At a wedding at Cana in Galilee, Jesus miraculously turned water into wine. But John inserts a significant piece of detail that I’ve often overlooked: “Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing 20 or 30 gallons apiece” (John 2:6 NKJV).
The details of “waterpots of stone” for “purification of the Jews” points directly to rituals the Jews relied on to be pure before the Lord. Since John used metaphors throughout his book, we can do the same here. We just need to keep to John’s emphasis given in 20:31, lest we be unfaithful to the word.
The Jews relied on ritual washings to keep themselves undefiled before God. Yet the stone waterpots being empty and dry signify that their attempts to be purified were hollow and ineffective. God does not look at the external methods but at the heart. The empty containers reflect the emptiness of their works, devoid of meaning.
We know what it’s like to do the same task so often that its original fire and meaning loses its glow and we settle into mere routine. The ritual purification, which was to express the giving of themselves to Yahweh by faith, to be holy as He is holy, became a ritual without significance, an empty pot.
Jesus changing the water to wine introduces something new; the water of the old becomes the wine of the new. The water that merely preserved the physical body is being replaced by the wine of the kingdom of God, which brings joy to the human spirit. Entering the kingdom through faith in Jesus brings true purification through the blood of Christ, which cleanses even the guilty conscience (Heb. 9:14).
The Jews had lost the vision of who they were (Lam. 1:9). The Old Testament foretold of this again and again, and Jesus zeroed in on this spiritual leprosy repeatedly in His day. Neither religious forms nor morality can replace faith in God and obedience to the Spirit. They cannot initiate true formation of character where the fellowship of God makes one glad and rests our trust in Him.
Whatever churchy religious routines and regulations we practice, we can ask of ourselves: do they really reflect the life Christ came to bring by His presence and the Holy Spirit? In general, sometimes these practices come in when spirituality begins to fade. Have we latched onto these outward forms to compensate for a lack in our relationship with the Lord?
The disciples of Jesus saw His glory by this sign, and believed in Jesus with fresh vision, v. 11. Do we see that the Son of God came to usher in a new relationship between God and man than mere deeds can produce? What is our prayer life like: lukewarm water, or the living water that refreshes?
Remember the words of His mother to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it,” v. 5. So we the servants listen to His words, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). We recognize that attending to our forms and rituals are not the same as acknowledging Jesus as Savior and Lord. So we go to Him for our stony hearts to be filled again, and changed from the inside. This occurs as we take His yoke on us and learn of Him. His yoke is easy and grounds for joy–because He is in it. Our love for Him is the work, and all work is joy with Him in mind. Our cup runs over with His presence and life.
We give up too soon. Jesus saves the best for the last, for the end of a long obedience, for an enduring faith, for a persevering hope. May we have a fresh vision of the Savior and the life He came to bring. The soul that is hollow can be made full again.
