This third example of marriage taken from the Scriptures (the two previous were in Exodus 1, 2 and the Book of Ruth) we find in the New Testament. There are not many such examples in that part of the Bible. In fact, as rich as the Old Testament so poor is the New on this score.

There is no shortage of material on the meaning of marriage in the N.T., of course. To know what Christian marriage is you must open the N.T. It abounds in doctrinal and ethical instruction on this subject. Historical and personal illustration of marriage situations is quite rare, however.

Interestingly enough, John‘s majestic Gospel opens its description of our Lord’s ministry with the account of a wedding. The promises and blessings of Christian marriage are so richly stated or implied in the Cana wedding feast that we may safely say that in it we have totally satisfactory answers to every basic marriage problem!

The Wedding Feast

The location of the story of the Wedding Feast at Cana in John’s Gospel is crucial. John sees it as something deserving  first mention.

It is easy, however, to treat this passage superficially, and therefore unjustly.

For example, many apply this text to mean that our young people ought to be sure to include the Savior on their guest list when they marry. Great! But, is this really a fair reading of John 2:1–11? I think not.

B. Holwerda wonders if such an application does not do more to obscure than to explain this passage. He asks, What does it mean when we read that Jesus and His disciples were invited to t his wedding celebration? How, or in what capacity, was He invited? Was He really invited because He was the Savior and Messiah? He believes that this is debatable. After all, our Lord had just begun His public ministry. Following His baptism by John and His temptation by Satan He had been busy forming the circle of followers known as “the twelve.” True, John had been preaching for some time, and he had identified Jesus as the Christ, but only a few of his disciples had been sufficiently impressed to make the switch from him to Christ.

At this moment it seems as if very few recognized Jesus as the Messiah. The Cana invitation was not extended because He was “the only begotten of the Father” who would sit upon David’s everlasting throne as the Redeemer of God’s people. He was more likely invited because He belonged to a certain circle of people as the son of Mary. Perhaps His appearance was not really expected. That would explain the wine shortage. Unexpectedly seven guests appear whose presence is welcomed, but who put a heavy drain upon the festive drink.

It is hardly true, therefore, that the conduct of the Cana wedding party deserved our imitation. There are other things -of greatest significance for every believer’s marriage—which we ought to see here.

The Difference between the Cana Wedding and Ours

Physically, of course, we can’t invite Jesus to a wedding today. With respect to His human nature He is no more on earth. He is not here. He is risen, Nor may we invite Him as they did then. They knew Him only as Jesus, son of Mary and Joseph. Only Mary recognized Him as the Christ of God. The others saw Him as a nephew or cousin or friend. A cordial welcome was extended, it seems, even ifHe did “drop in” with six men friends. And even if the host and hostess could only wonder, Will there be enough wine?

To us, however, Jesus has been preached as the Christ of God. We may know Him in no other way (2 Cor. 5:16). If His blessing is desired it will come to us only because He is the Christ—especially on a wedding day. Indeed, He does exciting and marvelous things for His people in and through marriage. Real miracles, however, we may not expect. The time for that has passed. If the wine supply runs out today, and we have no money to replenish, we’ll just have to do without. He is today the Christ whom you do not see with physical eyes, but to whom you lift up your hearts in heaven where He lives as our Advocate, at the right hand of His heavenly Father.

He comes to us now only by His Word and Spirit.

We are not Poorer but Richer!

Aren’t we really quite poor compared to those people fortunate enough to be present at the Wedding Feast in Cana?

Not at all. It is to help us that Jesus went into heaven. He did that in order that He according to His majesty, grace and Spirit might ever remain with us. And this means everything for marriage as well as for all other things. Christ did not go into heaven for His own advantage. He went for ours. He went to lay hold upon a salvation and blessedness which is perfect in every way. A blessedness as great as the distance between t he Cross and the right hand of the Father.

If we carefully read the Cana wedding account in John’s Gospel we shall see that its unique feature is that it is told precisely so as to rule out the sentiment, “Would that we like them could have Jesus at our wedding feasts today.” John relates everything in strict compliance with the truth that we must see Jesus as the Christ, God’s anointed, and that believing we might have life in His Name.

John wants you to understand that because of Him as the promised Messiah, now in glory, you are not poorer but vastly richer than that bridal pair in Cana.

Not a Journalistic Report

Just how things happened at Cana is impossible to reconstruct. Several questions remain, no matter how we try. We can‘t say, for example, whether Jesus was present from the start of the feast, or if He came later (the latter seems more likely). And just when did the wine shortage come to light? Where were the stone jars located? Just where, then, did Jesus perform the miracle? Nor does John comment on the reaction of the people to the miracle.

This ought not to give us much trouble! John is not a journalist covering the wedding for his paper. He is an evangelist telling about the person and work of the Savior. He relates those details which serve that purpose. He wants us to see Jesus as the Christ.

This implies, of course, that we ought to take careful note of the details which are recounted. Each one is necessary to present the proper image of Jesus Christ. They are a beautiful mosaic revealing the Lord as our promised Redeemer.

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

The general purpose—to show that Jesus is the Christ –can be further defined. There is a particular aspect of Christ’s Messiahship that John wishes us to see. It can be learned by reading what he says in 1:17, “the law (the Gospel as revealed in the O.T. shadows) was given by Moses; but grace and truth (the Gospel of N.T. consummation) came by Jesus Christ.” So Christ makes distinction between Himself and Moses. This fits in with that which is written in 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.”

John was given to see the greater glory of Jesus Christ as the divine agent of true grace.

This means that we must see t he Cana wedding in a certain light. The wedding as such is perhaps the least of John’s interests. Christ was there in order to reveal His glory. For the first time, at that wedding feast, the glorious revelation of God’s genuine grace broke through the shadows of O.T. law. Moses is replaced by Him who is much greater, for He is God’s only–begotten Son.

Mary’s Viewpoint

You know what happened when Mary learned that the wine supply was exhausted–a great embarrassment for the wedding hosts! She seized the first opportunity to tell this to Jesus. Obviously this was more than a little talk, for then it would not have been necessary to rebuke her so pointedly. She pleaded vigorously with her Son. She was looking and asking for a wonder.

Some have argued that Mary could not have been so urgent because she had never seen Him perform anything miraculous. Such forget that Mary knew now for some thirty years that her Son was the promised Messiah. Would she, participant in the Incarnation, think that to turn water into wine would be impossible? Of course not!

For thirty years she has been waiting for the dawning of her Son’s day. John the Baptist has been preaching beyond the Jordan for several months, and she knows that he is the forerunner of Christ. John preaches that the Kingdom has come near, and Mary can not help but think that the hour for which she has been longing has come.

And now, while at the wedding feast, who should show up but her dear Son. Not alone, but with six disciples! What else can this mean but that He was ready to make His move, to demonstrate His power, to vindicate her expectations?

This makes it easy to understand her as she talks with Jesus. The embarrassing wine shortage is no longer of any serious significance. It is an extremity which provides her Son with a needed opportunity! Now He can come into His Kingdom with a powerful display that will overwhelm everyone. The victory begins at Canal That is implied in her words, “They have no wine.” She means to say, “Son, reveal yourself. Show now the glory of your Sonship. Assume your rightful kingship over Israel. Do this wonder so that the people may know who you really are!”

Her Error: Trying to Force God’s Hour

Mary’s action is understandable but inexcusable. If it is in fact God‘s hour, would Jesus, whom she knew to be always busy with the Father’s calling, ignore, misread, or rebel? Isn’t it unmistakably plain that God’s clock never needs our adjustment? If Scripture says anything it declares that God is not minded to look with favor upon any of our efforts to help Him with the execution or timing of the Savior’s work!

This makes the meaning of Christ’s shocking words understandable. “O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” There is nothing of insolence or impoliteness in these words. Ladies were addressed in polite usage as woman in those days. If there is offense it lies in the meaning rather than the form.

Christ does, however, deliberately refuse to call Mary mother on this occasion. He appreciates her place in His birth and life (Luke 2:51). She is His mother according to the flesh. But His calling, His purpose in coming to earth was in no way determined by Mary. It came from the Father. With respect to His mediatorial calling Mary is just as far removed from Christ as any other person. She has no authority over Him in this regard. As Christ He has no mother! As prophet, priest and king He may tolerate no intrusion, by Mary, by satan, by anyone else.

We are approaching what is perhaps the real point of this Bible passage. By virtue of His dedication to the Father’s authority Christ saved “the world,” including marriage. Christian marriage is established upon the foundations of His uncompromising obedience.

Divine Calling Comes First!

Think of Adam in Paradise. Covenant head, the first man, anointed office bearer of God, he (Adam) in the crucial hour of temptation listened to his beloved helper, his wife, flesh of his flesh, blood of his blood, rather than to his God!

That great sin lies at the beginning of our world’s history. God’s representative listened to the urgent appeal of “blood” instead of obeying the voice of the Spirit. Adam should have refused recognition of his wife at that moment.

But now we can see our salvation! In this crucial hour of His official service Christ did that which Adam did not do: He rebuked His mother. He conceded nothing so far as flesh and blood are concerned.

The parallel is obvious. Satan came to Adam by way of the woman. So now the Tempter comes to Christ by way of the woman closest, dearest to Him, striving to lead Him into sin.

Christ rebuked His mother because He knew perfectly the need for His total commitment to the will of the Father. This is implicit in the expression “my hour.” This term has a consistent, definite meaning in John’s Gospel. In every instance it refers to that God-ordained, God–approved moment when He would reveal Himself as the Messiah in the fullest realization of His mediatorial, blood–bought glory. He had been glorious before His birth, indeed. But the hour in which that glory might be revealed in terms of grace and truth cannot come except certain things happen first.

Listen to John 17:1, “Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that thy Son may glorify thee.” John 17 anticipates the full victory of the Cross. When Christ says that “the hour has come” He means the hour of resurrection triumph. That hour is His because of the suffering of our sins, perfectly accomplished when our Lord was crucified and buried.

Cana is only a beginning of that sacrificial service. Most of His saving work remains to be done. The right to an unlimited and everlasting revelation of His glory has not yet been earned. Not willing to claim His Easter triumph and rewards prematurely, that is, rebelliously, Christ lays upon His mother the awful words, “what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

A Real Temptation for our Savior!

We have been saying that Mary’s actions—however unthinking so far as their ultimate effect goes—are of a piece with those of satan when he tempted our Savior.

The important fact is that our Lord did not fall! It cost His mother some pain, no doubt, to be rebuked by her Son. And it cost Jesus much more pain to have to do it.

We all know that the direct consequence of Adam  and Eve’s first sin was the devastation of their marriage. Witness Adam’s willingness to blame his wife for his transgression. The family brokenness which is all too evident in our days stems from that original disobedience.

For that reason it is good to see the “last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45) at the Cana feast. His perfect obedience demanded that He separate Himself from His dear mother. But that separation was accepted and implemented by Him in order that we might know the blessing of Christian marriage.

It can hardly be stressed enough that our young people must see the truth that Jesus Christ is also the only Savior of marriage for His people, and that husband and wife must be one in the Lord. True · union is a union of faith. Marrying a partner without a common faith in Christ as the last Adam means that one places his marriage outside of the only saving fellowship. Apart from Christ your only fellowship is with the first Adam, which is a fellowship of sin and death. That means that your marriage is in principle broken the very day it is contracted. You cannot turn your backs on God and Christ and still hold fast to each other. The “mixed marriage” is a terrible mistake!

The Stone Jars

An interesting feature of John 2:1-11 is the perseverance of Mary in spite of her son’s sharp retort. She believes that there is something that He might well do for her friends. This she expresses when she urges the servants to do “whatever he tells you.” Jesus does do something. He performs a great wonder in response to the need of the situation. He immediately creates wine, something which otherwise takes considerable time to develop.

This, however, is not the most unusual thing in the text.

The most unusual thing is that He uses the six jars which are standing there for the Jewish rites of purification. These were never intended to contain wine. They were placed rather to conform to the regulations of the Pharisees which called for washing one’s hands before and after each meal. That was not demanded as something hygienic, which would be unobjectionable. It was required because it was supposed to make one clean before God (on this read Mark 7:2–4). Strict observance of the Mosaic laws would as such bring righteousness with God. For that reason the Pharisees embellished and expanded these regulations unbelievably, and urged the strictest compliance.

The people at Cana took this seriously. They placed containers with a capacity of 150 gallons or so to serve this obligation. Theirs was a very strong desire—especially in marriage and family—to live under God’s approval.

This is the old error of trying to find righteousness by the deeds of the law. It points up the fact that the greater need in Cana is spiritual, not material. Forgotten was the fact that the laws of Moses were pointers to the Christ, and that the way to hear and obey them was the way of righteousness by faith in Him who was to come. The Pharisees had lost sight of every semblance of the evangelical purpose of the O.T. law. And under their domination many in Israel had come to be estranged from the faith. They had given themselves to a fatal work righteousness. The law is important in Cana, and it ought to be, but it is a corrupt and degenerate view of its function which they display in these six stone jars.

Gospel versus Law

Why didn’t Christ ask for the type of container ordinarily used to hold wine?

Because the issue at Cana was not the wine shortage but the true nature of the Gospel. By this action He rejected the Pharisees and their ideas of purification as represented by the six stone jars. He was, remember, full of truth and grace!

Please note that this passage says nothing about how Jesus changed water into wine. The wine steward discovered that the water in the stone jars was now the finest imaginable. John placed in the foreground the fact that the wine was found in the jars placed there for a different purpose. By this Christ replaced the caricature of the law as found among the Pharisees with the fulfillment of the Ia w in the way of pure grace. You don’t have to wash your hands before you drink (as a biblical requirement) because the Provider of that wine has already made you clean.

This is the beginning of Christ’s conflict with the Pharisees. That conflict will end on the Cross. Christ knows that well. What a Savior! Although His mother presses Him to claim His resurrection glory without the Cross, He sets His feet on the way to Calvary. He moves forward to “His hour” along the only valid route.

Mary whispers, This is your opportunity. Now is the time to “go public,” to dazzle everyone with your might and glory. Christ’s answer is the miracle at Cana, so obscurely performed that only a few servants know much about it. There is no premature demonstration to arouse an unwarranted admiration. Even His disciples are allowed just a glimpse of His glory, and that in order that they may believe in Him. So He forms them into a church, the gathering of believers, and that “for Himself” (L.D. 21, Catechism). Thus, when “His hour” really comes on Easter morning a church is there to believe and confess His glorious Name.

Life and Marriage after Easter is Richer!

We are much richer than the wedding guests at Cana. We live after the resurrection ofour Savior and nothing has been or could be the same since!

We are living in His hour. Christ has the right at present to live in open and unqualified revelation of His glory. He has been glorified with the glory which He had with the Father before the creation of the world. It is a real privilege to live in this time, to live “post Easter.” Our marriage customs, ideas, style ought to reflect nothing less than His matchless glory.

But we live in “a vale of tears.” Marriage must cope with all kinds of obstacles and opposition today. What good does it do us to believe in the Christ whose hour has come?

It means that we have a Lord and Savior who totally cares for and rules over us. It means that our troubles (marital as well as all others) are now essentially different than they would be if He had not been raised from the dead. Our troubles now happen under His perfect glory and dominion. They are not accidents or misfortunes which He might try to help us overcome. They are rather happenings designed by Him so that He may do something through us. He wills that we shall know what St. Paul meant when he said, “I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9, 10).

The current glory of Christ is now our strength and confidence, and this is especially comforting for Christians undertaking or involved in marriage in this age. His splendor is a never–diminishing reality and a solid support. And it is never anything but the glory of His mercy and grace.

Christ, the Lord of Marriage

As Christ at Cana might not do anything but the Father’s will, so we must adopt as our great purpose in marriage the service of the Lord’s will. Marriage is often marked by selfishness and idolatry. Those “in love” can be sinfully satisfied with themselves and their own relationship. This is easy to cover by an appeal to the “sacredness of marriage.”

The lesson of Cana condemns all such corruption of that precious, divine institution which was redeemed from sin by Christ’s blood, in order that we might live together in simple obedience to Christ, the Lord of marriage.

Has this great calling lost its appeal for and its claim upon us today?

If so we need no further speculation as to the causes of modern marital distress. We need desperately, then, to re-hear those precious words of Mary (spoken after He had rebuked her!), “Do whatever he tells you.”

*This is the last in a series of three articles on Christian marriage. They are based on material writ ten in the fifties by the late Prof. B. Holwerda of the Theological School (liberated) in Kampen, The Netherlands. The writer assumes full responsibility, however, since this is more of a paraphrase than a translation.