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Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies John 11:25 |
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| Daily Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. 4/16/2026
Today's Passage :The Miracle at Cana (2) - The Basic Meaning Bible Verse: John 2:1-11 "On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. Blue Latin Cross John 2:1-11 (Daily Prayer Literal) The Miracle at Cana (2) - The Basic Meaning About the translation. 1 And on the day the third wedding occurred in Cana of the Galilee, and was the mother of Jesus there; 2 Were invited also Jesus and the disciples of him into the wedding. 3 And having lacked of wine says the mother of Jesus to him, Wine not they have. 4 Says to her Jesus, What to me and to you, woman? Not yet has come the hour of me. Hebrew purification jars 5 Says the mother of him to the servants, Whatever he might say to you you must do. 6 Were there stone jars six for the purpose of the purification ritual of the Jews standing, holding each measures two or three. 7 Says to them Jesus, Fill the waterpots of water. And they filled them as far as the top. 8 And he says to them, Draw now and carry to the feast director; [and] they carried. 9 When tasted the feast director the water wine having become, and not he knew from where it is, [but] the servants knew the having drawn the water, calls the bridegroom the feast director 10 and says to him, Every man first the good wine gives, and when they are intoxicated the inferior; you have kept the good wine until now. 11 This did beginning of the signs Jesus in Cana of the Galilee and revealed the glory of him, and believed in him the disciples of him. " Message:
We are presenting a different translation with each of the lessons on the Wedding at Cana, and the primary translation today is an unpublished literal translation I made (Daily Prayer Literal). This is a specialty translation for the serious Bible student; it is by it nature difficult to read. We have also presented a good mainline translation (ESV) of the same text.
Why would anyone want a literal translation that is so difficult to read? For accuracy. When you read an English Bible, you are not reading God’s inspired Word, but an interpretation of it. This can actually be quite important, as people all-too-frequently will base an idea or belief on something that they think is in the Bible, but is not, because they have read an inaccurate translation. (We have an article, The Wedding at Cana: The Accuracy of Different Translations, for those who want to learn more about this subject.)
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You can see the inaccuracies in even the ESV — in general, an excellent translation — by comparison. The most changed part is verse 10. The ESV supplies a euphemism, “when people have drunk freely,” but the actual Bible — the Greek original — says “when they are intoxicated”. This does, actually, have theological significance, because the ESV obscures the implication that the old wine has affected the minds of the wedding guests, so that they do not realize it when they are given inferior wine, just as the Pharisees' minds had become muddled by increasingly minute rules of conduct and life in the world.
Other slight inaccuracies are “poor” wine in the ESV, instead of “inferior” wine in the Greek, and “first” sign instead of “beginning” of the signs. If one interprets the old wine as a symbol of the law of Moses, as is quite possible, there is a difference between calling it “poor” and calling it “inferior”. The old wine is not bad; it is rather not as good as the new.
This is really picking some nits, no doubt about it. The ESV is an excellent translation. But it, like all translations, sometimes misses the mark, and the reader has no way to know this without a truly literal translation (unless he or she has learned koine Greek). (The NASB, the best and most widely read “literal” translation, ameliorates the problem by supplying alternate readings in footnotes.) Hence, the need of a “truly literal” translation. It is an aid to serious scholarship, something to turn to when you have a question, or a dispute, about a specific term in the translation you are using, or where the wording of two translations is different.
If you cannot find a truly literal translation, the only place I know that you can really dig down into the original Greek is BibleHub’s Interlinear feature. (The interlinear Greek text of Bible Gateway is inexplicably awful.)
The Basic Meaning of the Story
The story is not difficult to follow, but there are a couple of rough patches. The apostles are invited to a wedding and they attend. At some point, Mary tells Jesus that they have no wine. Jesus uses a Hebrew idiom, “what is this to me and to you,” meaning “this is none of our business.”
Jesus then says that his hour has not yet come, something He often says later on to indicate that the time of His crucifixion has not yet arrived. It is an apparent non sequitur); but John is especially prone to non sequitur, both in his gospel and his epistles, and we learn not to expect strict logical progression in either his grammar or his thought process. What we may take, immediately, from this statement, is an impression that there is a profound meaning to the events to follow.
Then we get a more obvious non sequitur. Mary tells the servants to do what Jesus tells them to do, even though He has just stated that it is not His problem. We must simply accept that something is going on beneath the surface. Has Jesus changed His mind? Possibly. Perhaps he meant to tell Mary that she does not have reason to believe it is their concern, but He knows something she doesn't.
Remember also: We do not have an original of John’s Gospel. In fact, the oldest copy was made 100 years after the original was written!
The rest of the surface narrative is easy to follow. Jesus has the servants fill six large stone jars, used for Jewish purification rituals, with water. He then changes the water into wine. There is some sort of official, possibly a slave or a professional wedding planner, who is supervising the catering, and he remarks (to the groom) that usually the better wine is served first and the inferior wine later, when the guests are intoxicated; but Jesus' “new wine” is superior. This is the beginning of the signs of Jesus' divinity, revealing His glory, and his apostles believe in Him.
Meditation : Prayer : Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, let me think about these things. What I have learned and received, let me do; and the God of peace be with us all. Amen. |
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