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ND there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. 7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. 9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, 10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. (John 2:6-10)
It is likely only Mary perceived the grandeur of the miracle at Cana. This was a wedding celebration, and these were held in the highest esteem of the people. They often lasted for many days. Wine symbolizes the warmth and joy of the Holy Spirit in points of Scripture. The best wine of the house was usually served first for the guests, and when many had well partaken of the best, the inferior was then served to the oblivion of the celebrants.
Quite noteworthy is the fact this is the first miracle of our Lord, and He chose a wedding celebration to perform it. This defines the exalted esteem in which God considers the institution of marriage which was also the first that He instituted between one man and one woman back in Eden.
In order to eliminate any perception of subterfuge, our Lord had the servants fill the water jugs to the very brim with water. His act of kindness to the wedding company was not in part but in whole. He saved the family of the couple great shame and dishonor. The best wine was saved for last because the wine of the Holy Spirit is free of any impurities. I believe we could compare that wine to the Oil of the Spirit which each of us receives at conversion, and it is the BEST!
I do not consider it coincidental the next great event of our Lord’s ministry was to cleanse the Temple of the money-changers who had made the House of the Lord a den of thieves. The money-changers and merchandisers still inhabit the portals and enclaves of the modern church. That next event is revealed in the remaining verses of John 2 beginning at the 12th verse. When Jesus entered the Temple, He 14 . . found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. (John 2:14-16)
Why do you suppose these were the first two major events of our Lord’s ministry? How are they related? Do you recall the Institution of Marriage was the first our Lord instituted? What was the 2nd and only other institution? If you answered ‘the Church’, you receive a gold star, for that is exactly the case.
The Institution of Marriage is sacred in the eyes of the Lord for it represents the more profound 2nd institution of the Church. The Church is the Bride of Christ which is foreshadowed and symbolized in the relationship of marriage between one man and one woman. The woman must be faithful to her husband whose love is exemplified in his willingness to lay down his life for her – a picture of our Lord’s purchase of the Church:
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IVES, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. (Ephesians 5:22-28)
The first miracle Christ performed at the Marriage Ceremony at Cana of Galilee represents His esteem for that first institution of God at Eden – marriage between one man and one woman.
The second event of the Lord’s earthly ministry of the cleansing of the Temple demonstrates His high regard for the Lord’s second institution of the Church. As the Bride of Christ, it must remain pure and undefiled of the world. Christ is the Man whose Bride is the Church. To corrupt that relationship of Christ as the Bridegroom and the Church as the Bride is a defilement of such enormous proportions as to be labelled an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. It is for this reason the satanic forces of the world attack the institution of marriage with such vehemence. It is not only an attack on traditional marriage, but upon the Church itself to defile and corrupt it beyond recognition. This is the shameful issue of our day and one we must stand against.
