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The Wedding at Cana
The fourth Gospel is presented as the testimony of the beloved disciple. We know him as John, and this text is the result of 70 years of reflection. Therefore, the author had the time and resources to develop a well-crafted account, possibly in several versions. He was able to integrate, correct, and refine the structure effectively. Today, we can read this symbolic literary work, which is truly valuable for the Christian faith.
First, let’s examine its structure. A prologue, specifically the famous one of St. John, is a lyrical piece written last, and I will explain it at the end of these lectures. At the conclusion of the book, there’s an epilogue describing Jesus’ appearance after Easter at the Lake of Galilee, including the miraculous catch of fish, but more importantly, the food given to the disciples and Peter’s recognition.
The text is easily split into two parts: the opening and the closing, with the middle section separating them. Scholars usually refer to the first part as the ‘Book of Signs’ and the second as the ‘Book of the Hour,’ with chapter 12 acting as the central hinge. In the first part, the author describes the seven signs performed by Jesus.
Beginning with chapter 13, where chapter 12 acts as both a conclusion and a prelude, we find the Paschal Supper, during which Jesus speaks for five chapters. With a spiritual testament, he leaves his teachings as an inheritance to the disciples. Then comes the moment of the passion, the resurrection, and the fulfillment of glory in Jesus’ hour.
Let’s examine the first part. I mentioned that in the first eleven chapters, seven signs are described. The first is the miracle at Cana; the second also occurs at Cana, involving the healing of a dying child; the third is the healing of a man with paralysis at Bethsaida; the fourth is the miracle of the loaves in the desert near the Lake of Galilee; the fifth is Jesus walking on water at night, revealing his divinity; the sixth is the healing of the man born blind; and the seventh, which is the most tangible, is Jesus calling Lazarus from the grave. The friend brings Lazarus back to life, but to do so, Jesus sacrifices his own life.
This is the main plot, characterized by a series of stories focused on the signs Jesusperformed. Immediately after the prologue, which ends in the first chapter at verse 18, we see the beginning in prose. In verse 19, the author writes: “This is the testimony of John.” It may seem like the book’s title, but in reality, John is not the evangelist but the Baptist. In this part of the first chapter, we witness the transition from John the Baptist to Jesus.
An interesting detail is that the episodes consistently begin with a chronological marker: “The next day” in verse 29, “The next day” in verse 35, and “The next day” in verse 43. This indicates the narrator is marking successive days. Since this appears three times, starting from the first episode, it signifies four consecutive days overall.
If we read the beginning of chapter two, which presents the wedding feast at Cana, we see that it is “three days later.” We had four, plus three, making a week. The Gospel of John begins with a series of events spanning a week. I repeat what I said: the Gospel of John begins with a week. If I emphasize certain expressions, it is because they are meant to remind you of something else, which is part of the symbolic process. This is how John does it.
The reader must pay close attention; if I repeat things two or three times, you should carefully note these details so that their meaning becomes clear. Just as the Gospel begins with the same phrase as in Genesis: Ἐν ἀρχῇ’ = ‘En arjé’ = at the beginning and describes a week, we also have an opening week here. Later, we read the passage from John the Baptist to Jesus that references the opening week of creation.
A new world is beginning. The encounter with Jesus is a novelty; it signifies a new creation. According to the synoptic scheme, John also depicts the Baptist as a repentance preacher, but he doesn’t stop there; he also portrays him as a baptizer. First, he appears in dialogue with the authorities of Jerusalem. They ask him who he is, and John replies that he is simply the voice; he is a messenger to prepare the way for the one who comes after him. The next day, Jesus appears in the background, and John tells his disciples, “Here is the Lamb of God.” A strange, original expression with which the Baptist introduces Jesus to his disciples.
The Baptists’ disciples leave him the next day to follow Jesus. Jesus stops, notices they are following him, and asks both of them, “What are you looking for?” These are the first words spoken by Jesus in John’s account. It is an important question. The question appears two more times. At the start of the Passion, Jesus will ask the soldiers who arrest him, “Whom are you looking for?” And the Risen One, like the first word of the Gospel of John, asks this question, speaking to Mary Magdalene: “Woman, who are you looking for?” It is the same phrase with slight variations.
Did you notice the change? The first time, there’s a physical object: “What are you looking for?” The second time, it refers to a person: “Whom are you looking for?” The third time, the question shifts from plural to singular and becomes highly personal: “Who are you looking for?”
It is an itinerary that the reader must follow. We need to pay close attention to capture all the details because the beauty of the Gospel, according to John, lies precisely in the richness of meaning in every part of the text; the narration, every detail, and every nuance must be appreciated and valued. They should be memorized so that as you keep reading, you can see the connections and understand how the interpretation develops.
The disciples leave the Baptist and follow Jesus. He mentions that one of them was named Andrew, while the other’s name is unknown. This hesitation suggests he might be the author himself; a disciple of John the Baptist, he left that penitential preacher to follow Jesus. In the fourth Gospel, we don’t see the story of the fishermen’s call, but the first disciples are called on the banks of the Jordan, near the Dead Sea, much farther south, close to Jerusalem.
Andrew talks with his brother Simon about a person they met and brings him to Jesus, which leads to the formation of a group of disciples. The next day, Philip, who was from the same town as Andrew and Simon—Bethsaida—meets another man named Nathanael, whom we know as the apostle Bartholomew, and he tells him: “We have found the messiah … he comes from Nazareth.” Bartholomew, a native of Cana, doubts that anything good can come from Nazareth and jokes about this identification. Philip can find nothing better than to repeat what Jesus said: “Come and see.”
An important invitation for the reader: enter and input the text… You need to see for yourself, you need to know Jesus; you must try to be with Him; you have to learn to know Him by sharing His life, and then you will see. Bartholomew, who arrives before Jesus, is skeptical yet surprised. Jesus calls him by name and tells him He saw him under the fig tree. This is important, but we can’t say exactly what it means. That detail was probably significant to Nathanael. Jesus tells him: ‘I know you; I know you well … before you heard about me, I already knew you.’ And Nathanael immediately confesses his faith: “You are the king of Israel, the son of God.” He calls Him ‘rabbi,’ which is the term used for teachers. He recognizes in this man the teacher who can teach how to live. And Jesus comments, almost smiling, ‘It takes little for you to believe; you will see greater things than this.’
Here is an important promise. The disciples who agree to follow him are assured of seeing great things, such as “seeing the heavens open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” Remember Jacob’s ladder. In the book of Genesis, it is said that the patriarch had a dream involving a staircase—a large staircase, a ‘ziggurat,’ a stepped tower, an artificial mountain that served as a connecting ladder between earth and heaven—as messengers, the angels of God went up and down; they maintained contact between heaven and earth. Jesus tells the disciples: ‘You will see the Son of Man, who is I, like Jacob’s ladder—the connection between heaven and earth.’
It is a crucial Christological declaration. Jesus acts as the connection; he is the ladder through which God descends to Earth, enabling man to rise from Earth to heaven. On the third day, a wedding feast was held in Cana of Galilee. We have already discussed this for four days. Gradually, John the Baptist steps aside, and Jesus takes center stage. The disciples of the Baptist followed Jesus and moved from the Jordan region into Galilee.
The third day is actually the sixth day because, according to the old way of counting, we always start from a specific point. So, if we say there are four days, to count the third day, you include the fourth, fifth, and sixth days. For example, Sunday is the third day starting from Friday. It’s not three days later; it’s the third day of death. You should count the third day from Friday: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So, four plus three, in this case, equals six. The detail is symbolic.
The sixth day of creation is when God created man. On what day did Jesus die? He died on Friday. Yes, but using the numbers, what day is Friday? Friday is the sixth day; the seventh is Saturday. Sunday is always the first day of the week, and Jews still call it ‘rishon,’ meaning ‘first.’ Friday, the day of Jesus’ death, is the sixth day, which corresponds to the day God created man. What does it symbolize? This suggests that John is writing a spiritual gospel, and these details are emphasized to help the reader see a deeper meaning behind the coincidence of the day.
The death of Jesus symbolizes the creation of the new man and the outpouring of the creative Spirit that renews humanity. However, this significant event that will happen to Jesus on the cross, through his death and resurrection, is symbolically foreshadowed at the beginning. The first sign performed by Jesus occurs on the sixth day of this initial week. This creative event introduces a new element based on a traditional foundation.
This isn’t the first miracle Jesus performed. It’s often overlooked because of the catechism question: ‘What was the first miracle of Jesus? The wedding at Cana.’ But it’s not about being first in order. The Synoptic Gospels don’t even mention it. Even a child asking this might respond with a counter-question: “According to which evangelist?” For instance, in the Gospel of Mark, there are no Cana weddings mentioned. In Mark, the first miracle is the healing of a man possessed by demons in the synagogue of Capernaum. If we look at Matthew, the first recorded miracle is healing a leper after Jesus descended from the mountain where He delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Changing the evangelist shifts the perspective.
The reader must be intelligent. We are not reconstructing a hypothetical life of Jesus to be told in riddles. We are trying to deeply understand literary and thoughtful theological texts that assume intelligent readers who do not trivialize the narrated events. So, what Jesus did during the wedding feast at Cana is not the first miracle but the archetype of signs. Notice that it is very different. He made Ἐν ἀρχῇ = ‘En arjé’ = the beginning of the signs; ἀρχῇ is the beginning; it is the origin, not just the first in a series; it is the primary model of what Jesus does. It is a change, a transformation.
This wedding isn’t described in detail. We want to learn more about the unseen information. We aren’t told who is getting married; it only states that Jesus’s mother was there. Jesus and his disciples are also present. They run out of wine. At a celebration, the lack of wine has deep symbolic meaning, especially considering wine’s significance in the Old Covenant, where it represents the law, celebration, and love.
The wedding at Cana represents the covenant between God and Israel. The Gospel does not specify Jesus’ mother’s name; it does not say her name was Mary, much less that she was the Virgin. “There was the mother of Jesus.” Are you trying to speak exactly as the Gospel describes? Are you sure you’re being accurate? “There was the mother of Jesus who recognized this need and simply said: “They have no wine.'” Jesus strangely asks her: “What’s between you and me, woman?” He also calls her ‘woman,’ an important symbolic term. The woman is part of the covenant.
It is the other part of the covenant: What do you have to do with me? How do you putyourself before me? The mother does not respond in theory but, in practice, tells the servants,”Do whatever he tells you.” It is the formula by which Israel at Sinai accepted the covenant: “What the Lord said we will do,” except that it is Jesus who speaks, and the mother agrees to do everything Jesus says. The mother is the faithful Israel, who realizes that love no longer exists in this marriage. It is not the specific case of the wedding couple at Cana; it is the marriage of the covenant. It is the story of this relationship between God and Israel, in which there is no longer substance, joy, or love, and Jesus’ work is not a replacement but a fulfillment.
He does not make wine from scratch but asks the servants to fill six jars with water. Each jar held about a hundred liters. These jars were used for the purification rituals of the Jews. Wells were dug into the bedrock and filled with water to allow washing hands and feet for ablutions before meals. Now that the feast is over, there is no more wine, and many other problems arise. Filling those jars again is a lot of work: 6 jars at 100 liters each equals 600 liters.
How many buckets of water must they draw from the distant well for something that doesn’t make sense? The jars are six—again, the number six. The number six is important, representing the sixth day of Adam’s creation. Six symbolizes mankind and signifies human imperfection. They are made of stone, like the tables of the law, representing the old man’s heart that needs renewal—a spirit that transforms a heart of stone into a heart of flesh, inscribing the new law into the heart rather than on stone tablets.
From the water used to purify the Jews in six stone jars, Jesus produces excellent new wine. It does not say that all the water turns into wine. Only the servants know; having done what Jesus instructed, they took the water—which turned into wine—and brought it to the steward. When he tastes it, he says: ‘exquisite wine.’ The ‘archtriclino’ (in Latin), the steward, is in charge of the banquet. He manages the event; he is the figure of the leaders of Israel, of those authorities who saw Jesus’ work, heard His words, but did not understand them. The steward calls the bridegroom.
Who is the husband? The one who gave the wine. Who gave the wine? Jesus: the husband is Jesus. It doesn’t come off the story because it is a game of figures, but the steward says to the husband: ‘You have saved the best wine until now, until this time! It’s a shame because now they are half drunk.’ Jesus’ sign is not to get the guests drunk but to fulfill the covenant by offering the best that lasts until the end.
The water used for Jewish purification becomes the fine wine of the Eucharist, symbolizing Christ’s blood. But when will he give that wine? On the cross, with his blood. Then there will be the mother again and again; then, Jesus will address her as ‘woman’ and entrust her to the disciple, passing from the old covenant to the new without discarding anything, bringing everything to fulfillment.
Therefore, Jesus established the pattern of signs. He showed his glory, revealed his identity, and his disciples believed in him. The Gospel could end here. The entire message is already present, but in a symbolic form, meaning a summary that will be explained in more detail later. This approach uses a symbolic way of reading the text; it does not lessen the story’s historicity but provides a deep interpretation with significant theological and spiritual meaning, because John’s gospel is spiritual.