WATER INTO WINE

WATER INTO WINE

John 4:46 ¶ So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine.

The Lord recently spoke a powerful word to my wife Parris about the miracle in Cana, you know, the one where He turned the water into wine. I want to share a few observations about that story that minister powerfully to me. First, it is obviously no coincidence that the first miracle was at a wedding. Obviously, this is a prophetic glimpse into the whole reason Jesus came. He came to redeem fallen sons and daughters, He came to gather a people for Himself. The culmination of His work will be seen at a wedding. It will be the wedding celebration of Christ and His bride, the body of Christ. Each one of His sons and daughters will see Him and celebrate with Him at this coming wedding reception.

Secondly, this wine is a picture of joy. The joy that Jesus brings to His people is not a natural joy based on the circumstances of life, it is a supernatural joy pictured by this incredible miracle. Most Christians have no concept of supernatural joy. They may understand salvation is a gift given to us by grace through faith, they may truly have a hope of eternal life that began when Christ came into their lives. But for many, there is just a drudgery in their religious observations. Any joy that they receive comes from the natural activities rather than tasting of God’s supernatural joy available to us in Christ. James Boyce, a Presbyterian pastor, spoke powerfully about the nature of joy in our Christian experience.

“Apart from Him who is the source of life, Who is Himself the life, religion is a cold and lifeless thing. Apart from the joy He brings, religion is joyless and hardens personalities. Do you have religion? It will profit you nothing! Or do you have Christ? He alone can quench the hunger and thirst of your heart. He alone can put a song in your mouth that not even the angels can sing. He alone can give you true and everlasting joy”.

Finally, the huge provision of wine speaks to us powerfully about the sufficiency of Christ. The amount of wine He supplied was between 120 and 180 gallons. That is outrageous. These jewish feasts would last for a week and the whole town would be there. The provision of The Lord is sometimes quite shocking. What kind of situation do you find yourself in today? Are you facing problems bigger than you? Maybe your joy went out the door or maybe joy is something you’ve been unfamiliar with for a very long time. There is no problem too big, no sickness too severe, no relationship so strained that Christ cannot satisfy. He will not only solve the apparent problem, but when you call on Him, more than just an answer to your circumstances will come, He will come Himself. Oh, I almost forgot, He always brings the new wine of supernatural joy with Him.