H2O becomes C2H6O!?

“Water you turned into wine, opened the eyes of the blind. There’s no-one like You. None like You.” So starts Chris Tomlin’s worship song ‘Our God‘.

As we move into the last half of the school year, the summer term, at Redefine we are going to be looking at the 7 miraculous signs of Jesus’ ministry in the gospel of John.

Last night we looked at Jesus turning water into wine, hence the title of this blog post; H2O being the chemical formula for water and C2H6O being one of the chemical formulas for wine.

The key part of the excerpt from John’s gospel that was studied last night, I believe, is “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” John 2:11.

This miraculous act of turning water into wine was the first ‘sign’ that Jesus performed.

Why?

To reveal His glory.

The word that John uses in his gospel for ‘sign’ is σημεῖον – sémeion. It means a sign, miracle or indication, given especially to confirm, corroborate or authenticate something. In this case the sign and indeed all of the signs are to reveal to His disciples, and to all who would believe, who Jesus truly is.

Signs point the way to something.

The signs in John point to Jesus, and to Him being the promised Messiah; the Saviour we have all been searching and waiting for. As John says at the end of his gospel; “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30.

But how does turning the water into wine reveal His glory and point to Jesus as the Messiah?

The pots that were filled with water in John’s recounting of the miracle were intended for ceremonial purification. They were used to make people clean, travel on the roads in 1st Century Israel was often a dirty and dusty process and at the end of their travels people would need to get clean.

It is this water that is used for cleansing that Jesus turned into wine. Wine that the master of ceremonies (a bit like the best-man in today’s weddings) declared to be the best wine. Wine that was drunk at a wedding celebration that filled people with joy.

I love this image of Jesus being part of a celebration. Jesus having fun and getting involved in a wonderful part of life; a wedding.

When reading through this passage it became clear that Jesus in His first sign, was pointing towards the cross.

Upon the cross, Jesus’ blood would bring cleansing to all of mankind’s uncleanness. All of mankind’s sin would be dealt with on the cross by Jesus’ sacrifice. Those that receive forgiveness by believing in Jesus and His atoning work on the cross for them find great joy and celebration in this.

Just like the celebrants at the wedding feast.

Jesus was also pointing towards the great wedding feast that is being prepared for believers, a feast where He will have saved the best till last.

This was Him revealing His glory.

In what other way do you see Jesus reveal His glory through this passage?