THE BRIDEGROOM ARRIVED

Jesus went to a wedding in Cana of Galilee along with His mother and His disciples. And while He was there He did an astonishing thing. When the wine ran out He replenished the supply. At first glance that is not so spectacular. But what makes it incredible is that He did it by turning water into wine. Observing this we call it a miracle. But the mircacle has to be put into perspective and not allowed to become the focus of our wonderment. Turning water into wine, as extraordinary as that was, served a much higher purpose and was not an end unto itself. That phenomenal act served as a sign that pointed far beyond itself back to Jesus. The miracle pointed to the Central Miracle – Jesus

The sign itself pales by comparison to the Holy One it pointed to. This sign was only the first of eight such miraculous signs recorded in John’s Gospel by which God confirmed His Son to the world. Peter, an eyewitness to them all, preached on the Day of Pentecost, “Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him.” (Acts 2:22)

Jesus’ and His glory was the whole point of this story in the Gospel of John. It was certainly not about a first century wedding where the wine ran out. Nor was it about the wine Jesus provided or its superior quality as compared to the first wine served. Yet the wedding and the wine were the setting and the sign that told the story and revealed the glory of the Son of God.
It was not just coincidental that a wedding was the setting for Jesus’ first sign. The image of a wedding banquet and the bridegroom are images Jesus frequently used to speak of Himself and the Kingdom of God. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.” (Matthew 22:2) Speaking of Himself and His disciples, He said, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and on that day they will fast.” (Mark 2:19-20) John the Baptist used this same imagery when he readily acknowledged that Jesus was the One who came after him but was to surpass him, “The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.” (John 3:29) Jesus, the Bridegroom had arrived.

No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah (my delight is in her), and your land Beulah (married); for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married.
As a young man marries a maiden, so will your builder marry you; as a
bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:4-5)

For your Maker is your husband—the LORD Almighty is his name. (Isaiah 54:5)
The joyful and festive scene of a wedding feast provided the perfect backdrop for this initial revelation of Jesus, the Bridegroom who had arrived. Yet not once did His presence detract from or overshadow the Cana bridegroom and his bride at their own wedding feast. They remained the central focus of all their guests who were present for their marriage. Amazingly the bridegroom and his bride and all their family and friends were completely unaware of the cosmic drama that was also taking place in the same space and time as their wedding feast.
The personification of the Kingdom of God had drawn near and had come to their wedding. The Bridegroom had arrived and the events of God’s announcing His Son had begun. Yet with the magnitude of all that was happening the wedding was never disrupted. In fact, the wedding was enhanced and blessed by the events. The sign that announced the arrival of the Bridegroom was the wine that also saved a family from certain embarrassment at their wedding feast. Without fanfare Jesus turned water into the wine they needed, and then some. What’s more it was of better quality than they had already served – a blessing with a bonus. Wow! Jesus’ presence, wherever He is, never detracts, but always enhances and blesses.

The Bridegroom, “full of grace and truth” arrived at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. “From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:14 & 16)