John 1, 2 & 3

Jesus first miracle takes place at a wedding in Cana.

Jesus and His Disciples were invited to a wedding in Cana, about 4 1/2 miles northwest of Nazareth. His mother Mary had invited them and some scholars believe that she was in some way related to the family holding the wedding. In ancient times, wedding feast often lasted for a week. To run out of wine at such an important event would have been humiliating for the bride and groom. The family of Jesus was not wealthy, and it's likely that their relatives and acquaintances were not either. This may have been a "low budget" wedding feast.

Mary had waited for thirty years for something big to happen. She gives Jesus a nudge. They are out of wine. And the miracles begin.

Jesus ask that six stone jars be filled with water. Each jar held twenty or thirty gallons. So Jesus makes 120-180 gallons of the finest wine. For Jews wine represented life and abundance. Wine also symbolized the expectation of a good life for the newlyweds.

Jesus used the moment to reveal something of who He was. He astounded the Disciples. The product wasn't just wine, but the best wine. The New Illustrated Bible Commentary says it this way "In the same way, Jesus was the new wine bringing abundant life to Judaism, which, like the wedding, had run out of life and become spiritually empty."