John 2
Water into wine at Cana
The third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. Jesus also was invited, with his disciples, to the wedding. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.”
Now there were six water pots of stone set there after the Jews’ way of purifying, containing two or three metretes apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast.” So they took it. 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 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!” This beginning of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
After this, he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they stayed there a few days.
At a wedding in the Galilean village of Cana, the wine runs out. Jesus' mother tells him, and though he answers that his hour has not yet come, he has servants fill six large stone jars with water, which becomes excellent wine. John calls this the first of Jesus' signs.
What does this mean?
Calling his mother "Woman" was not rude in Greek; Jesus addresses her the same way from the cross (19:26). "What have I to do with thee?" (KJV) is an idiom of distance, roughly "this is not our concern". "Firkins" (KJV) and "metretes" (WEB) are measures: each jar held roughly 75 to 115 litres (20 to 30 gallons). The "ruler" or "governor of the feast" was the master of ceremonies.
Historical context
Village weddings could last several days, and running out of wine would have shamed the hosts. Stone vessels were widely used by Jews in this period because stone was not considered to carry ritual impurity; archaeologists have found many in Galilee and Judea.
Why does it matter?
John calls Jesus' miracles "signs": acts that point beyond themselves to who he is. Jesus' "hour" becomes a running theme, finally arriving in chapter 12 as his death approaches. Many readers connect the abundance of wine with prophetic images of a joyful age to come, as in Amos 9:13.
Editorial notes, not scripture.