On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 [And] Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus told them, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it. 9 And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him. 12 After this, he and his mother, [his] brothers, and his disciples went down to Capernaum and stayed there only a few days.
Jesus’ public ministry formally began at the Wedding Feast at Cana. It would be shameful for the groom to run out of wine at his wedding feast. Jesus’ mother made him aware of the problem but does not ask him to do anything about it "They have no wine (v. 3)". However, she must have been aware of the Divine Power within her son because she said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you (v. 5).” Jesus' reply was a veiled reference to His crucifixion “My hour has not yet come (v. 4).” The dialogue between mother and Son indicated that Mary believed in Him and knew who Jesus truly was then, therefore she knew who Jesus truly was when she stood at the foot of the cross.
The stone jars were used for ritual purification. The servants did as Mary told them, and they fulfilled the word of Jesus. As servants of God, we are to do the word of Jesus. Obedience can lead to a miraculous occurrence that satisfies a multitude (cf. Mk. 6:34-44). As the prophet Isaiah said, “The Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines (Is. 25:6).” The bridegroom is credited with providing the ‘good wine (v. 10)” but John the Baptist called Jesus the true bridegroom (Jn. 3:29). This is the first ‘sign’ in the Gospel of John that showed Jesus’ glory and it led His disciples to start believing in Him (v. 11).
Jesus replaced the water used for Jewish purification rituals with wine, and the wine became a part of the Messianic wedding feast (Mk. 2:19, 22). At the Last Supper Jesus, ‘'Took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins (Mt. 26:27-28).” When Jesus was on the cross, “One soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out (John 19:34).” And in Hebrews we read, "This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood (1 John 5:6)" The blood of Jesus, the Sacrificial Lamb, is our salvation just as the blood of lambs saved the Israelites from death in the Exodus (Ex. 12:7, 13).
The second sign at Cana in Galilee was when Jesus healed the Royal Official’s son with only his words (Jn. 4:46-54).
Lord God of mercy,
your plan of salvation began the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed you, and reached
its fulfillment in the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus. We do not understand your ways but help us to be obedient and rely on
your mercy to lead us out of our darkness into the light of your redemption. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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