The Wedding at Cana
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 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 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.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
John 1:1–11
This seems, at first glance, to be a strange miracle. No-one is healed. No-one is lifted from poverty. The worst outcome of Jesus not turning the water into wine seems to be his mother and family suffering some embarrassment.
This miracle, among all the miracles of Jesus, almost seems like a “luxury miracle.”
The context, however, should give us pause.
Woman, what does this have to do with me?
Begin with Jesus’ interaction with Mary, his mother. Why does he speak to her this way? “Woman” is a rather remote, almost off-putting, way to address your mother—especially in Jewish culture at the time of Christ.
Is Jesus saying something like: “Stop bothering me?” This would be like the words of the widow to Elijah:
After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!”
1 Kings 17:17–18
Or perhaps the meaning is closer to the meaning of Hosea 14:8:
O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you.
Something like: “That is your business, do not get me involved.” Neither of these fit the context very well, however, because—at the least—Jesus does perform the sign his mother asks of him.
A third use of this phrase might fit better, something like: “We do not agree on this.”
But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the LORD has said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ”
2 Samuel 16:10
Taken together, Jesus is saying something like: “Since I have begun my ministry, you no longer have authority over me. If I do this, it will be for my own purposes rather than yours.” Read this way, Jesus is separating himself from his family so his ministry can truly begin.
My hour has not yet come
Jesus’ second statement is, perhaps, even more enigmatic than his first. The easiest reading of this statement is something like: “My ministry has not yet started; I’m not ready to perform miracles.” But how can Jesus separate himself from his Mother’s authority because his ministry has begun in one breath, and then claim his ministry has not started in the next?
Several interesting coincidences lead us in another direction.
Jesus’ mother, Mary, only appears twice in John’s Gospel. The first instance is here, of course, where he calls her “mother,” and separates himself from his family. The second is in John 19:26:
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
John 19:26–27
Since Mary appears once at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, and once again at the end, perhaps these two events are connected in some way.
A second clue is found in the word “hour.” Other instances of Jesus using this word in the same way include:
So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.
John 7:30
These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
John 8:20
And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
John 12:23
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
John 13:1
There is a clear pattern of Jesus talking about his crucifixion and resurrection being the “hour” in which his ministry is fulfilled.
A third clue is found in the number of days:
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee …
John 2:1
The “third day” should sound familiar, as three days are embedded in Christ’s death and resurrection. Finally, there is the wine. Just as Jesus create the finest of wine—wine he created—at the beginning of his ministry, so he also drank wine at the final dinner with his disciples, promised he would drink wine with the disciples in the Kingdom, and was given sour wine on the cross. Wine does not seem to figure so prominently throughout his ministry as in this first sign and the events surrounding his death and resurrection.
Putting it all together
Putting it all together, it seems Jesus is saying something like:
Mary, I am separating myself from this family because my ministry has begun. I will do this thing for my own reasons, rather than to yours. This, as my first sign, will point to my last sign, my death and resurrection.
There are deeper meanings here than a parlor trick or luxury miracle. This first sign is the first of two bookends on the ministry of Christ.