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Writer's pictureArpana Sharon

From Cana to the Cross | Arpana Sharon Blog

Updated: Sep 1, 2021


The wedding at Cana is so deep and so beautiful! Here are 15 aspects of the historic incident. A lot of research and prayers went into writing this. Therefore it is long, but please do read it to the end. I hope it helps you understand how DEEP God is! Here's the insight: The incident in John 2 has many elements that I want you to know.

Please note, we are now going to compare two time periods - the beginning of Christ's ministry and the completion of it. Firstly, pure grape wine is symbolic of the blood of Christ (Matt 26:27-28). Having said that, lets begin. ๐Ÿญ) ๐—๐—ผ๐—ต๐—ป ๐Ÿฎ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต "๐—ข๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜†" A foreshadow of the timing of Christ's resurrection day. ๐Ÿฎ) ๐—” ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด Symbolic of a union between the bride of Christ (church) and Christ (the groom). ๐Ÿฏ) "M๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜‚๐˜€" ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฎ The beauty of the author's writing here is the contrast of Mary becoming "mother of another man" at the cross. Jesus, being at the end of His mission, had completed His earthly responsibility towards his earthly parent. He was leaving the earth to His Father, back to the heavenly realm that existed even before Mary. By transferring the title to another man, He laid it to rest unto Himself. He was NOT telling the world that she is every other disciple's mother too. That is a poor interpretation based on sentiments and not facts. (In fact, this disciple is largely believed to be John. The Bible mentions Mary and the disciple in the same sentence, but it adds that Jesus loved the disciple.) Jesus addresses Mary, as though to inform her first that He must move on, assuring her that she is not without help. And, when Jesus addresses the disciple, he takes her as though his own - by which Mary is emotionally supported unto her old age and death as she is a mortal being. ๐Ÿฐ) ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜† "๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ" She was at Cana, and she was at the Cross too. But her husband Joseph was not at either places. The complete absence of Joseph at the scene of Jesus' first sign, as well as at the cross, is foreshadowed in the prophecy of Simeon. Simeon carries baby Jesus and says a sword will pierce through the soul of Mary - but not Joseph. This is not because Joseph is not blood related and all that story. After all, he was chosen by God too. The absence of Joseph could denote that Joseph had already passed away, after he had 4 sons with Mary. His death is the only way He could not have been with Mary at the wedding, at the cross, and anywhere inbetween. It's the only way his soul could not have been pierced by the news of the child he raised hanging on a cross. ๐Ÿฑ) "๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ป๐—ผ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ" Pure Grape wine, as a Jewish wedding ritual, represents PURITY. The wine being pressed signifies a hard process that leads to becoming pure. So, "no wedding wine" is symbolic of "lack of purity." And Jesus providing the wine foreshadowed His painful crucifixion. ๐Ÿฒ) ๐—๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€, "๐—ช๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป" "Gynai"(woman) is a respectful word to address adult women in Jewish culture. Like, the English people saying "Lady", or us saying "Madam". The interesting thing about Jesus saying "WOMAN....... my hour has not yet come" is its bright contrast to "FATHER..... the hour has come." Jesus was so clear about His mission and purpose that though He had biological parents, He acknowledged Sonship only with God the Father. Jesus was the Son of God before Son of anybody else. Jesus has known His Father ever since the beginning of times, according to John 1. He was with the Father for "AGES" before He had to come into this world. You understand the love between them in John 3:16 - "Only begotten Son" - A love so great that believing in the Son will win God's heart. Then, in John 17 when Jesus reveals they are 'one' - "All I have is Yours, and all You have is Mine" & "You are in Me, and I am in You." And of course, in Matthew 3:17 "This is my own dear Son with whom I am pleased." So much love! This Father-Son relationship was everything to Jesus that Jesus even accepted the painful plan of the cross! Just because that was the will of His beloved Father. In fact He goes an extra mile with this love when He says, "Who is my mother and brothers? Those who DO THE WILL OF MY FATHER in heaven is my brother, sister, and mother." (Matt 12:48-50) Jesus coming into this world through another parent could not alter THIS Father-Son relationship. He knew He would have to be born of a woman - a very pure woman. Therefore He addressed Mary with respectful words such as "Gynai", but never "Mother." And, since Mary knew to an extent the purpose of Jesus, it was never recorded that she expected to be called 'mother' by Him. Many a times, the focus on Mary fades out the focus on the Greater parent - Father God! ๐Ÿณ) "๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚?" Please know that Jesus was not saying "what does lack of wine have to do with us?", Jesus was setting the context for His next sentence "My hour has not yet come." Basically, He implied that His hour to be glorified will come from God His Father, and not Mary his mother. ๐Ÿด) ๐— ๐˜† ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ The same greek root word "hora" (hour) is used in John 3:17 "the hour has come". But what hour is He talking about in both instances? It's the hour for the Father to "glorify the Son." At the wedding, God manifested Jesus' glory in the hour of His first sign (John 2:11). And towards the end of His mission, Jesus was glorified when He completed the work God had given Him (John 17:1-5). The mention of "His hour" at the wedding itself confirms that every part of His mission is interlinked with one another. ๐Ÿต) ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ "๐——๐—ผ ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€" Many do as Christ says because they follow Mary's instruction. But the fact is, even Mary directly followed Jesus. She always set the example of Christ not needing her as a mediator - she says do as HE says and takes a step back. ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ) "๐—๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ" These jars are not normal water jars, they were used for the Jewish custom of "purification." At the moment, it was purification by works. But the jars of water were about to be transformed into vessels carrying the best wine - provided by grace. ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿญ) ๐—ฆ๐—ถ๐˜… ๐—ท๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ That's one less than 7. And the number 7, to the Jews, means "complete." The 7th jar is NOT absent. Because it was never meant to be there. Some attribute the 6 jars to the 6 ages of the world up to the time of Jesus. Some say 6 symbolizes man, from the 6th day of creation. But I'll tell you my stance: Since the purification vessels denoted "works" to attain salvation, there were 6 jars. Because using them could never "complete" the law on their own. Jesus had to step in to fulfill it, as it is. He didn't add a jar because - More purification jars could not have cleansed anyone, only He could! ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฎ) ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€ ๐˜ƒ๐˜€ ๐—›๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜€ The servants, carrying out orders as told by Mary, help serve a purpose but are unheard of later. However, the disciples who were with Jesus, eventually partake in His glory by inspiring us to this very day. Always remember, the one who came in search of you is Jesus. This love is unmatched. HE is the one to be pursued for your comfort. For your requests. For your ANYTHING. Your security, blessing and strength comes from Him, not anyone else. Above all, He is the only way to your salvation - which is you partaking in His glory and making a difference wherever you are. Don't be mere servants of men, be disciples, apostles & children of God. ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฏ) ๐— ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜ One respected and trusted enough to oversee and review the aspects and components of the feast. Sometimes, even to organize it! The earthly master did not know where the wine came from, and was fascinated, or curious, by the action of the bridegroom in keeping the good wine for later. Whereas - God the Father - is the Heavenly Ruler of the Feast. Though He reserved Jesus' blood right at the beginning of times, He allowed it to pour later. The first part of the world's lifetime was full of the inferior wine of law, the second half was graced by the superior wine of love. The Heavenly Master had a plan and He knew what He was doing. He called the bridegroom Jesus out of His authority to provide the greater wine to the guests at the feast - in His time. ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฐ) "๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—›๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฆ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป๐˜€" John 2:11 is clear. Note the word "first" here. No signs were performed earlier. Therefore, this incident was the beginning, as the scriptures in Greek say. There is no mention of public or private miracles. And we do not source our information from any script outside the Bible. God sent the Holy Spirit to alight on Jesus at His baptism, when He was 30 years old. The Holy Spirit helped a mortal Jesus do the miracles. When the time had come, He "began" manifesting His identity as the Messiah. ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฑ) ๐—”๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป, "๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—›๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป๐˜€" Note the word "signs" here. What Jesus did is termed as a "sign" more than a "miracle" because this happened to show the people that He was indeed the Messiah. Not just to comfort people and bring joy to them through the miracles, but also to help them understand that the glory of God lived in their friend Yeshua. A sign that Yeshua was the One to be observed, the One to believe. The disciples had only heard His teachings until that day. But they saw signs of the supernatural in Jesus for the first time at Cana and "believed in Him." ***๐—ฆ๐—ผ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€!!*** ๐——๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ป'๐˜ ๐—๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐—ธ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—›๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ? First of all, Jesus knew that His time was coming. He said His hour had not YET come, not because He was unaware of it. He knew it very well - even more accurately than anyone else! That's why He responded a negative to Mary but did the miracle a few moments later - when the time was right, when it was God Who set it for Him. Not a second before, not a second after. And Christ's hour came only at the cross, but here the hour had come for Messianic signs to be manifested. ๐—•๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป, ๐˜„๐—ต๐˜† ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฑ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ธ ๐—›๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜€? She didn't. No one did. But God was moving all the pieces of the puzzle there to make the first sign manifest. He is the author of that sign and the finisher of it. Not one of them understood the depth of this. The day, the wedding, the less wine, the panic, the jars, the servants, the disciples, and Jesus' clarity of mind to separate God's timing from man's timing - even if it was few moments apart. Jesus was aware of it ALL. *Some may ask, "Then why did she ask the servants to listen to Him?"* In John 2:5, Mary says, "Whatever He says to you, do it." The original verse in Greek has an additional word - Whatever... "anyhow"... He may say... to you... do. Mary had mentioned JUST a fact about the situation, no request was made. But hearing Jesus' response with the words saying, "My hour" has not yet come, Mary left the servants at His disposal for when the time comes. Even if it never comes that day! Whatever, anyhow, do what He may say. Because there's nothing more anyone could do. ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜‚๐˜€' ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ฒ? Mary vaguely knew about the time of God from earlier happenings. But for a period of time, she wasn't a complete believer herself. In Mark 3, Mary and her four sons come to take Jesus because they thought He was "out of His mind." However, Luke 2:19 & 51 shows Mary kept a record of all the information about Jesus, which came from others that spoke highly of Him. She "treasured" them in her heart - she gathered them in her heart and hid them deep inside. The Bible says, she pondered over the claims. That means, she did not have crystal clarity of these things. Since an angel had also spoken to her before she became pregnant with The Child, she expected, that at some point of time, it would be proven who He is - even unto herself & her other sons. At the cross, Simeon's prophecy had come true. Since she had kept in mind everything that others had said about Jesus, she could see that Christ was indeed the Messiah. ๐—•๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป, ๐—บ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—น๐—น. Mary is indeed blessed among all women. But she was human too. Therefore, she had what was common to a human witnessing strange events - a confusion in the heart. Other than the above example from Mark 3:21, Mary was caught off-guard when a 12 year old Jesus said He was at His Father's House when He was actually at the Temple of God. The Bible says, Joseph and Mary did not understand what Jesus had said. In fact she called Him "son" and addressed Joseph as His "father", to which Jesus responded that He was at " My Father's House." While He was not at their home. Therefore, not her, not anyone, knew what was about to happen that day. But Jesus & the Father knew. And, being clear about Who gives His orders, Jesus acted in His Father's timing. The Father too, made every situation come together leading up to the completion of Christ's mission. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—–๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฎ ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐˜† ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—™๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ - ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ฎ๐—ป. All credits and glory go to Him. Thank you for reading all the way. The Word of God is indeed deep. But how can it not be, when it about His love for us? God bless.




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Akansha Jagdish
Akansha Jagdish
Jul 18, 2023

This is amazing! Loved the commentary!

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