This, the first of His miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee.

He thus revealed His glory, and His disciples put their faith in Him. John 2:11 What a wonderful continuation to the theme of his Gospel. John begins here to work out the statement that he made in John 1:14. We beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. What we have in this gospel is the self revelation of the Son of God to a world which is lost in sin. He reveals His glory to us. It is seen however in a series of events which are designed to point us to spiritual truth. We discover here one who is in fact the fulfillment of all that the Scriptures teach about the coming of God among His people. As we read these words we are forced to ask ourselves just what we personally would expect God to act like when He comes among us. Would we recognise Him? Do we recognise Him as He reveals His glory and grace in our world today? It seems to me that this is one of the messages which was being proclaimed loudly through the book of Revelation. As the Lamb that was slain works out the victory He won over Satan on the cross do we see it? Do we see the revelation of the cross over every part of our present day experience? In our encounters with Him in daily life do we hear the invitation to see how every part of the Scripture is being fulfilled in Him? John tells us that there is a calling to the day of decision taking place in our lives. The issue is, do we believe in Him? On the surface it seems as if John is describing a scene which is the common experience of nearly all of us. Jesus and His disciples had been invited to a wedding in Cana in Galilee. Each of us has attended many weddings. John tells us that there is a deeper, Biblical significance to the events which were taking place that day. Looking back on the events of that wedding celebration John tells us that that was the time that many of the disciples began to believe in Jesus. More accurately John writes that it was then that His disciples put their faith in Him. Here was a glimpse given to them of the true nature of the One that they had begun to follow. It is vital that we follow along with these disciples as they walk with Jesus, because He is taking them, and us, on a journey that leads to faith. A wedding takes place, Jesus is there. They have run out of wine, a social catastrophe in those days. This will be the wedding that people will talk about for decades. Jesus mother decides to intervene, asking her son, the miracle worker to help out. Jesus is reluctant, I believe because He does not want faith to be anchored in the miracles He performed. He wants us to believe because we have caught a vision of His nature as God in Human flesh. He does help however, but He does so in a way that is humble, gracious, almost hidden. Only a few people know what He had done. What He had done, however was to us six huge stone jars which were to be used for the Biblical rites of purification, each one holding 20 to 30 gallons of water. He had them filled to the brim. Water was drawn out and taken to the Master of the Banquet. When he tasted it he discovered that it had been turned into the most wonderful wine. For this to take place the servants at the wedding had to obey Jesus. They had to do something which seemed on the surface to be very foolish. What would the master of the Banquet think when they brought him a cup of water used to purify hands, and called it wine for the celebration? That water had been turned into wine. In

fact John tells us that it was the best wine. The implications are astounding. It was not just one cup of wine; it was at least 120 gallons of wine, and quite possibly 180 gallons of the very best wine. John says, Jesus revealed, in this way, His glory. Here we see His graciousness in providing a lavish gift for that wedding couple. He displayed lavishly His gracious love and infinite power in this one act. His disciples saw it take place. They began to understand just a little bit about His glorious nature, and they put their faith in Him. The question for us is, do we believe?