1st August 2025
Water and wine
…there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.”
John 2:6-8 (NKJV)
In the second chapter of his gospel, John recounts the first documented miracle performed by Jesus – the converting of approximately 180 gallons of water, in six stone pots, into wine for a wedding that had got the catering wrong and had run out. The conversation Jesus had with his mother suggests that this was not the first time that he had overridden physical laws to make something miraculous happen. Mary expects him to use that same power to solve a problem, not a matter of life and death, but nevertheless of great importance at the time. There is a comfortable familiarity in the conversation between mother and son with a hint of humour – words exchanged with a smile, maybe, or a gentle nudge.
The waterpots Jesus commandeered for this event were for ‘…the manner of purification of the Jews…’. The Old Testament scriptures, particularly in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, list a host of reasons why the priests and the rest of the Israelites had to wash both themselves and their clothes. It might seem that there was very little time for anything else. Some of the reasons laid down were: when appearing before God at Sinai; if they ate food killed by a wild animal; if they had a skin disease; after sexual relations; if they had killed someone in battle, and before eating a meal.
Matthew 15:2 shows that Jesus did not rigidly enforce the rule about hand washing before a meal, but it also shows that it was one of the things that the Pharisees attached importance to: “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” This is what the 20-30 gallon stone water pots were for.
Jesus still had more than three years to go until that time when he would once again share wine with his disciples – but with the powerful imagery of the wine representing his blood, soon to be shed. This blood is what covers our sins. It purifies us. It cleanses us completely, in a way that the ritual washing, with the water from the stone jars, could never achieve, having to be done again and again. We remember the cleansing of Christ’s sacrifice every time we share the wine in communion.
When Jesus shared with his mother that his ‘time has not yet come’ (John 2:4), it hadn’t. There was a work to be done. A lot had to happen before he offered his blood as the sacrifice for all people. He had just been baptised by John; he had just surrounded himself with his chosen disciples, and he had accepted the invitation to the wedding in Cana. But that impending sacrifice was already on his mind. Beyond that sacrifice, he was looking to another wedding in the future, outlined in Revelation 19:7-8 (NIV): “…For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” The Lamb is waiting for his bride, the church, purified and in clean clothing.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we give you thanks for the pain and sorrow you went through to provide us with a sacrifice for sin, for the cleansing power of the blood of that sacrifice. Amen.
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Study by: Maggie Mitchell About the author: |
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Local congregation:
GCI Market Harborough
9 The Point
Rockingham Road
Market Harborough
LE16 7QU
Meeting time:
Sunday 4.00 pm
Local congregational contact:
Sinead Henderson
Email: sinead.henderson@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church