John 2:7-10, Water Turns to Wine

7 Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast." So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now 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 10 and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now."

God likes to speak to us through foreshadowing symbols and symbolic actions, showing us that the whole world is His and comes from Him, past, present, and future. As the Israelites’ crossing of the Red Sea anticipates baptism, the changing of water into wine—symbolizing blood—anticipates the crucifixion of Jesus. His sacrificial blood eclipses the limited cleansing of water. The law required the Jews to purify themselves daily. The law exposed specific sins and provided a means of coming clean before God, but it did nothing to change the human situation and give permanent relief. Yet through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, he changes the human situation and brings permanent relief. Jesus saves all who come to God through him by making us perfect in himself. This is why the master declares that the new wine is superior to the old wine.

The kingdom of God has come in Jesus. It is like a wedding feast where the bridegroom comes to receive his bride and promises to support and sustain her forever. What was anticipated in the limited Jewish kingdom of God is realized in the Christian kingdom of God in Christ himself. The Word (the promises) of God has indeed become flesh. What the cleansing actions of the law could not permanently solve for us, the cleansing of the cross has.

I have been to many costly and beautifully planned weddings. Yet over the years they tend to meld together in my mind. The only one that truly stands out is my own to my wife. It has for me the deepest and richest memories. They are far superior to all the rest combined. The saving actions of Jesus are the same because they changed my life—permanently! They are far superior and world-changing, and this miracle points the way to this truth, foreshadowing the purifying sacrifice Jesus will make for us at the cross in Jerusalem, the city where God ordained sacrifices to be made to him.

Come before the Lord with a heart grateful for what he has done for you, remembering that as the bridegroom comes for his bride, Jesus has come for you so that you can be with him forever.