Joh 2:10 | KingComments | STEP | There are six stone waterpots. They have been placed there so that the guests can comply with the Jewish rules for purification. The contents of the waterpots vary from two to three gallons, or two or three times thirty-nine liters. The Lord gives the order to fill the waterpots with water. It seems that they are empty. This symbolically shows that according to the Jewish practice of purification no purity is to be expected toward God. The Lord in other Gospels strongly condemns the outer purity pursued by the Jewish purification practices ( ; ). People who adhere to an outward ritual make themselves important. They lack true joy because there is no fellowship with Christ. Only He can change those hollow, dead rituals by the water He gives and which He turns into wine. The Lord’s command is obeyed and the waterpots are filled to the brim with water. It is good to respond to the Lord’s command with the utmost obedience. Then the blessing is also greatest. We can also see that He always gives commands that people can fulfill, and that He then does what people cannot do. In the same way He commands people to remove the stone lying against the tomb of Lazarus, after which He calls Lazarus to life ( ). After the waterpots have been filled with water, He says to draw out of the waterpots and bring it to the headwaiter. This man is responsible for the progress of the feast. He is therefore in a pickle about the situation and is most interested in a solution. They bring what they have drawn out from the waterpots to the headwaiter. Then it turns out that the Lord has turned the water into wine. He has done so without any special word or action. It is a beautiful picture of how joy enters a person’s life. First, a man must be purified by the Word of God – of which the water is a picture ( ; ). This happens when he sees himself as a sinner in the light of God’s Word, confesses his sins, and believes in the Savior Jesus Christ. The result is joy. This will also happen with the recreation of heaven and earth for the realm of peace. When purified by judgment, general joy can come on earth. The headwaiter tastes the water that the servants bring him. He does not taste water, but wine. When the servants draw out the water from the waterpots, it is still water, but when the headwaiter tastes it, he tastes wine. Christ, by His power, has created a wonder that no one has seen happening, but the results of which are enjoyed by those who taste it. After His Divine omniscience with Nathanael ( ), the Lord here shows His Divine omnipotence. Anyone can ‘taste’ His omnipotence, but only those who ‘do whatever He says you to do’ can see Who is behind these acts of omnipotence. The headwaiter does not know where the wine comes from. He only enjoys the result. The servants however do know where the wine comes from. After all, they filled the waterpots with water and then draw some out. But they don’t know how the water turned into wine. The headwaiter does not ask the servants how they got this good wine, but calls the bridegroom. He concludes without further investigation that the bridegroom is responsible for this state of affairs. He does not think of a wonder and certainly not of the Lord Jesus, but has his own natural explanation. This is how unbelieving people react to everything they experience. They see creation, but the Son of God is denied as the origin. The Lord’s actions are not like those of humans. People first want the good, and when they have exhausted their possibilities for the good, they go to a lesser quality. With Him it is the other way around. He keeps the good for later. For faith that is a great encouragement. The believer may know that there is fullness of joy in the presence of the Lord ( ). Christ Himself went a way of suffering, seeing the joy He would enjoy at the end of that way ( ). It is also a great encouragement for people in deep misery. The Lord brings every person who calls to Him from the depths to the greatest height.

‏ John 2:10

The Lord Turns Water Into Wine

There are six stone waterpots. They have been placed there so that the guests can comply with the Jewish rules for purification. The contents of the waterpots vary from two to three gallons, or two or three times thirty-nine liters. The Lord gives the order to fill the waterpots with water. It seems that they are empty.

This symbolically shows that according to the Jewish practice of purification no purity is to be expected toward God. The Lord in other Gospels strongly condemns the outer purity pursued by the Jewish purification practices (Mt 15:1-9; Mk 7:1-16). People who adhere to an outward ritual make themselves important. They lack true joy because there is no fellowship with Christ. Only He can change those hollow, dead rituals by the water He gives and which He turns into wine.

The Lord’s command is obeyed and the waterpots are filled to the brim with water. It is good to respond to the Lord’s command with the utmost obedience. Then the blessing is also greatest. We can also see that He always gives commands that people can fulfill, and that He then does what people cannot do. In the same way He commands people to remove the stone lying against the tomb of Lazarus, after which He calls Lazarus to life (Jn 11:39 ; 43).

After the waterpots have been filled with water, He says to draw out of the waterpots and bring it to the headwaiter. This man is responsible for the progress of the feast. He is therefore in a pickle about the situation and is most interested in a solution. They bring what they have drawn out from the waterpots to the headwaiter. Then it turns out that the Lord has turned the water into wine. He has done so without any special word or action.

It is a beautiful picture of how joy enters a person’s life. First, a man must be purified by the Word of God – of which the water is a picture (Jn 13:5-11 ; Jn 15:3; Eph 5:26). This happens when he sees himself as a sinner in the light of God’s Word, confesses his sins, and believes in the Savior Jesus Christ. The result is joy. This will also happen with the recreation of heaven and earth for the realm of peace. When purified by judgment, general joy can come on earth.

The headwaiter tastes the water that the servants bring him. He does not taste water, but wine. When the servants draw out the water from the waterpots, it is still water, but when the headwaiter tastes it, he tastes wine. Christ, by His power, has created a wonder that no one has seen happening, but the results of which are enjoyed by those who taste it.

After His Divine omniscience with Nathanael (Jn 1:49), the Lord here shows His Divine omnipotence. Anyone can ‘taste’ His omnipotence, but only those who ‘do whatever He says you to do’ can see Who is behind these acts of omnipotence. The headwaiter does not know where the wine comes from. He only enjoys the result. The servants however do know where the wine comes from. After all, they filled the waterpots with water and then draw some out. But they don’t know how the water turned into wine.

The headwaiter does not ask the servants how they got this good wine, but calls the bridegroom. He concludes without further investigation that the bridegroom is responsible for this state of affairs. He does not think of a wonder and certainly not of the Lord Jesus, but has his own natural explanation. This is how unbelieving people react to everything they experience. They see creation, but the Son of God is denied as the origin.

The Lord’s actions are not like those of humans. People first want the good, and when they have exhausted their possibilities for the good, they go to a lesser quality. With Him it is the other way around. He keeps the good for later. For faith that is a great encouragement. The believer may know that there is fullness of joy in the presence of the Lord (Psa 16:11). Christ Himself went a way of suffering, seeing the joy He would enjoy at the end of that way (Heb 12:2). It is also a great encouragement for people in deep misery. The Lord brings every person who calls to Him from the depths to the greatest height.