This week’s devotions are about the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. Today’s devotion focuses

on John 2:6-8 – how Jesus performed His first miracle.

Now six stone water jars had been set there for Jewish purification. Each contained

twenty or thirty gallons. “Fill the jars with water,” Jesus told them. So they filled them to

the brim. Then he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the headwaiter.” And

they did. (John 2:6-8)

Jesus asked the servants to do something rather ordinary, and they complied. Most

extraordinary feats start out with simple obedience. We will see the actual miracle in the next

devotion.

Before we get there, we must examine one important detail: each water jar held 20-30 gallons!

That’s a lot of water!

The six water jars held a total of about 150 gallons of water. 150 gallons is the size of a large

home aquarium. Our faucets today flow at 2 gallons per minute. If we filled that aquarium using

our homes today, it would take over an hour to pour 150 gallons. However, the servants at the

wedding probably filled up all those water jars by lowering them into a stream or well. Even so,

each jar would still weigh around 150 pounds – which means this was neither an easy task nor

a quick one.

Also, it’s unclear if Jesus changed ALL the water into wine. But if He did, that would be about

750 bottles of wine by today’s standards -- 750 bottles of wine that would amply meet the needs

of the wedding guests!

Failure to provide enough food and wine for the wedding party would have been an

embarrassment for the host family. Jesus’ miracle provided what was needed for the party –

and may have had wine left over.

When you have a need, do you reach out to Jesus – knowing that He can provide – and provide

abundantly?

By Jason Grace

Jason is a software engineering manager. He and his wife, Karen, have two children and have

been active members at Immanuel for over 22 years. His service includes roles in the deacon

ministry, children' ministry, technical team, financial coaching, and leading Bible studies.