Jesus Makes the Best Wine

I have always been impressed that the coming out party of the Son of God was during a wedding reception where He transformed water into the best tasting wine imaginable. The narrative of the wedding miracle is recorded in John 2:1-11 where Jesus Christ showed Himself publicly to be the God of all Creation who makes the earth to bring forth wine. Psalm 104:14-15 reminds us that “He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart.” He is the God who made vegetables to farm for food, wine to make your heart happy, oil to give you a glowing complexion and bread to give you strength for work. And His presence at a wedding reception and His provision of wine bearing the Master’s seal of approval shows that we have a Savior who wants to make our hearts happy.

To bring the miracle into perspective, I did some research regarding how to plan a wedding reception and found a website which ironically stated Rule #1 in planning your Wedding Reception as, “Make sure you always have enough drinks on-hand for your guests.” The recommendation went on to inform that “The majority of parties and receptions run from 2 to 4 hours and you will need to plan on an average of 3 drinks per person for the first 2 hours.”

200 guests will drink 600 drinks in 2 hours = 120 bottles of wine

But Jesus goes overboard with his provision toward the end of the reception in Cana taking six water pots holding thirty gallons each and filling them to the brim with water before perfecting His wine.

6 waterpots x 30 gallons =180 gallons =  over 908 bottles of wine

When it comes to meeting this need, Jesus gives more than enough which reminds me of the immortal words of Matthew Henry, “His Supply is often better than His Word, but never worse.” Christ wonderfully supplies an abundance of the very best wine at the party’s end while the common practice would have been to bring out the good wine at the beginning of a feast, when the guests have their heads clear and their appetites fresh, and can enjoy it, and will commend it; but after they have had much to drink, when their heads are confused, and their stomachs are full, they don’t notice if it is good wine or cheap wine. With wine and with other substances there is a law of diminishing returns so that the first glass tastes wonderful but after a while you can hardly taste it. Certainly this is one of the reasons why Jesus models for us a moderate partaking of his gifts because He wants us to enjoy them as He designed them to be enjoyed. For when we drink a glass or two of wine we enjoy an unparalleled taste sensation which is accompanied by a happy heart but when we drink a lot of wine we only get drunk.

And certainly it was His intention that there would be some wine left over at the end of the banquet to attest to the miracle so that others would believe. I can imagine people coming for weeks on end to the reception hall to see and perhaps tasted the miraculous 180 gallons of wine which was perfectly balanced, crafted with a pleasing bouquet, rich tannins and a delightful finish. Moreover, if you had just witnessed the abundant and delightful miracle, you wouldn’t desire to drink to excess, you would anxiously taste and spend the remainder of your time praising the One who crafted it. Jesus saved the best for last, as He will when He brings the fullness of his Best Provision at the Final Wedding Feast where His betrothed bride, the church will be fully united to Him in the consummation of his Kingdom. For it is a trustworthy saying that, Those that follow Christ will feast with Him!