The First of Jesus’ Signs

MEMORY VERSE: “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.” —John 2:11

JOHN 2:1-11

THE miracle of turning water into wine was the first that Jesus performed. Our memory verse states that by this miracle Jesus “manifested forth his glory.” The New English Bible reads that he thus “revealed his glory.” Phillips’ translation reads, “demonstrated his power.” The purpose of this demonstration of power was to strengthen the faith of his disciples in the fact that he was truly the Messiah. It “led his disciples to believe on him,” the New English Bible reads.

In Luke 8:1 we read that Jesus “went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God” These glad tidings had been set forth in the Old Testament Scriptures. God’s Messiah, or anointed King in that kingdom, is identified in the promise made to Abraham that through his “Seed” all the families of the earth would be blessed.—Gen. 12:3

Throughout the Old Testament, 14 descriptions of these blessings are given. The blind eyes were to be opened, and the deaf ears unstopped, the lame were to walk, and the redeemed of the Lord were to be restored to life. These are described as “the ransomed of the Lord” returning “with songs of everlasting joy upon their heads.” (Isa. 35:10) Isaiah also foretold that God would “swallow up death in victory,” and would wipe away tears from the faces of all the people.—Isa. 25:6-8

Moses said that the time would come when the Lord would say to the dead world of mankind, “Return, ye children of men.” (Ps. 90:3) The Old Testament Scriptures reveal that this and all the other miraculous things foretold by God’s prophets were to reach the people through the Messiah. The Apostle Peter explains that their real fulfillment follows the return of Christ at his second advent. He describes the total work of blessing as the “restitution of all things,” and he says that these blessings had been spoken by God “by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”—Acts 3:19-21

The disciples had accepted Jesus as the foretold Messiah, the One who would fulfill all the wonderful promises of God—the promises to bless “all families of the earth.” But how could they be sure that Jesus was this Messiah, this great King of promise, unless they could see exhibitions of his ability to perform the miracles which were implied in God’s promises? How faith-strengthening it must have been, therefore, for these disciples to witness the many miracles per. formed by Jesus!

The turning of water into wine was the first of these miracles, but they continued throughout his ministry, the last of them being the awakening of Lazarus from the sleep of death. (John 11:1-48) Jesus gave sight to the blind and strength to the lame. He cast out devils and cleansed the lepers. In short, he did all those things which had been foretold by the prophets. However, his miracles were but token fulfillments of the promises in illustration of what was in store for the world of mankind during his second visit to earth, when he would be here as a reigning King. During that reign, through the agencies of his kingdom, he will heal all the sick and raise all the dead—not only those of one nation, but those of all nations—“all families of the earth.”

When the wine gave out at the marriage feast in Cana, the mother of Jesus called his attention to it, saying, “They have no wine.” The King James Version renders Jesus’ reply to his mother thus: “Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.” This seems impolite, to say the least, and it is difficult to imagine that Jesus would speak to his mother in this way. Evidently the translation is at fault. The New English translation reads, “Your concern, mother, is not mine. My hour has not yet come.”

Jesus’ mother perhaps realized that her Son could do something about this situation, and she was probably anxious that he do so. But Jesus simply reminded her that neither she nor he should be concerned about the matter, as his time had not yet come. In other words, Jesus was aware of the situation, and when, in his opinion, the time to act came, he would perform the necessary miracle, as he did. Thus Jesus demonstrated not only his power, but also his wisdom and his love, by contributing to the joy of the occasion.

QUESTIONS

Why was it important that the disciples be witnesses of Jesus’ miracles?

When, in the divine plan, will there be a world-wide program of miracles, in which all the sick will be healed, and all the dead restored to life?

Was Jesus rude to his mother when she informed him that the supply of wine at the marriage feast was exhausted?

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