The Significance of the First Miracle

In Chapter 2 of the Gospel of John, Jesus’ first miracle is recorded. He and the disciples went to wedding feast. Wine running out before the event was finished would bring shame upon the family and at this feast, the wine ran out. Jesus stepped in, turned water to wine, and revealed His glory. On the surface, this is amazing. When looking at the miracle in light of all of Scripture, it becomes all the more amazing.

1. The turning of water into blood was the first public miracle that Moses did in Egypt (Exod. 7:20), and the water into wine was the first public miracle that Jesus did in the world (John 2:11).
2. The signs that God gave to Egypt in the Old Testament were plagues, destruction, and death, and the signs that Jesus did in the world in the New Testament were healings, blessings, and life.
3. The turning of water to blood initiated Moses (a type of the Savior—Deut. 18:15) leading his people out of the bondage of Egypt into an earthly liberty; the turning of water into wine initiated Jesus taking His people out of the bondage of the corruption of the world into the glorious liberty of the children of God (Rom. 8:21).
4. The turning of water to blood culminated in the firstborn in Egypt being delivered to death, while turning the water into wine culminated in the Firstborn being delivered from death (Col. 1:18).
5. The Law was a ministry of death, the gospel a ministry of life. One was written on cold tablets of stone, the other on the warm fleshly tablets of the heart. One was a ministration of sin unto condemnation and bondage, the other a ministration of righteousness unto life and liberty (2 Cor. 3:7–9).

   “The water of the old covenant ran out. It could do nothing but leave the sinner with a thirst for righteousness. But as with the wine at Cana, God saved the best until last.”

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6. When Moses changed the water into blood, all the fish in the river died. When Jesus initiated the new covenant, the catch of the fish are made alive in the net of the kingdom of God (Matt. 4:19).
7. The river of blood was symbolic of death for Egypt, but the water into wine is symbolic of life for the world. The letter of the Law kills, but the Spirit makes alive (2 Cor. 3:6).
8. When Moses turned the waters of Egypt into blood, the river reeked and made the Egyptians search for another source of water supply (Exod. 7:21,24). When the Law of Moses does its work in the sinner, it makes life odious for him. The weight of sin on his back becomes unbearable as he begins to labor and be heavy laden under its weight. Like the Egyptians, he begins to search for another spring of water; he begins to “thirst for righteousness,” because he knows that without a right standing with God, he will perish.
9. Moses turned water into blood, and Jesus’ blood turned into water (1 John 5:6). They both poured from His side (John 19:34), perhaps signifying that both Law and grace found harmony in the Savior’s death— “Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed” (Psa. 85:10).
10. The water of the old covenant ran out. It could do nothing but leave the sinner with a thirst for righteousness. But as with the wine at Cana, God saved the best until last. The new wine given on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:13; Eph. 5:18) was the Bridegroom giving us the new and “better” covenant (Heb. 8:5,6)

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