The master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He . . . said, “. . . You have saved the best [wine] till now.”

— John 2:9-10

Things seemed to be going fine at the wedding party until someone noticed there was no more wine. When Jesus’ mother found out, she urged him to help. Had she perhaps seen him do some extraordinary things before? Or did she somehow know that Jesus was about to reveal who he was?

We can imagine Jesus looking around and seeing some large jars that were used for ceremonial washing. Each of those jars held about 20-30 gallons (75-113 liters). So he had the jars filled with water, and quietly, by his power, Jesus transformed that water into wine.

Why did Jesus do this? It likely had something to do with keeping the celebration going. But there is more. In the writings of the Old Testament prophets, a sign of the coming of God’s kingdom (when God would make things right in the world) was an abundance of fine wine. (For example, see Isaiah 25:6-8.)

And when Jesus ate his final supper with his disciples, he suggested that whenever they had bread and wine in memory of him, that would be a foretaste of the great banquet at the end of time (see Matthew 26:28-29; Luke 22:30). That banquet will also be a kind of marriage feast in which heaven and earth are joined, as are Christ and his church (Revelation 19:9). And they will never be parted.

Lord, we look forward to the day when you will bring heaven and earth together and make all things right. Amen.