John 2:1-4 – Bible Study & Exploration
The Wine, the Wedding, and Jesus’ First Miracle
(Verses 1-4) In this passage we see the first recorded miracle that Jesus performs. It takes place in the little town of Cana in Galilee. Cana was located in the southern part of Galilee, west of the sea of Galilee and just north of Nazareth.
Cana is the village where Nathanael was from. This likely could have been how Jesus was invited to the wedding along with his disciples and family.
Jesus performed two miracles in Cana that we know of. Besides turning water into wine at the wedding, Jesus healed the young son of a royal official. Jesus was in Cana when He performed this miracle while the boy He healed lied sick in Capernaum.
Jesus Calls His Mother “Woman”
It’s possible that Mary knew the wedding party. It appears as though she may have had a hand in helping the wedding planners based on her involvement and reaction to the wine running out.
Mary naturally turns to her son in hopes of a bit of supernatural help. Running out of wine or food at a wedding event would not shed a good light on the planners or the families of the bride and groom. So something needed to be done.
It could also be that Mary thought it was a good time for Jesus to show who He was and what He could do in front of the wedding crowd. It’s likely she was acting as a proud mother who wanted to boast in who her Son really was.
In response to Mary’s request, Jesus replies, “Woman, why do you involve me?”
At first glance, this would appear to be somewhat abrupt and rude to His mother. But this is not the case.
In this case, the word “woman” gets lost in the translation from the original text to our modern English. For us today, it would sound a bit rude and disrespectful. But to the Galileans, it would’ve been used the way we use the word “ma’am” today, which sounds better to us than “woman.”
Jesus still lovingly fulfills the request of His mother. And it’s recorded as Jesus’ first miracle.
Jesus’ Is Doing the Business of the Father
To add proper context to this scenario, we want to also look at the shift in Jesus’ life. Jesus’ was known at the time as a young man who was a carpenter by trade and lived with his parents and stepbrothers. But now, He’s come to begin to fulfill the purpose for which His Father has sent Him. That is to spread the message of the Kingdom of God.
The shift in His life goes from young carpenter helping to support his family to suddenly going about to do the will of His Father. Just as each disciple walked away from their lives to follow Jesus, so did Jesus do the same.
It’s quite possible that this shift in identity and purpose changes the role in which Mary plays a part of during His ministry.
This, in no way implies that Jesus loved His mother any less than He already did. We are essentially witnessing a change in roles. Jesus had come to do the will of His Father. The Father had now called Him to that ministry that was just getting started.
We should also recall that Jesus lovingly and gently refers to His mother as “woman” while He was on the cross. Remember, when He instructed His disciple John to care for His mother just before His death on the cross.
“Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” (John 19:25-27)