Jesus turned water into wine at a marriage feast in the first recorded miracle He performed during His earthly ministry. This lesson is intended to help you increase your faith in Jesus Christ as you study this miracle and identify truths about the Savior’s power and character.
Asking questions to help students understand the scriptures. Questions that help students analyze the scriptures can help them more deeply understand the truths being taught. Look for opportunities to ask questions that will help students think deeply about important words or phrases and consider how a given passage relates to them.
Student preparation: Invite students to imagine that they were asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting about the power of Jesus Christ. Ask them to come to class prepared to share one or two scriptural accounts they might use to illustrate His power.
Possible Learning Activities
Who do you trust?
Consider bringing an item of delicious food to class and offering it to a student who is willing to commit to eating it before knowing what the food is. Choose a volunteer. Before showing the food to the student, ask why he or she trusts you enough to accept it before knowing what it is.
Is it possible to trust someone enough to commit to do anything they might ask you to do?
What would you have to know about that person to be willing to make such a commitment?
Ponder for a moment if you feel you know the Savior well enough to trust Him in whatever He asks of you. As you study John 2, look for evidence of His power and character that can increase your trust in Him and your willingness to obey anything He asks of you.
The first recorded miracle of Jesus’s ministry
The first recorded miracle during the Savior’s earthly ministry is found in John 2. Before you study this account, it may be helpful to know that wine typically improves in quality the longer it is aged and that to run out of wine would have been embarrassing for the hosts of a wedding feast.
Consider watching the video “Jesus Turns Water into Wine” (2:26), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, before reading this account in the scriptures.
Read John 2:1–11 slowly and thoughtfully, and consider marking anything that stands out to you. As you study, you could ponder answers to questions such as these: What do you think Mary knew about her Son? What do you think the servants learned about Jesus?
Consider inviting students to read John 2:1–11 in small groups. Encourage them to pause often to discuss with their group truths they learn about Jesus Christ.
After sufficient time, invite groups to share their insights with the class.
What truths did you learn about the Savior’s power and about His character?
Can you think of circumstances where knowing these truths could help someone today?
How has it blessed your life to know these truths about Jesus Christ?
Determine which identified truths would be most helpful for students to spend more time studying. The following learning activity focuses on just one of many important truths students could identify from this passage.
“Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it”
As in many cases in the New Testament, the Joseph Smith Translation of John 2:4 helps us gain additional insights about the Savior. It states, “Woman, what wilt thou have me to do for thee? that will I do; for mine hour is not yet come” (in John 2:4, footnote a).
What does this teach you about the Savior’s relationship with His mother?
Consider marking what Mary said to the servants, as recorded in verse 5.
What do Mary’s instructions to the servants teach you about her faith in Jesus?
Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Seventy explained some things that Mary knew about Jesus that strengthened her faith in Him. You may want to watch the video “Whatsoever He Saith unto You, Do It” (available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org) from time code 1:40 to 2:29, or read the following statement.
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Elder L. Whitney Clayton
[Mary] knew more about [Jesus Christ] than anyone else on earth. She knew the truth of His miraculous birth. She knew that He was sinless and that He “spake not as other men, neither could he be taught; for he needed not that any man should teach him” [Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 3:25 (in the Bible appendix)]. Mary knew of His extraordinary capacity to solve problems, including one as personal as providing wine for a wedding feast. She had unshakable confidence in Him and in His divine power. Her simple, straightforward instruction to the servants had no caveats, no qualifications, no limitations: “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.”
What did Mary know about Jesus that is important for us to know about Him?
Imagine that you were one of the servants that heard Mary’s instructions. Read John 2:6–8 again, looking for what Jesus asked the servants to do. Before reading, it might be helpful to know that “these waterpots weren’t used to store drinking water but were used for ceremonial washings” (L. Whitney Clayton, “Whatsoever He Saith unto You, Do It,” 97).
What might you have thought or felt as you took a cup to the leader of the feast?
What are some directions Jesus Christ has given today that require you to trust Him in order to obey?
Consider ways to help students increase their ability to trust Jesus Christ and do what He asks of them. For example, invite students to share experiences they have had obeying the Savior’s words, share a story from a general conference address, or complete the following activity.
In the Joseph Smith Translation of John 2:11, we learn not only that this miracle revealed the glory of the Savior but that “the faith of his disciples was strengthened in him.” Miracles do not convert people, but those with faith in Jesus Christ have their faith strengthened by them.
Take a few minutes to search for and learn from others in the scriptures who, like Mary, had great faith in Jesus Christ. Look for reasons each of them chose to trust and obey whatever Jesus said. Examples include Nephi (2 Nephi 4:34–35), Jacob (Jacob 4:10), and the brother of Jared (Ether 3:9–12).
Consider giving students time to write insights in their study journals. The following questions could guide them as they write. When students are finished, consider inviting volunteers to share part of what they wrote.
What do you know about Jesus Christ that inspires you to obey “whatsoever he saith unto you”? (John 2:5).
Why could someone trust Jesus Christ even if what He says does not fully make sense to them?
What could you do to come to know Jesus Christ better so that your faith in Him can increase?
Commentary and Background Information
Was drinking wine against the commandments in biblical times?
There are many references in the Bible to the evils of drunkenness and strong drink (for example, see Proverbs 23:20–21; Isaiah 5:11–12; Ephesians 5:18). These verses do not specifically forbid the use of alcohol, but they do condemn overindulgence and drunkenness. In our day, the Lord has revealed the Word of Wisdom, which does forbid consumption of alcoholic beverages [see Doctrine and Covenants 89:4–7]. We should avoid judging the people of earlier dispensations by the commandments the Lord has given us in our day.
Elder James E. Talmage (1862–1933) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained:
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James E. Talmage
The noun of address, “Woman,” as applied by a son to his mother may sound to our ears somewhat harsh, if not disrespectful; but its use was really an expression of opposite import. … When, in the last dread scenes of His mortal experience, Christ hung in dying agony upon the cross, He looked down upon the weeping Mary, His mother, and commended her to the care of the beloved apostle John, with the words: “Woman, behold thy son!” [John 19:26]. Can it be thought that in this supreme moment, our Lord’s concern for the mother from whom He was about to be separated by death was associated with any emotion other than that of honor, tenderness and love?
(James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ [1916], 144–45).
A firkin is around nine US gallons (34 liters), so the six pots could have held between about 100 and 160 gallons (about 380 and 600 liters).
John 2:5. Why is it important to do “whatsoever [God] saith unto you”?
Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Seventy taught:
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Elder L. Whitney Clayton
When we decide to do “whatsoever [God] saith unto” us, we earnestly commit to align our everyday behavior with God’s will. Such simple acts of faith as studying the scriptures daily, fasting regularly, and praying with real intent deepen our well of spiritual capacity to meet the demands of mortality. Over time, simple habits of belief lead to miraculous results. They transform our faith from a seedling into a dynamic power for good in our lives. …
… When we trust and follow Him, our lives, like water to wine, are transformed. We become something more and better than we ever otherwise could be. Trust in the Lord, and “whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.”
In changing water to wine, Jesus performed a miracle. He can perform similar miracles in our own lives, changing us from who we are into who we can become. Consider inviting students to see how their own lives may relate to the water in this miracle. It may be helpful for students to think about the type of waterpots that were used for the miracle as well as what the servants did to help bring about the miracle. Help students keep their focus on the Savior and understand that because He has power over all things, He can truly bring about a miraculous change in our lives.