Marriage in Cana

John 2:1-4

¹And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: ²And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. ³And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. ⁴Jesus saith unto her, “Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

John 2:1-4

I always enjoy the story of the marriage in Cana, as recorded in John 2. I love this story for all it teaches about the patience, love, and service of Jesus for all people.

Jesus Accused of Polygamy

I became angry as I remembered early Mormon leaders who taught that Jesus was the bridegroom at the marriage in Cana. That he took not one but three wives that day, Mary, Martha, and the other Mary. Please consider the “prophetic utterances” from Mormon prophets, seers, and revelators.

The Scripture says that He, the Lord, came walking in the Temple, with His train; I do not know who they were, unless His wives and children; but at any rate they filled the Temple, and how many there were who could not get into the Temple I cannot say.

Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol 13, page 309, Commentary on Isaiah 6:1

Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas.” He, according to Celsus, had a numerous train of wives. The grand reason of the burst of public sentiment in anathemas upon Christ and his disciples, causing his crucifixion, was evidently based upon polygamy, according to the testimony of the philosophers who rose in that age. A belief in the doctrine of a plurality of wives caused the persecution of Jesus and his followers. We might almost think they were “Mormons.”

Jedediah M. Grant, Second Councilor to the Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol 1, page 346

It will be borne in mind that once on a time, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and on a careful reading of that transaction, it will be discovered that no less a person than Jesus Christ was married on that occasion. If he was never married, his intimacy with Mary and Martha, and the other Mary also whom Jesus loved, must have been highly unbecoming and improper to say the best of it. I will venture to say that if Jesus Christ were now to pass through the most pious countries in Christendom with a train of women, such as used to follow him, fondling about him, combing his hair, anointing him with precious ointment, washing his feet with tears, and wiping them with the hair of their heads and unmarried, or even married, he would be mobbed, tarred, and feathered, and rode, not on an ass, but on a rail.

Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses, Vol 4, pp 259, 260, emphasis added

Evening Meeting. Prayer By E Stephenson. Joseph F Smith spoke One hour & 25 M. He spoke upon the Marriage in Cana at Galilee. He thought Jesus was the Bridgegroom and Mary & Martha the brides. He also refered to Luke 10 ch. 38 to 42 verse, Also John 11 ch. 2 & 5 vers John 12 Ch 3d vers, John 20 8 to 18. Joseph Smith spoke upon these passages to show that Mary & Martha manifested much Closer relationship than Merely A Believer which looks Consistet. He did not think that Jesus who decended throug Poligamous families from Abraham down & who fulfilled all the Law even baptism by immersion would have lived and died without being married.

Wilford Woodruff, Journal 8:187, July 22, 1883 (misspellings in original)

A Biblical Defense of Jesus

I become enraged when I recall these disgusting and base remarks about the creator of all things, the Savior of the world, and my king of kings. Say what you will about me; I don’t care. Speak trash about my wife and children, and things will become more personal. But when you seek to rob my God of His glory and holiness, that is a call to arms. In matters like this, I draw a line in the sand and challenge all comers to cross it and be bloodied.

Angerally, I remembered the teaching that Jesus had to be the husband of these three, or His love for them would have been highly unbecoming and improper.

Questions for Mormon Bishops

• What Bible passage describes an interaction between Jesus and one of the three women referenced here that would have been highly unbecoming and improper if Jesus was not the husband of said woman?

Orson Hyde, in the above quote, said a careful reading of that transaction will establish that Jesus Christ was married on that occasion. This heretic has crossed the line and now stands ready to be bloodied. Let’s have a look.

Verse two reads, “And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage”. The Greek for called is “kaleo”. The most common usage of this word is to call or summon. Most modern translations render kaleo as invited, an English equivalent.

Verse three indicates that running out of wine at the marriage in Cana had nothing to do with Jesus. In fact, He was totally untroubled and unaffected by the shortage. This seems to be rather odd behavior for a bridegroom.

Questions for Mormon Bishops

• If Jesus was the bridegroom, why did He need an invitation to the wedding?
• Is it common for the bridegroom to receive a wedding invitation to his own wedding?
• If Jesus were the bridegroom, wouldn’t running out of wine have everything to do with Him?

Now let us test the words of the Mormon apostle, Jedediah M. Grant. He insisted that polygamy was the cause of persecution which ultimately led to the crucifixion of Jesus and the martyrdom of the apostles, except for John, who was exiled to Patmos.

Questions for Mormon Bishops

• Can you cite even one Bible passage indicating that Jesus or His followers were persecuted for practicing polygamy?
• Can you present even one extra-biblical quote from a reliable historian that describes the polygamous wives of Jesus and the twelve?

The sexualization of the Mormon church was first seen when Oliver Cowdrey, a close associate of Joseph Smith, accused him of sexual misconduct with Fanny Alger.

I did not fail to affirm that what I had said was strictly true. A dirty, nasty, filthy scrape [“affair” overwritten] of his and Fanny Alger’s was talked over in which I strictly declared that I had never deviated from the truth on the matter.

Oliver Cowdery, Letter to Warren A. Cowdery, January 21, 1838. 

Soon Joseph Smith began making claims and writing new scripture, which used Abrahan, David, and Soloman to justify the taking of plural wives. Smith justified these men even though God had never commanded or blessed the practice of polygamy. Smith went far beyond Old Testament polygamy when he began taking sister/sister pairs, mother/daughter pairs, children, and the wives of other men. Of more importance is the total disregard for biblical and Mormon scripture that prohibited polygamy.¹

I often hear Mormon people insist that they and biblical Christians have the same Jesus. Yet, I find no biblical passage or Bible-believing Christian that defends the strange Mormon Jesus described by Mormon leaders.

A Matter of Death

¹If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, ²And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; ³Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. ⁵And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

Deuteronomy 13:1-5, KJV, emphasis added

Questions for Mormon Bishops

• If you stand with the early leaders of the Mormon church, how are you not worthy of death as described in Deuteronomy 13:5?

Instead of the hyper-sexualized Mormon Jesus, what if we focus on the real Jesus who said the greatest among you will be a servant to all?²

A Better Jesus

⁷Jesus saith unto them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. ⁸And he saith unto them, “Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast.” And they bare it. ⁹When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, ¹⁰And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. ¹¹This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

John 2:7-11, KJV

There is no doubt but that the marriage in Cana meant a great deal to the bride and groom. No doubt they carefully planned every detail of that most important day. Even with all the careful planning, something went wrong. They thought they had more than enough wine on hand, and yet, thay ran out. Their friends, family, and important guests made a great effort to be in attendance. Some traveled far. But the people of the world came and devoured every last drop. The vessels were empty. To their honored guests, a wedding without wine would be the greatest insult of all. In a horrifying moment, the bride and groom’s happiest day was no covered in shame.

Our lives are often like the wedding at Cana. We plan so carefully and anticipate joyfully the days of our lives. But the world comes, takes, and leaves us empty. Our best plans are so easily laid waste. Our joys become sorrow ain in the aftermath of rubble, we wonder what happened and hang our heads in shame.

Jesus did not go to Cana for Himself. He went for others. He went to fill what the world had emptied.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 1:14, KJV

Jesus was made flesh and dwelt among us, not for Himself, but for us. He came to fill the parts of our lives left empty by the world, (2 Corinthians 5:17). Jesus came to take our shame away, carry it to the cross and leave it nailed there, (Colossians 2:4). Jesus came so you and I can have a perfect assurance of our salvation,(1 John 5:13) and live at peace with God, (Romans 5:1)

The question is this, will you allow Jesus to fill your empty shame with the wine of His spirit? Will you live in the joy of the Lord? I pray you will.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Matthew 11:15, KJV

1. Genesis 2:24, Exodus 20:14, Exodus 20:17, Deuteronomy 17:17, Leviticus 18:17, Leviticus 18:18, Matthew 19:4, 1 Timothy 3:2, Book of Mormon Jacob 2:27
2. Matthew 23:11-12