City Life Starter

By Stefan Johnsson

John 2:9-12 (ESV)

9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom

10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers[a] and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

Pastor Chris Pate did a great job defining the meaning of grace within Jesus’ first miracle. John want to record this miracle for a reason and show us more than just the basic idea that Jesus is able to turn water into wine.

When we dig further into the passage of John 2:9-12, we can take two points from this that helps us understand who Jesus is and what He came to do.

The first is that Jesus did not come to this earth to seek his selfish glory. He, instead, was selfless in all that he did and glorified the Father above. Jesus did not take ownership of the miracle of the water to wine. Instead, it was the bridegroom who was saved from being disgraced for running out of wine and thus could hold his head high. He probably had no idea where the wine came from and Jesus had no reason to take the glory for himself. Jesus took pleasure in others not being shamed and willingly took the shame on himself when he died on the cross.

At the same time, we are thankful that God does not want to punish us for our mistakes. He is a loving father that wants what’s best for us and to help us succeed. He disciplines us, but he does so in love. If we just knew and understood that Jesus treats us the same way that he did with the bride and groom in this wedding, we can see that Jesus is full of grace.

The second point is from verse 10 when the master of the feast asked why the good wine was kept until now. I believe this is a perfect metaphor for the coming of Jesus and why John wanted to share this with us.

For the Israelites, they were given the poor wine from the time of Moses onward. It was only a taste of what was to come and the mosaic laws could not save them, it only made them aware of their sin. They were under the law and did not yet receive that which was promised.

Here comes Jesus, the new and perfect wine. Jesus is the good wine that was kept until now. As we read of the first miracle by Jesus in this passage, we can see that the good wine has come and the poor wine of the past is no longer. It has run out, figuratively and literally. Jesus used the stone jars for cleansing to put the wine in. To show that the good wine will cleanse us from within. Just like Jesus cleanses us from sin, so the good wine did for the wedding guests.

What a celebration, what a time to feast! Jesus, the perfect groom has come for his bride, the church. It is a good celebration, it is with the good wine.

As we look at the wedding feast, let us remember that the good wine has come. He is full of grace and truth and He cleanses us from our sin. Hallelujah!