Why did the wine run out at the Cana wedding (John 2:1–12)? Did the hosts plan unwisely? Did uninvited guests turn up and exceed their capacity? Did they run short of funds to provide enough wine?
The Bible doesn’t tell us, which is a mercy. Because whether it was a failure of human wisdom, strength, or resources — all familiar failures to us — there was a need that the human hosts could not meet.
But unknown to the hosts, the Lord of hosts was a guest at this wedding, veiled in flesh. Mary knew, though, and she knew that he was able to make all grace abound so that there would be all sufficiency to meet this need (2 Corinthians 9:8). So she informed her son, the Lord, about the need and glorious grace flowed freely.
But the glory that Jesus manifested at this wedding was more than his omnipotent authority over nature. For those who could see it that day, a deeper, brighter glory of the Triune God’s abounding, all-sufficient love for foolish, weak, sin-impoverished people blazed forth.
Out of Jesus’s fullness the wedding guests received grace upon grace (John 1:16). They drank the very best earthly wine ever created, made by the Creator of grapes himself. But more than that, the wine they drank freely was a foretaste of the gospel.
Jesus knew the time for making the real gospel wine of Calvary had not yet come (John 2:4). But this wedding wine, poured out of vessels of purification, foreshadowed that best of all wines, which would be served after humans had done their sinful insufficient best to meet their need and failed. This wine would flow freely with infinite abundance from the purest Vessel of all time for the greatest wedding of all time.
That’s why when you run out of “wine” today, when you fail in wisdom, power, or resources, or fail to meet the righteous requirement of God’s law, or fail to love the Lord with all your heart, you need not fear. Jesus, your Lord, your Groom, the Master of the Great Wedding feast, has infinite power and infinite love and is “able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times you may abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).
Trust him. Jesus will provide the wine you need. Just do whatever he tells you.
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