The Beginning of Jesus' Public Ministry (According to John)

He is already known as a teacher, and some must already be watching Him.

While we today use the word "wine" specifically in reference to an alcoholic beverage, the ancient word for "wine" only strictly meant a product of the vine. We must use the rest of the story to tell whether it was alcoholic.

The Proverbs are clear about intoxicants:

• Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. (Proverbs 20:1)
• Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. (Proverbs 23:31–32)

Peter teaches plainly a categorical denial of all forms of drinking--from simple intoxication to socal drinking. He follows this teaching up with a term in Greek for complete abstinence from alcohol:

• The time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. (1 Peter 4:3)
• The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded [read: abstinent from alcohol] for the sake of your prayers. (1 Peter 4:7)

The Greek root clearly indicates the absence of wine, as can be seen in its family of terms:

• νηφαλιεύω, make a libation without wine
• νηφαλίζω, purify by a libation without wine
• νηφαλιος (νήφω):—of drink: unmixed with wine, offerings of water, milk, and honey to the Eumenides; to the Muses and Nymphs; ν. ξύλα wood other than vine twigs, burned in sacrifices; ν. πόπανον with no wine in it
• νηφαντικός, sobering

Jesus is appearing as an authority figure, with the disciples calling Him Rabbi and His own mother expecting that He might do some sign at this opportunity. She has been watching for thirty years.

God does things on His own schedule, but He does hear His servants.

John 7:3–6, 9–10

His brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world." For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here."
After saying this, he remained in Galilee. But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.

Acts 1:6–7

When they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority."

His mother is a type of ancient Israel, who tells us servants to listen to Him.

Romans 3:1–4

Then what advantage has the Jew...? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar....

Revelation 12:1–2, 4–5, 17

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.
And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne.
Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

Genesis 41:55

When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do."

He said "fill," so...what would you have done?

2 Kings 13:17–19

And [Elisha] said [to Joash king of Israel], "Open the window eastward," and he opened it. Then Elisha said, "Shoot," and he shot. And he said, "The LORD's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them." And he said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground with them." And he struck three times and stopped. Then the man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times."

revealed this to babes

Luke 10:21

"I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will."

They did not draw wine. They walked away from Jesus with water, doing exactly as He said.

This saying is an example of the pattern in which the second overtakes the first. A new world began with Noah; Jacob overtook Esau; Joshua completes the mission started by Moses; etc..

Luke 5:39

And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.'

John 4:46, 50, 54

So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.
Jesus said to him, "Go; your son will live." The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.
This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

John 12:9, 17–18

When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.

John 20:30–31

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 12:27, 31–33, 36–38

"Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.
Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
"While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
"Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"

John 18:31–32

Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." The Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death." This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

Revelation 1:1–2

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.