Weddings

What went wrong at Cana?  Here are a few possible reasons why they ran out of wine:

1. More people came to the party than were expected…or invited…people like Jesus who brought his fishermen friends and other disciples.

2. Cana, about the same latitude as Atlanta GA and 20 miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea, can get hot and humid.  Guests might have been a bit extra thirsty.

3. A typical wedding party at Jesus’ time served as a family reunion.  The party usually lasted a week, not unusual when you consider that some people hiked up to three days to get there.  As with week-long vacations compared to an afternoon outing, the longer the party goes, the more difficult it is to plan.

4. Those in charge of supplies were not keeping an eye on their supplies.  Cana, like Nazareth 4.5 miles to the south, was a small village of under 200 people.  There might not have been any place in town to buy wine.  But Sepphoris, 5 miles to the west of Cana and 4 miles to the southwest of Nazareth, was the wealthiest and largest city of Galilee.  There would certainly have been wine for sale there.  They should have been able to figure out at least a day in advance that they needed to send someone on a wine run.