John is writing his gospel so that we can believe that Jesus is the long-awaited Jewish Messiah (the Christ) and the Son of God (John 20:31).

Recall in Chapter 1 that when Jesus came down from heaven and took on human flesh, John said: "We have seen his glory" (John 1:14). In other words, because Jesus was God, he could demonstrate the glory of God by all that he said, all that he did, and all that he was.

In Chapter 2, let's look at how Jesus displays his divine glory. John shows us the divine glory of Christ in 3 consecutive episodes that occur early in the ministry of Jesus: 1) His compassionate miracle of turning water into wine (v. 1-11); 2) His wrathful cleansing of the temple (v. 12-22); and 3) His supernatural knowledge of every human being (v. 23-25). The focus of this article will be the miraculous turning of water into wine.

Because Jesus is God, he could do anything (except sin). As the God-Man, he repeatedly demonstrated his divine power. John recorded several of these miraculous displays of glory:

Jesus had the power to heal the sick (John 4:46-54), the lame (John 5:1-9) and the blind (John 9:1-12).

Jesus had the power to feed 5,000 men with only 5 loaves and 2 fish (John 6:1-15).

Jesus had the power to walk on water (John 6:16-21).

Jesus had the power to raise the dead (John 11:38-44).

And in John 2:1-12, Jesus had the power to turn at least 120 gallons of water into wine.

The other gospel writers (Matthew, Mark and Luke) also record many amazing acts of divine power by the hand or mouth of Jesus. He was the greatest miracle worker to ever walk on this planet. No one else even comes close. (See Matthew 4:23-25.)

Certainly Jesus did many of these miracles out of perfectly motivated compassion for people in need. Mark tells us that a leper came to Jesus and begged to be healed. "Moved with pity, he (Jesus) stretched out his hand and touched him (the leper) and said to him, 'I will; be clean.' And immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean" (Mark 1:40-41).

Right before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he was so moved by compassion for Mary and Martha that "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). And as Jesus approached the tomb of Lazarus, we are told that he was "deeply moved again" (John 11:38).

Jesus was God (John 1:1), and "God is love" (1 John 4:8 ), so Jesus was love, and he loved like no other.

And at the wedding of John 2, acim youtube   the wine was gone, this was undoubtedly a major embarrassment for the host of the wedding feast, so Jesus was motivated here, too, by a sincere desire to provide the solution to a problem.

But John also wants us to focus on another reason for this miracle. Note John 2:11 - "This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory."

The word "manifested" (ESV) is translated "revealed" in the NIV. The Amplified Bible adds these thoughts: "by it (this miracle) he displayed his greatness and his power openly".

Jesus performed miracles not only to meet real human needs, but also to demonstrate his divine glory, to prove that he truly was God in a human body, and to authenticate his claim to be the one and only Son of God.

Notice also the effect this miracle had on those who witnessed it: "This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him" (John 2:11).

The early followers of Christ saw this miracle and the demonstration of his divine glory had tremendous impact on them. They believed in him!

To recap this passage (John 2:1-12): 1. Jesus demonstrates his compassion by solving a problem in a miraculous way. 2. Jesus demonstrates his divine power and glory by turning water into wine. 3. The result of this miracle is that the followers of Jesus believed in him.

What is your response to this display of Jesus' divine power? Do you see the glory of Jesus? What effect do these miracles have on your faith?