NOTES for Joh 2:1-12
Commentators always interpret the wedding at Cana in Galilee in a messianic context, in terms of the image of the messianic banquet. And rightly so: the symbolism is too clear and transparent to doubt. Yet there is scarcely any reason to doubt that this was also a perfectly real, perfectly earthly event—one in which Jesus takes part as an ordinary human being, because that is how He is invited.
The Messiah always remains the Messiah. He cannot be anything else, wherever He goes. Everywhere He remains Human with a capital H, even if those who invited Him know nothing of that capital letter and give it no thought. This means that His intervention precisely as Messiah is possible wherever His Heavenly Father can act in one way or another—including at a wedding ceremony and a wedding feast.
The changing of water into wine is a favorite subject for preachers. No wonder: there are so many allusions, both Old Testament and New. Water changed into wine as a symbol of the Kingdom. The parallel with Moses, who changed water into blood, with the essence of the Old Covenant seen in that act, while the changing of water into wine as a symbol of the Kingdom expresses the essence of the New Covenant… And much more than one could remember. But these are all symbols. Allusions. Allegories. The Kingdom, meanwhile, is neither a symbol nor an allegory. The Kingdom is a reality. And the point is not that water turned into wine. The transformation as such is not what matters most.
What matters most is the world in which such a transformation becomes possible. Not merely possible: in the new world opened to ours through the Messiah, such transformations become the norm. Clearly, the point is not magic water jars or any special talent in the servants who filled them. The point is who became involved. The Messiah was invited to a wedding feast, and He came. He could have done nothing: the time had not yet come. But He was invited, and He came. He was asked, and He responded. He granted the request. Simply in a human way. As always, it turned out to be Human with a capital H. He does not act otherwise. He is always the Messiah, and the fullness of the Kingdom is always with Him. If He comes to a feast, the feast becomes messianic: it is now a feast taking place with the Messiah in His Kingdom.