When Exactly Did the Water Turn to Wine?

And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now."

This story, as you may know, is the first public miracle performed by Jesus. It is amazing to consider that being His first public miracle, it was performed at such a practical moment, and further, the large impact it had far exceeded the number of those who were aware of it. A truth that in and of itself disserves meditation upon. Further, Jesus saved the wedding feast, and the bride and groom from public shame and embarrassment. Yet, he claimed no credit and even avoided recognition for what he had done. It unveils a greater truth about Jesus’ nature of humility. One Paul beautifully describes in Philippians 2.

“ Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:6-8, KJV)

Apart from His disciples and His mother, no one knew what He had done except for the servants that served the wine to the master of ceremonies. It is a challenge to us; are we capable of helping others without them being aware of it? Without needing the credit?

After considering Jesus’ beautiful humility, let us turn our attention to the following question, “When exactly did the water turn into wine?” If you read the passage carefully, you will notice the water didn’t turn into wine until the servants had handed it to the master of the ceremony. Actually, stop and think about this, and you will discover a powerful truth about how we are asked to respond to God’s voice and commandments in our own lives.

Imagine this, put yourself into the shoes of the servants at the feast. Jesus is a man you don’t know well or at all, and he just asked you to put water into hand washing pots, draw some into a cup, and bring it out to the master of the ceremony “pretending” it is wine. Water from washing pots! Water used to clean hands? What would have happened if the water didn’t turn to wine? How would the master of ceremony responded? What would have happened to the servants if Jesus didn’t do what He said He would? How would this have affected the reputation of the bride and groom or the whole wedding, for that matter? How heavy were the stakes? Yet, Mary told them to do, “Whatsoever he saith.” So, they did.

Did the servants focus on their feelings? Did they focus on their fears? Did they focus on the anxiety in considering, “What if everything goes wrong?” “What if nothing happens?” “What if we bring this man’s “water” to the master and it stays as it is?” That stood there fighting the urge to stop the master from drinking the “water” up into the last moment of the wine hitting his lips. No, they followed through with what Jesus had asked of them. They trusted His words over the loudness of their feelings. They trusted His words at the risk of their job and reputation. They had a choice in how they would respond to Jesus’ request. What a profound truth we observe displayed!

The same does God ask us to do in response to Him now. To trust His voice over the feelings that seek to overwhelm us. To trust His voice despite the risks. To trust His voice enough to risk our reputation, and everything else really. To do this though we have to have confidence and trust in His goodness, power, and control.

Finally, this brings us to consider, what the master of the ceremony said after he had tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He said to the bridegroom that he had saved the “good wine” until now. This good wine my dear brothers and sisters is the imagery of the New Covenant, in light of the Old Covenant. The new access we have to the Holy Spirit because of the sacrifice of Christ when he literally poured out His love for us. You have access to the Good Wine now! The wine that is better than what was available at first. The Wine Jesus prepared for you in His passion for you at the cross. So, can we, in like passion trust Him at His word?