Miracles of Jesus: Changing water into wine

(John 2:1-11)

After Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist, who declared that Jesus is the Messiah, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29-34), Jesus recruits some disciples and travels to Cana to attend a wedding. This is where Jesus performed the first miracle of his public ministry.

Jesus' mother, Mary, who also attended the wedding, informs Jesus that the wedding hosts had run out of wine to serve as refreshments. This was a potential cause of great embarrassment for the wedding hosts. Mary asks Jesus to intervene, and he does. He transforms water into wine, saving the wedding hosts from any embarrassment.

This could be considered the least of the miracles that Jesus performed during his public ministry, which is estimated to have lasted three-and-a-half years, beginning around AD 26, about 2,000 years ago. But, it gave Jesus' new disciples a chance to see that they were not following any ordinary preacher. And it might have helped prepare them for the more spectacular miracles that they soon would witness.

Jesus is recorded in the four Gospels of the New Testament as having performed miracles on more than 40 separate occasions, according to the book, The Jesus Miracles, which is available through amazon.com.

The town of Cana is near Nazareth, where Jesus spent much of his childhood. Both towns are in Galilee, a region in the northern part of Israel, where Jesus would carry out much of his public ministry.

John, the author of the Gospel of John in the New Testament, records that this was the first miracle performed by Jesus during his public ministry.

As explained in the Gospel of John:

1 The third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus' mother was there. 2 Jesus also was invited, with his disciples, to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no wine."

4 Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My hour has not yet come."

5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever he says to you, do it." 6 Now there were six water pots of stone set there after the Jews' way of purifying, containing two or three metretes apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the water pots with water." So they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast." So they took it. 9 When the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and didn't know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the guests have drunk freely, then that which is worse. You have kept the good wine until now!" 11 This beginning of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

- John 2:1-11, WEB translation.

Read more in the book Jesus the Miracle Worker: The 46 miracles of Jesus explained in chronological order (The Jesus Books) -- now available at amazon.

Next: Miracles of Jesus: Performing signs in Jerusalem

Go to: List of all miracles involving Jesus