Transformation vs. Multiplication

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets and Convert Journal

Y'all know the Cana miracle, right?

 1 On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. 3 When the wine was almost gone, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They are almost out of wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6 Now a stone jar was standing there, able to hold twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, "Pour the last of the wine into the jar." Then He said, "Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast." So they took it. 9 When the steward of the feast tasted the wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." And they distributed it to those who were seated; as much as they wanted.  And when they had drunk their fill, there was wine left over.

OK-  I'm teasing: that's not how the miracle goes, although my version might seem plausible. Typically somebody doesn't have enough bread, or water, or flour, or oil; and a little bit miraculously goes a long way. But unlike other food miracles in the Bible, Cana's miracle is about transformation, not multiplication, and thus more impressive: making wine out of water is more remarkable than say, Elisha making twenty loaves of bread feed a hundred men.

Why does this matter? Because by miraculously transforming water into wine, Jesus sets a precedent for His invisible transformation of wine into blood. That is, a dog miracle* prepares us for a faith miracle.

Audio based on the above text here.



*And what's a dog miracle? It's one that can be accepted with little-to-no faith. For example, at Cana even a dog could have tasted and seen that water went in and wine came out. People will easily believe what they perceive with their own two eyes or other bodily senses (well, most of the time: John 9) . People love visible miracles, such as making the paralyzed walk...they don't require much faith. It's the invisible ones, like forgiving sins, that are tough.