The Wedding at Cana

A wedding occurred in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was in attendance. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the marriage (John 2:1-2). When the wine supply failed, the mother of Jesus informed him that the hosts had no wine. Jesus replied by asking what this had to do with him, noting that his hour had not yet come (John 2:3-4). His mother then instructed the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do.

There were six stone water jars at the location, used for Jewish rites of purification. Each jar held twenty or thirty gallons, though the text does not say how much water was in them initially. Jesus commanded the servants to fill the jars with water, and they filled them to the brim (John 2:6-7). He then told them to draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. The master tasted the water that had become wine, though he did not know where it came from (John 2:8-9).

The master of the feast called the bridegroom and remarked that most people serve the good wine first and the inferior wine later, but he noted that the bridegroom had kept the good wine until now. The text does not say how the wine tasted beyond the master's assessment of its quality, nor does it record the bridegroom's response. This event is identified as the first of the signs Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee (John 2:10-11).