Jesus Came to Manifest His Glory

A study of John 2:11–12

“This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.”
‭‭John‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-First (Beginning): “archē”, “ἀρχή”; feminine noun — of the beginning of a thing.

-of His Signs: “sēmeion”, “σημεῖον”; neuter noun — a sign, prodigy, portent, i.e. an unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature; of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God’s.

-Cana: “Kana”, “Κανά”; proper locative noun — Cana = “place of reeds”, a village in Galilee about 5 miles (8 km) NW from Nazareth.

-Galilee: “Galilaia”, “Γαλιλαία”; proper locative noun — Galilee = ‘circuit’, the name of a region of northern Palestine, bounded on the north by Syria, on the west by Sidon, Tyre, Ptolemais and their territories and the promontory of Carmel, on the south by Samaria and on the east by the Jordan. It was divided into Upper Galilee and Lower Galilee.

-Manifested: “phaneroō”, “φανερόω”; verb — to make manifest or visible or known what has been hidden or unknown, to manifest, whether by words, or deeds, or in any other way.

-Glory: “doxa”, “δόξα”; feminine noun — the absolutely perfect inward or personal excellence of Christ; of which majesty He gave tokens in the miracles He performed.

-Disciples: “mathētēs”, “μαθητής”; masculine noun — a learner, pupil, disciple; but especially the 12 apostles.

-Believed: “pisteuō”, “πιστεύω” verb — to have a faith directed unto, believing or in faith to give oneself up to, Jesus.

-Capernaum: “Kapharnaoum”, “Καφαρναούμ”; proper locative noun — Capernaum = ‘village of comfort’; a flourishing city of Galilee situated on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee or Lake of Gennesaret, near the place where the Jordan flows into the lake.

-Mother: “Mētēr”, “μήτηρ”; feminine noun — a mother.

-Brothers (And Sisters): “Adelphos”, “ἀδελφός”; masculine noun — In John 2:12, as in Matthew 12:46–47, the brothers and sisters of Jesus, born of Mary and Joseph. This word denotes blood relation between Jesus and His brothers and sisters who were born of His mother Mary, and earthly but not biological father, Joseph.

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

The changing of water into wine was the first sign or miracle Jesus performed, and He did it at a wedding in Cana in Galilee. In doing this He manifested or, made known His glory as the preexistent, all creating Word John wrote of in chapter one. In performing this miracle He revealed His power over all of time and space by changing the water into good wine simply by willing it to be so. Having seen this sign of His Divinity, the disciples believed in Him. After this event took place, Jesus went down to Capernaum with His mother Mary, His brothers and sisters who were born of His mother Mary and Joseph, and His disciples.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

“This,” meaning the changing of water into wine, was the first sign or in other words, miracle Jesus performed at the beginning of His public ministry. John records 7 of Jesus’ miracles in this gospel for the purpose of convincing those who read it that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus performed many more signs (John 20:30–31), and they were done for the purpose of proving He is the Son of God who has authority over all of time and space. And it is significant that Jesus’ first miracle is one of transformation or we might also say “conversion”. He did not come to abolish the Law and the prophets. He came to fulfill the Law and transform culture, systems and lives. The old Jewish rites of purification, which is what the water jars used in this instance were for, ceremonies and sacrificial system were all about to be radically transformed.

Jesus came to transform the old system of the Law, which is good but has no power to save those who have violated it, by fulfilling it on our behalf. Now, although dead in our sin, we can be transformed or “converted” from death to life. Jesus came to transform the old, stale water of our old life into the new, good wine of a new life in Him. He came to fulfill the old covenant of salvation through perfect obedience and bring a new covenant of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. He replaced the old water with better wine, and He replaced the old covenant with a better one.

In saying this was the “first sign” Jesus performed, John is providing evidence that apocryphal books claiming Jesus performed miracles as an infant or child are false. God does not contradict Himself. John, writing this under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God makes it clear here that this was the first miracle Jesus performed during His time on earth.

In performing this miracle Jesus “manifested” His glory. This whole gospel is about presenting Jesus and all of His Divine glory so that those who read it will be convinced of who He is. It is interesting to note from John 2:1 that this all happened “on the third day.” It is a small detail, but one that I think foreshadows future events. We read in this passage Jesus manifested His glory on this third day and His disciples believed in Him. And of course we know that after His arrest in the garden, many of them will scatter and flee, but on the third day when Jesus rises again and manifests His glory in victory over sin and death, the disciples will again, and forever this time, believe in Him.

Jesus is glorious in infinite ways, but what is glorious about this particular miracle? I think it is His tender love and compassion. This was the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry which He knew would take Him to the cross, but He is still compassionate and incredibly gracious in His decision to tur water into wine at this wedding. Jesus could and would heal many people of diseases and even raise a man from the dead, but He intentionally chose to begin His earthly ministry and “manifest” or in other words, make Himself known by blessing a small country wedding and saving a young married couple from social disgrace.

John opened this gospel by telling us about God, the “Word”, who is eternally preexistent, has created all things, and holds all things together. Then he tells us the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we discover through the witness of John the Baptist this Word is Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God come to take away the sin of the world. And we might be on the edge of our seats reading and wondering what epic event will come next. But instead, Jesus announces the beginning of His sin and death conquering mission with a gracious act of compassion at a wedding.

This is our God Ladies and Gentlemen. He who created all things and holds them together, came to earth to die for us and rise again, and He stopped at a wedding along the way to give a gracious gift. Wow. God is not far from us. He is near, and He is a compassionate and loving God who cares greatly about every detail in our lives. He loves weddings and He looks forward to the day when we who have placed our faith in Him will feast and drink the finest heavenly wine with Him at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6–10). On that very real day that is certainly coming, all of us who have placed our faith in Jesus will rejoice at the wedding feast of the Lamb as we commence our eternal reign in the new heavens and earth with Him. The best is yet to come. If you have not placed your faith in Christ and repented of your sin, I invite you to do so. This invitation is for everyone, but it must be accepted.

We also read that the disciples believed in Him after this. They already believed in Him somewhat, that is why they followed Him. But this would have deepened their faith. John will tell us of 7 miracles in this gospel, and all of them are shared for the purpose of deepening our faith as we read this eyewitness account of the earthly ministry of Jesus. Notably we are only told that His disciples believed. We read nothing of the belief of the master of the feast, the servants or any of the guests. There may have been some others who believed, but clearly not everyone. It was His “disciples” who believed.

From the disciples we learn the importance of belief in response to the work of Christ, and we also learn from the other people in this account. From Mary, we learn to request and expect great things from Jesus, but never to demand them or tell Him how to do them. From the servants we learn to obey Jesus to the fullest extent of our abilities, trusting in Him to supply the power and rejoicing at being used in the means. From the young married couple we learn Jesus delights in giving us good things and saving us from disgrace. He is compassionate and tender, as well as strong and mighty. From the conversion of the water into good wine that was better than what was already served, we learn the best is yet to come for us who are in Christ. And the belief of the disciples, the eyewitnesses, we learn this really happened and we should believe too. This is not an allegory. This actually happened. The disciples did not believe in an allegory. They believed in the true, risen Son of God because they witnessed true acts of His power, the most ultimate being His resurrection.

A couple, final thoughts on verse 12. After these events Jesus went to Capernaum with His Mother, brothers and disciples. Note, “brothers” here refers to brothers and sisters. The word in ancient Greek is “Adelphos,” and it denotes siblings related by blood, not simply cousins. Jesus had half brothers and sisters. This word is used multiple times in the synoptic gospels and this is always what it means. While He was born of the virgin Mary, and conceived by the Holy Spirit, meaning He had no earthly father and God miraculously impregnated Mary, Mary and Joseph were married and had children together. Jesus was the firstborn, and the other children were in no way divine. They were regular people just like us, and they were the half brothers and sisters of Jesus. There is no other reasonable translation of these words.

Application (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

This eyewitness account should cause us to believe in Jesus just as it did His disciples. We should think of Jesus as the God of the universe who is infinitely wise, mighty and holy, but who is also compassionate, tender and loving. We should never be too busy or obsessed with our own problems to take the time to show love and compassion to others like Jesus does here.

This passage should cause us to contemplate the revelation of Jesus’ glory seen in His authority over every molecule in time and space and how He chose to reveal His power with this gracious act of compassion. This tells us much about the character of Jesus. As we worship and adore Him for His compassion and authority over all creation, we should, by the power of His Spirit in us, endeavor to show compassion and grace to the people Jesus has sent us to in our lives.

Self Reflection:

Are there opportunities in my daily life where I can shift my focus from whatever my main mission is for the day, for a moment, to graciously bless others?

What ways have I seen or experienced the tender compassion of Jesus in my life?

What does this manifestation of Jesus’ glory tell me about His heart of compassion for me?