The Mother of Jesus in Cana
The first of Jesus’ seven signs within the Gospel of John occurs at the
wedding in Cana (2:1-11). In this story, the main characters are Jesus and his
mother. Jesus’ disciples and the wedding participants are minor background
characters, while Mary takes the dominant role opposite Jesus. As soon as the
supply of wine runs out, her first action is to bring the matter to Jesus’
attention. Jesus responds by asking her why the lack of wine should involve the
two of them asserting in the process that his climatic hour has not yet come.
This short interaction between Mary and Jesus strongly suggests that she
anticipated a particular response from him, resulting in the answer with which
Jesus replied. In turn, Mary commands the wedding servants to obey anything that
Jesus tells them to do. The story continues with Jesus giving specific
instructions, leading to the miracle of the water turning into an abundance of
good wine, the first of Jesus’ signs. The narrator indicates that the disciples
expressed belief in him after the miraculous sign took place, but the mother of
Jesus seems to indicate her belief in Jesus’ ability to intervene and supply
the wine prior to the act occurring.
Within Jesus’ interaction with his mother, we detect some noteworthy
influences of personified wisdom’s activity from Jewish wisdom literature. We
have observed that Wisdom is characterized as having female disciples. We have
observed that Wisdom is characterized as having female disciples in the context
of a proverb where Wisdom prepares her own wine (Prov 9:2-3). Lady Wisdom sends
forth her maidens, and it is fair to assume that they function as delegated
agents carrying forth her agenda. Wisdom offers a hospitable invitation that
specifically includes a summons to drink of the wine that she has mixed. (Prov
9:5; Sir 24:21) The author of the Fourth Gospel carefully notes that it is
precisely when the wine ran out that Mary spoke of the incident to Jesus. Since
the Johannine Jesus is the embodiment of Lady Wisdom—the mixer of wine—Jesus
would certainly be able to produce more. The overwhelming amount of wine Jesus
produces further reflects the impact of traditions surrounding Lady Wisdom’s
lavish provision. (Sir 1:6; 6:19; 24:19-21; Wis 7:11, 14) Mary knew exactly who
Jesus was, joining the likes of John the Baptist and Nathaniel who recognized
Jesus prior to him personally interacting or speaking with them. Since the
ideal disciple is one who believes in Jesus before witnessing miraculous
signs (John 20:29), Mary distinguishes herself from the disciples present at
the wedding, who only express their belief after the sign takes place.
Mary effectively functions as a disciple/maiden of Wisdom who expresses her
faith in Jesus as incarnate Wisdom, the mixer and provider of wine. By
recognizing the impact of personified wisdom traditions upon the story of the
wedding at Cana, we can grasp the key role that the author gives to Mary, an
ideal Johannine disciple. (Dustin R. Smith, Wisdom Christology in the Gospel
of John [Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf and Stock, 2024], 192-93)
