…Wednesday if the bride was a virgin and Thursday is she was a widow…and this only after an elaborate feast. Then there was the procession to the home of the groom, a joyous, noisy parade, with an open house and entertainment that could last for a week or more. 

So, it would be a shameful thing for the host to run out of anything, especially wine! Such an occurrence would be regarded as an insult to those present and could lead to possible future social isolation of the family. So, the wine running out here was a rather serious matter.

We are not told why Mary stepped in to rescue the situation…perhaps she was a relative or maybe she was just “there-is-a-problem-I-need-to-fix-it” type person…and we are also not told why she thought Jesus could do something about it! Had she witnessed Jesus transforming something before? 

“Oh no, here comes Aunt Jemima with her five children…we don’t have enough food on the…wow! Where did those fish come from? Jesus?” We just don’t know…but what we do know is that she clearly believed that Jesus could do something to save the day. 

Some commentators are puzzled by what they perceive to be a bit of a rude reply from Jesus, as if he was irritated by her meddling. Quite literally he said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with me?” “Woman” was not a word usually used by the ancient when addressing their mother. However, Jesus also called his mother “woman” at the cross in a moment of great tenderness and concern, so the use of the word “woman” does not appear to be rude at all…to the contrary. 

When I read this, I see more of a loving playful interaction between mother and son. Clearly John believed that Jesus intended to change the water into wine because this act was the first of the signs Jesus did to reveal himself and his purpose. Jesus never did anything because he was forced to – nor did he do anything coincidentally…everything was always deliberate and intentional…in John 5 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

But as with everything else Jesus said and did, this was a teaching moment. By referring to his “hour” or his “time” that was yet to come, Jesus used this “sign” to be the first indicator of what lay ahead. Later in John 12 Jesus said to his disciples, “the hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified” and then he proceeded to speak about the crucifixion, and its benefits. In John 13 we read that Jesus prepared to have the final Passover meal with his disciples once he knew that his “hour” had come. There are more references in the Gospel of John where Jesus equated this “hour” with his death on the cross as well as the resurrection…that which was instrumental in granting us access to the wedding feast of the lamb. 

Now, I don’t think that it was coincidental that it was at a wedding that Jesus performed the first of several signs or indicators. The intimate relationship between God and his people is often portrayed in terms of a marriage in the Old Testament. In Hosea 2 the Lord bewailed the fact that Israel, his wife by covenant, had defiled herself. When Isaiah spoke about the Messianic age, he described the mystical union of God and his people as a marriage. It is no surprise then, that John used the same imagery to announce the inauguration of the Church in Revelation 19:7. “Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.” For this reason, I think that Jesus intentionally mentioned his “hour” at this wedding in Cana (right at the beginning of his earthly ministry) to indicate that what he was about to do was more than just help the host to save face…even if this was only understood in hindsight.

The Scriptures teach us that God’s plan is eternal and unchangeable and that it therefore includes all the acts of created beings. According to Proverbs 16:33, even something as random and as apparently unpredictable as the casting of lots or the rolling of dice is within our Lord’s sovereign control. “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is form the Lord.” Or as the New Living Translation renders it: We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.”

In fact, the Scriptures indicate that God’s plans even include the sinful acts of people that he then turns around to bring about something good. Remember what Joseph said to his wicked brothers in Genesis 50:20? “You meant evil against me but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” Also, in a passage we looked at briefly in the last talk, Acts 4:27-28, the Early believers prayed, “for truly against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before to be done.” God’s plan is sovereign and as such it incorporates all the actions of his creatures.

Now, let’s look at what Jesus instructed the servants to do. He told them to fill six stone water jars with water. John tells us that these specific jars were the kind used by the Jews for their purification rites. In other words, these jars were used to pour clean water over unwashed or unclean hands as well as to clean certain vessels, but (and this is important) they were never used as storage jars for drinking water. So why did Jesus choose these specific jars? Why not use the now empty wine vessels for instance? 

In the book of the Revelation of Jesus, John wrote: “Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To him who loved us and washed us from our sins with his own blood, and has made us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Also, in 1 John 1:7, he wrote, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

I believe that John understood why Jesus used purification jars in his first sign. The one who performed this sign of changing water contained in purification jars into the best wine, was also the one who would pour out his precious blood in abundance for the purification of sinners. His blood which he said was illustrated by the cup of wine at the institution of the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper. But whereas the waters of purification could cleanse the external…hands and dishes…the wine that Jesus gives cleanses the hearts and souls of people. It is a washing parallel to none.

As the wine was brought out to the master of ceremonies, he marvelled at its exceptional quality. So too, the cleansing that comes from being washed in the blood of the Lamb…washed with wine…is by far superior to the various ceremonial washings. By this, John said, Jesus manifested his glory – another indication that this sign pointed forward to the cross – and, we are told, his disciples believed in him.

John said that this was the first sign…please note, not the first miracle…but the first sign. In John’s Gospel, there is a difference. Jesus did many miracles, but only seven signs that served as markers on the way to the cross…all pointing to his divine person and divine purpose…leading the disciples to their mind-boggling conclusion about Jesus after the resurrection and ascension. In John’s Gospel they were recorded so that others might come to the same conclusion as that of the disciples…that they too might come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God…and that by believing in him, they too might have eternal life.

It is interesting to note that we are not told if anyone else at this wedding, other than his disciples, believed…in fact, we know that Jesus’ brothers did not believe as John says as much in chapter 7:5. We are told that the servants knew what had happened to the water in the jars…but we are not told whether or not they actually believed in Jesus.

Am I pushing it if I say that just as the wine was offered to all so too the purifying sacrifice of Jesus is offered to all…and yet not all believe? Some may even know the truth, claiming to be followers of Jesus, and yet they deliberately choose to embrace falsehood. As Daniel said, “Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.” (Daniel 12:10)

There is a reason why Paul warned us not to be conformed to the ways of the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  We have the promises of freedom and abundant life freely offered to us through Jesus. Like a petrol car is drained and flushed from all traces of diesel, we are purified and cleansed from sin. Why then would we return to it like a dog to its vomit? It just doesn’t make sense, does it?

Let us rather follow the advice of Paul and purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Corinthians 7:1) Our God is a holy God, dearest beloved brethren and he has revealed to us clearly in the Scriptures what is good and what he requires of us: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8) We are to walk in the light because he is in the light.

The blood of Jesus washes us whiter than snow…his blood cleanses us from the stain and filth of sin. This purification is symbolised in the act of our partaking of the elements of bread and wine in the Eucharist. Jesus said, do this…this “sign, if you will…do this in remembrance of me…in other words, bring to mind what I have done for you every time you eat this bread and drink this wine…and as you partake of these “signs”, hear again the words of Jesus: “Your sins are forgiven…go and sin no more.”

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2023