1.On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,
2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’
4 ‘Woman,[1] why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My hour has not yet come.’
5 His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from eighty to a hundred and twenty liters.
7 Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’ They did so,
9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realise where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside
10 and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.’
11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

Hello everyone, I am kiki. Chinese name of our second phase of the program is “读经大讲堂”. The English name is “Bible study”.
We will adopt a relaxed also enjoyable learning mode to take you into a new learning world. Each time I will make a personal summary and analysis from the perspective of a learner, and then Sister Ingrid will help me conduct in-depth learning and problem discussions with everybody.
I hope that such an interesting and interactive process can bring new knowledge experience to you all. The following is my interview with my sister on related issues. Today is the third lecture on the Gospel of John 。Everyone is welcome to leave a message in the comment area for discussion!

My summary of John 1-3 study:

Many many years ago.In Galilee, Cana, a wedding was taking place. Jesus and his disciples were invited, as well as his mother inside. When the wine at the wedding feast was finished, Jesus’ mother said to Jesus, “They have run out of wine.” Jesus replied, “Mother, why do you want me to intervene? My time has not yet come.” But his mother told the servants , asking them to do everything Jesus said.
There are six large stone jars nearby, which are used by Jews for religious purification ceremonies. Each can hold 80 to 120 liters of water. Jesus told his servants to fill the jars with water, and they did so. Then Jesus asked them to take some water from the jar and give it to the master of the banquet. The supervisor tasted the water that turned into wine and did not know where it came from, but the servant who scooped out the water did. The supervisor called the groom aside and said: “Usually we drink the good wine first, and wait for the guests to drink too much before drinking the cheaper wine; but you saved the best for last.”
This act which Jesus did in Galilee at Cana was the first sign of the miracle by which He manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. Afterwards, he went to Capernaum with his mother, brothers, and disciples and stayed there for a few days.
I think the description of this event in the Gospel of John is an affirmation of Jesus’ status, and I hope that through this incredible event of turning water into wine, people will know the importance of following Jesus.
Now, please give my sister a brief statement on my studying summary.

Sister’s comment from my studying summary:

Hello sister, you have explained the story in this text very good. Something that I can add is, that Mary in this text represents the church and that we can come with everything to Jesus, but it is upto him, if he fullfills our wishes or not. We cannot manipulate God and even many people try to manipulate God through a good behavior, it does not work.

But Jesus sees our needs and in this text, we had a very ashaming situation, that there was a wedding feast and the wine run out.

Wine is a symbol of love and many marriages today break up by lack of love. But when we don t have enough love, Jesus always has enough. Our “always not sufficient” converts in an overflow if we put Jesus in first place in our house.

Six is the number of mankind and the jars where hard and used for jewish cleaning. There the servants put the water. Sometimes it needs cleaning in form of obidience to the word of God before Jesus can do something.

And the most important symbol of this story is the wedding that we will have one day, when Jesus is fetching the church as his bride to heaven.

Q list part: base on John 1-3 items: Okay.Base on above bible study content, now let me ask sister some related questions.

There was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Why were Jesus and his mother invited to attend?

The text gives no information about this topic. They just were invited and they went there.

How did the mother of Jesus ask for Jesus’ first miracle through dialogue? Did Jesus already have many followers at that time?

Jesus was with a small group at that time and Jesus mother just said “The wine run out”, it was enough to say.

Sometimes we are praying hours for one and the same thing, but Jesus explained, that we need not many words to pray. Here in the situation Mary just says, that there is a problem and expected Jesus to help them.

Why did Jesus initially resist his mother’s request to intervene at the wedding?

He did not want, that his mother takes authority over him. Until that time, he was under the authority of his earthly parents Mary and Joseph and he obeyed them. But in this text, he was adult and Mary stopped to have authority over him.

By the way, Joseph was not there, since he was never more mentioned in the bible, it seems that he died early and Mary was a widow.

In what way did Jesus use Jewish ceremonial washing practices to perform his first miracle? Does turning water into wine have a deeper meaning?

I just mentioned it, the jars were symbol of cleaning, that we have to clean ourself before God can do anything. That means cleaning from sin, bad behaviour, desobidience etc.

The water means love. When we only have water, than God has wine, which means overflowing love in abundance.

How did the master of the banquet perceive the change from water to wine?

He was surpriced, that there was a very good wine and said, it was better than the first.

In what way did Jesus’ actions at the wedding reveal his glory?

He was leaning a helping hand in a very ashaming situation. He was able to do this miracle, so the servants, the diciples and Mary saw his glory, because he had the power to transform.

On that day, he transformed the water into wine, but today, he transforms the life of the people who decide to follow him.

How did the disciples’ belief in Jesus change after witnessing the miracle at Cana?

They already believed in some way before, that is why they were following him. But since they left everything behind for him, it was necessary, that Jesus gives them a proof of his glory and authority.

What is the theological importance of this event being the first sign through which Jesus revealed his glory?

The first sign that Jesus did was on a wedding. And the last sign that Jesus will do is to fetch his church home to heaven and having a wedding with her, too.

So the Circle is closing with the first and last sign of him

Why was it necessary for Jesus’ mother to be present and prompt him to perform the miracle?

No, it was not necessary, there were enough persons who could interceed. But only Mary knew the prophetic words that were said about Jesus, when he was a baby, so only she believed, that he is able to do something.

How does this gospel content contribute to our understanding of Mary’s role as the mother of Christ in the New Testament?

Mary was the mother of Christ and that is her role in the New Testament, but not more or less. She gave birth to the messiah, but she was not holy and in his text she takes farewell to the rest of the bible. She is mentioned several times, searching for Jesus together with her other children, standing before the cross and being with the diciples in praying after that Jesus had gone to heaven, but here she speaks her last words: “What he is saying, do it” And that is an invitation for us, doing what Jesus us commands. And of course not worshiping Mary.