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Scripture Reading: John 2:1-11
John 2:1-11 says, “The third day a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, as well as His disciples, to the wedding. And when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no wine. And Jesus said to her, Woman, what do I have in this that concerns you? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, Whatever He says to you, do. Now there were six stone waterpots lying there, according to the Jews’ rite of purification, holding two or three measures each. 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. And they took it to him. And when the master of the feast tasted the water which had 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, Every man sets out the good wine first, and when they have drunk freely, then that which is worse; you have kept the good wine until now. This beginning of signs Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed into Him.”
The Gospel of John speaks of the Lord Jesus as the Son of God coming to people so that they may have His life. Although the Lord Jesus contacted thousands of people when He was on the earth, John selected specific cases to prove that in order to meet all of man’s needs, the Lord Jesus causes man to have His life. The event recorded in this portion of John 2 is one of many cases. It is an important and central case that has much significance. This case shows how the Lord Jesus came to change man’s condition of death into one of life.
We will consider the record in John 2:1-11 point by point. This portion is symbolic in meaning. Hence, we must consider the symbolic meaning of the things and matters referred to in this portion. The case recorded in John 2 uses physical things to signify a spiritual reality. Therefore, in reading or speaking about this portion of the Bible, we must consider all the items as symbols with spiritual realities.
The first point reveals the Lord Jesus coming in resurrection. The Lord Jesus came to a place called Cana on the third day (v. 1). In the Bible the third day is the day of resurrection, because the Lord Jesus resurrected on the third day. Therefore, the symbolic meaning of His coming to Cana on the third day is that He comes to people in resurrection. Chapter 1 presents the Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God who bore our sins (vv. 29, 36). As the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus bore our sins when He was put to death on the cross. Therefore, symbolically, chapter 1 speaks of the Lord Jesus coming as the Lamb of God to die for us on the cross for our redemption. Chapter 2 speaks of His being raised on the third day after His death and thereby entering into resurrection. His entering into resurrection means that He is the Lord of life, who is full of life, and that as the Spirit of life, He can enter into people so that they may have His life. Therefore, this portion says that the Lord came to Cana on the third day. After dealing with man’s sins through His death, He comes as the Spirit of life in resurrection to people so that they may have His life.
The ancient sages and philosophers knew that there is an immense need within human life, but they were not able to identify this need. They tried to meet this need with many different things, but all their efforts were fruitless because they did not know that this need can be met only by a sufficient life. Man has problems and difficulties because the human life is insufficient. Therefore, in the Gospel of John when the Lord Jesus comes in resurrection to man, He comes in the Spirit of life so that His sufficient life can solve the problems of human life and meet the needs of man’s insufficient life.
The Lord comes to people in their lowly condition. In John 2:1 the Lord came to Galilee. Galilee was a province, and it was considered a low, despised, and detested place. No prophet or man of fame had arisen out of Galilee (7:52). Galilee signifies a lowly place, a place of no reputation. In God’s eyes all human beings are in Galilee, a place without honor, a place that is low and mean. The Lord’s coming to Galilee means that He humbled Himself, leaving His glorious position in heaven and coming to a low and mean place on earth. The Lord humbled Himself and came to earth because He wanted to contact people so that they may receive Him as their life. If He were high and far above in the heavens, the lowly people living on earth would have no way to contact Him, nor would they have a way to receive Him as life. It is impossible for people to go to heaven, which is high and far above. It is possible, however, for the Lord to come down from heaven in order to approach those who are in a low and mean place. The Lord came from heaven to the earth in order to approach man. He died, resurrected, and ascended to heaven, and descended again as the Spirit of resurrection, the Spirit of life, the Holy Spirit, in order to seek and approach lowly people. To this day He is still searching every corner of the earth, in low and mean places, in order to contact lowly people. As the Spirit, He can approach and contact people in any nation and in any society, and He can be received by them to become their life.
Most people have a wrong concept that someone who wants to seek the Lord Jesus and pray to Him must go to a chapel, because the holy Savior can be found only in a sacred and solemn place. This concept may seem pious and good, but it is wrong and not according to the Bible. The Gospel of John shows that the resurrected Lord Jesus is omnipresent. He is everywhere as the Spirit of resurrection life in order to seek and contact those who need Him. On the one hand, He is exceedingly holy and honorable, but on the other hand, He is willing and desirous to contact the most filthy and lowly of people. No one should think that he is too filthy or too low to contact the Lord Jesus. No one should say, “I have committed too many sins, and I am living a filthy life. Why would the Lord Jesus be willing to save someone like me?” The Lord Jesus came to Galilee, a low and mean place. He specifically came to a place condemned by men in order to save lowly people. No place is too low or mean for Him to visit. No one is too lowly to be saved. This is His great love and compassion. This is the great gospel.
John 2:1 says that the Lord came to Cana of Galilee. The word Cana means “reed.” In the Bible reeds signify weak and fragile people. Isaiah 42:3 says, “A bruised reed He will not break.” Hence, reeds refer to weak and fragile people who cannot withstand pressure. Therefore, the Lord’s coming to Cana signifies His coming to weak and fragile people.
People in the world are weak and fragile by nature. Both physically or psychologically, we are weak and fragile. We are weak and fragile in our undertakings and in our morality. Our physical body cannot withstand a little blow. An infectious disease forces us to lie down, and a car accident brings us death. The slightest injury can be fatal to us. Our physical body is weak and fragile. Our psychological being also is weak and fragile. Concerning our psychological being, a little difficulty can cause us pain, and a little sorrow can cause us much grief. We shudder and are terrified by something that is slightly unknown. It is difficult to find someone who has no physical weaknesses or who is absolutely sound psychologically. We frequently refer to someone as being psychologically unbalanced. Most people today have some psychological imbalance, but the condition of some people is less serious than the condition of others. Every condition shows that people are psychologically weak and fragile.
People are also weak and fragile in their undertakings; hardly anyone is happy and content with his undertakings. Most people have aspirations that cannot be realized, because of their human weakness and fragility. Those who are cautious and conscientious may have some achievements, but these achievements cannot withstand even a slight blow. We will not consider serious blows, such as the chaos brought in by wars, natural disasters, and man-made calamities. If there is a little change in the environment or in human affairs, everything that a person has spent his whole life achieving can disappear in an instant. How weak and fragile human beings are!
People are morally very weak and fragile; they are not able to withstand the slightest temptation or enticement. Many who consider themselves to be morally strong and healthy fall prey to money, lust, ambition, or addiction. They lose their fortune and honor and eventually end up in a hopeless situation. Human beings are truly weak, fragile, and pitiful.
Further evidence of man’s weakness and fragility is his mortality. Those who are weak will die, and those who are strong and healthy will die as well. Those who are poor will die, and those who are rich will die as well. Those who are lowly will die, and those who are high and honorable will die as well. Those who are illiterate will die, and those who are highly educated will die as well. Death is an unconquerable power. Who can escape death’s grasp? Man is extremely weak and fragile in the face of death.
Thus, man’s condition is portrayed in John 2: a group of weak and fragile people dwelling in Cana, a land of reeds. Human beings can neither withstand nor endure many things. Many things can lead to physical sickness or mental instability. Many things can discourage a person or issue in death. Human beings are weak and fragile. In every respect, whether physically, psychologically, concerning his undertakings, or in relation to morality, man cannot withstand duress. Man is truly weak and fragile. Nevertheless, our Lord Jesus came to weak and fragile people so that they would receive Him as their life. People need the Lord Jesus to be their life because they are weak and fragile.
The Bible says that those who believe in the Lord Jesus receive eternal life. The term eternal life refers not only to a life that is eternal but also to a life that is strong. It is called eternal life because it is unchanging. This life is unchanging because it is strong. The nature of this life is the exact opposite of the nature of the human life. The nature of the human life is weak and fragile, but the nature of the divine eternal life is strong. Therefore, the Lord Jesus as the strong divine life comes to the weak and fragile people in a low and mean place in order to take care of, to resolve, the problems of human weakness and fragility.
The Lord came to a wedding feast (John 2:1-2). A wedding feast signifies the pleasure of marriage. Marriage is a great event in human life. Human life depends first on God’s creation and then on marriage. Without marriage human life has no continuation, and without a continuation human life will cease to exist. Therefore, human life depends on marriage. Marriage is a symbol of human life because it is the center and the focus of human life. Furthermore, the wedding feast is a symbol of the pleasures of human life. The Lord’s coming to the wedding feast signifies His coming into human life and also into the pleasures of human life. The Lord comes in order for people to receive Him as their life so that His life can solve the problems of human life; that is, His life solves every problem related to the pleasures and enjoyment of human life.
When we read portions in the Bible such as John 2, we must understand them figuratively. So much is implied in the wedding feast. The Lord Jesus came into this situation. Therefore, when He comes to people, He comes into their human life with all its pleasures. He is not only concerned about our human life with its pleasures; He also wants to solve all the problems of our human life.
The Lord Jesus came to the wedding feast, but the wine ran out (v. 3). Wine is the focus of a wedding. A wedding depends primarily on wine. Wine is different from water. Water does not come out of life, but wine does. In those days the Jews drank wine made from grapes, which is the life of the grapes. Hence, wine signifies life. A wedding feast depending primarily on wine signifies that the pleasures of human life depend on life. If there is no wine, a wedding feast becomes meaningless. When life comes to an end, man loses his pleasure and enjoyment. The pleasures of human life disappear when life ends. Therefore, when life is terminated, the pleasures and enjoyment of human life are also terminated.
The wine in the wedding feast ran out. This signifies that human life is limited and will end. Human life will reach an end. Not only do old couples die, but even young couples die as well. When either the husband or the wife dies, the happiness goes. In other words, the wine in the wedding of human life runs out. When a person’s life comes to an end, the pleasure of his human life also comes to an end. A newly married couple is in the happiest time of their human life. If the husband is diagnosed with tuberculosis, the wine in their human life is running out. Suppose an elderly couple celebrates their fiftieth wedding anniversary. This also indicates that the wine is running out. After they drink a little more, it will be finished. This is true not only of the joy of human life that exists between a husband and wife. It is also true in respect to the many other aspects of the joy of human life. We all understand that the aspects of the joy of our human life will eventually end because our human life is limited and will end.
The people at the wedding in Cana did not know the Lord’s intention. However, I believe that the Lord knew that their wine would run out and that they needed Him to change their wine into a better wine. This signifies that although man does not know the Lord’s purpose in coming to him, the Lord knows that man has a need. Man may be feasting and living an “enjoyable life,” but the Lord Jesus knows that human life will reach an end one day; it will be finished. Therefore, the Lord comes to man in order to meet such a need.
John 2:6 says that there were six stone waterpots. The number six represents created man, because man was created on the sixth day. The waterpots were made of stone. Because stone is something natural, the six stone waterpots signify the natural created man. Cana, the land of reeds, signifies our being weak and fragile, and the six stone waterpots signify our being created and natural. As weak and fragile human beings, we are the reeds in Cana; as created and natural human beings, we are six stone waterpots.
It is very meaningful that the Lord told the servants to fill the waterpots with water (v. 7). Wine is different from water because wine comes out of life, but water does not. Therefore, just as wine signifies life, so water signifies death. The Lord told the servants to fill the waterpots with water; this indicates that the natural created man is filled with death. We should not think that someone dies because he has been sick for a certain period of time. Rather, someone dies because death is in him. We all have death in us. We are weak and fragile because death is in us. Our physical weakness and fragility and our psychological weakness and fragility prove that death is in us. The factor of death, the element of death, in us makes us weak, fragile, and unable to withstand pressure both physiologically and psychologically. We are fragile, sick, aging, failing, and dying. These conditions prove that we are filled with death. We need the Lord Jesus because we are filled with death. We need the Lord of life to come into us. We need resurrection life, the Spirit of resurrection, to be our life in order to meet our needs. Because we are filled with death, everything that the sages did is ineffective in solving our problems. The sages are not able to impart into us a life that is strong and cannot die, an eternal life. Only the Lord of life is able to give us a life that is strong and cannot die. He can give us a life that is eternal to meet our need.
After telling the servants to fill the six waterpots with water, the Lord asked them to draw out some water (v. 8). When the master of the feast tasted the water that had been drawn out, he did not taste water but the good wine, the best wine (vv. 9-10). This signifies that the Lord changes the death in man’s natural life into the best life. That which was water was changed into the best wine. All that we have is death, but after the Lord Jesus comes, our death is changed into life; it is even changed into the best life. When the master of the feast tasted the water that had been changed into wine, he was surprised and could not imagine that it had previously been water. Through His death and resurrection the Lord Jesus has done such a work of changing death into life in many people. Others are surprised and amazed at the condition that these ones manifest and the “flavor” that they emit. Formerly, these people knew nothing but death in the various situations of their human life; they were morally low, psychologically weak, and pessimistic and weary of human life. However, after the Lord Jesus did the work of resurrection in them, these conditions of death were changed. Those who were morally low became respectable, those who were psychologically weak became strong, and those who were pessimistic and weary of human life became optimistic and interested in human life. These conditions prove that the death within them was changed into the best life.
The Lord Jesus changed water into wine, and that wine was not natural wine. The first wine in the wedding feast was natural, but the second wine was not natural. This means that our original life is natural. The life that is the center of the pleasures of our human life is natural. This natural life will run out; it will end. However, when the Lord came into us, He gave us a miraculous life, the eternal life of God. The pleasure that this life brings us is also eternal. This life causes the “wedding” of our human life to continue for eternity. Only by having this eternal life can we participate in eternity. Only this eternal life can give eternal happiness.
The most crucial need in human life is not this thing or that thing but a change of life. Originally, our condition is one of death. This condition can be resolved only by the eternal life. Only this life brings about a radical change within us, changing our death into life. Only the Lord Jesus can accomplish such a change within us. Only He as the resurrected Lord — the Lord of life and the Spirit of resurrection — can change all our death into eternal life.
After the Lord Jesus changed water into the best wine, the guests were satisfied. Furthermore, the Lord Jesus manifested the glory of God; that is, the Lord Jesus manifested God. When the Lord changes our death into life, He gives us satisfaction, and God is expressed through us. Many of those who have believed in the Lord Jesus bear such a testimony. On the one hand, they have the Lord’s life as their living water; hence, they no longer hunger or thirst, and their human life is satisfied. On the other hand, the Lord’s life enables them to live in God; therefore, the glory of God, that is, God, is expressed through them. When we meet someone who has believed in the Lord Jesus, we can sense that he is satisfied with his human life, and we can sense that he has God’s “flavor,” God’s image. Someone who has the life of the Lord Jesus has the life that is glorious, eternal, strong, and divine. As a result, he is satisfied, and God is expressed through him.
John 2:11 says that changing death into life was the beginning of signs that the Lord performed. This sign was the first sign, and it signifies that the work the Lord does in us always begins by changing death into life. His giving Himself to us as our life is the beginning of all His work in us. Now He can do His miraculous work in us continually. However, His work is based on giving eternal life to us. Therefore, changing death into life is the beginning, the first sign, of His work in us.
Whatever work the Lord does in His believers is not an ordinary or common work but a miracle. A miracle is something that cannot be performed or accomplished by ordinary people; it can be performed and accomplished only by God. Only such work can be called a miracle. The work that the Lord Jesus is doing in us is miraculous in nature. Such work cannot be performed by man; it must be performed by God. The miracles that the Lord performs in us are all based on one thing: His changing of death into life. This is the first miracle that He performs in us, and it is the beginning of all the miracles that He will perform in us. It is the beginning of all His work in us.
The Lord’s changing our death into life is not only the beginning of miracles; it is also the greatest miracle, the miracle of miracles. It is the greatest miracle that He performs in us. Dwight L. Moody, a great American evangelist, once said that the greatest miracle that the Lord performs in man is to enliven those who were dead in their sins. We often think that it would be a great miracle for a person who is gravely ill to be healed by the Lord. We think that it would be a great miracle for a dead person to be made alive. However, we seldom consider how great a miracle it is to receive the Lord’s life. Those who were dead in sins, filled with death, morally low, and weak are made alive in spirit; they experience a miraculous change. Such a miraculous change is expressed in many ways. It is expressed in our physiology, our psychology, our undertakings, and our morality. There is such a great change within us because the Lord’s life is in us. The changing of death into life is truly the greatest miracle that the Lord performs in us.
From these ten great points we can understand the focus and purpose of the Lord Jesus’ salvation. The sign performed by the Lord at the wedding in Cana speaks forth His salvation. According to the weakness and fragility of our human life and according to the low and mean situation in which we dwell, we are the same as the people who lived in Cana of Galilee. You may be striving to pursue the pleasures of human life, but one day your wine will unexpectedly run out. Your life will end, and the pleasures of your human life will also end. Everything in your human life is weak and fragile because your natural man is death. But the Lord knows your condition and your needs. Therefore, He comes in resurrection as the Spirit to the low and mean place where you live and into your human life with its pleasures in order to change your death into life, your weakness and fragility into strength, and your dead end into a way out. As a result, you have the joy of satisfaction, and God can be expressed.
The salvation of the Lord Jesus is wonderful. What He does in man is a miracle. He has performed this miracle in many people, and He is also performing it in us. How can you have this miracle of the Lord’s salvation? How can your death be changed into life?
First, you need to confess that your condition matches the condition of the people who attended the wedding in Cana. You are living in a low and mean place, and you are exceedingly weak and fragile and full of death. Your human life and the pleasures of your human life are limited and transient.
Second, you need to believe that the Lord Jesus comes with the purpose of saving you in order to solve your problem of being low, mean, weak, fragile, and filled with death. His way of solving your problem was to become a man in the flesh, live on the earth, and be put to death on the cross. On the cross He bore your sins and removed the source of your weakness, fragility, and death. He was resurrected on the third day and became the life-giving Spirit in order to reach you and be the eternal life in you. This life replaces your low, mean, weak, fragile, and mortal human life.
Third, you need to receive Him into your spirit so that He becomes the center of your human life; He becomes the Lord of life in your spirit.
Fourth, you need to obey His word and listen to His command. When the Lord ordered the servants to fill the waterpots with water, they followed His command. When He said, “Draw some out now and take it to the master of the feast” (v. 8), they did according to His word. When they obeyed, a miracle took place. Likewise, you should obey the Lord’s word so that you may be saved. The Lord has given you His words in the Bible. His words include, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life” (3:16); “He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life” (5:24); and “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16).
You should believe and obey the words of the Lord. The Lord said that he who believes into Him has eternal life and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life. Therefore, when you believe into Him, you have eternal life, and you will not come into judgment. You must believe this. The Lord also said that he who believes and is baptized shall be saved. Hence, you should believe and be baptized in order to be saved. When you believe and obey the Lord’s word in this way, the miracle of the Lord’s salvation will be realized in you. You will come out of death, and you will receive the best life so that you may live a human life that is noble, strong, and full of joy.
