Six Stone Jars

Holy Water.  Six stone jars filled with holy water.   Each jar held 20-30 gallons of water (John 2:6) which when turned into wine was a lot of wine.  It was not just ordinary wine, but very good wine.  (John 2:10)  Even as it was not ordinary wine, neither was it ordinary water.  It was water set aside for the purification and cleansing of things which needed to be made ceremonially clean.  It was not ordinary drinking water, but water set aside for holy purposes.     

It was this set aside water that Jesus used to perform the first miracle of His ministry in Cana of Galilee.  Even as Jesus did not come to the wealthy, or to parents who lived at the top of the social system, so did His first miracle not come in the Temple, or be so spectacular as to warrant the world's attention, but in the midst of an ordinary event among ordinary people.  The water turned into wine might have even caused some to leave struggling to walk upright and in a straight line.  Even though such is true, John, the gospel writer, saw this miracle as one which revealed the glory of Jesus Christ and caused His disciple to believe in Him.   

Though it might seem to be a story of confusing and mixed messages, it must always be remembered that John wrote his gospel with many contrasts in mind and one of them was the contrast between belief and unbelief.  This is spelled out for us in the final sections of the gospel as John clearly states, "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples...but these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in His name."  (John 20:30-31)  If turning water into wine can enable people to believe, so may the ordinary things which touch our lives.