I will never get over the fact that the first miracle of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of John is turning water into wine at a wedding party. And not just a little wine - 120 to 180 gallons of the finest wine. The kind you save for last when everyone's already had too much to drink and wouldn't notice the difference anyway. But Jesus makes the best wine at the end of the party.
This tells you something about who Jesus is. He's not stingy. He's not a killjoy. His first sign isn't healing a leper or casting out a demon - it's making sure a wedding party doesn't run out of booze. He cares about joy, about celebration, about people not being embarrassed. The Kingdom of God shows up at a party.
Even if John made this story up or exaggerated it - which I don't think he did, but even if - I want to have such a view of Jesus that I would make up stories just as outrageous and beautiful about him. I want to know Jesus in a way that when someone tells me he made 180 gallons of wine at a party, my response is, "Yeah, that sounds like him."
I want an understanding of Jesus where I'm still surprised by his goodness and audaciousness - not surprised because it seems out of character, but surprised by just how Good and Creative and Outrageous he can be. Surprised the way you're surprised when someone you love does something even more generous than you expected from them.
Notice that the bridegroom seemingly takes the credit for the wine in verse 10. The steward congratulates him for saving the best wine for last. And Jesus doesn't correct him. Jesus doesn't need the recognition. He's fine letting someone else get the credit for his work. There's something about the hiddenness of Jesus here - he does good, but he's not concerned with being seen doing good.
When Jesus calls Mary "Woman" in verse 4, it's not disrespectful. He also calls her "Woman" in John 19 at the cross when he charges the beloved disciple to take care of her. It's formal, but not cold. More like addressing her in her full personhood, not just as his mother.
"On the third day" in verse 1 is resurrection language. John is layering meaning here from the very beginning. There's probably something to explore with water-to-wine being a metaphor for resurrection - transformation from one state of being to another, from death to life. As Paul puts it, "physical bodies into spiritual bodies." Brian Zahnd has a great book called "Water to Wine" about his journey out of fundamentalism and back to Jesus, using this passage as the organizing metaphor.
The stone water jars are for Jewish purification rites. Jesus takes the containers meant for religious ritual and fills them with wine for a party. He's not abolishing the old ways, but he's transforming them into something that brings joy. The law pointed to life; Jesus brings the life itself.
What needs to be transformed in my life from water into wine? Where am I living in religious duty instead of joyful abundance?