John 2:9-11 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in Him.
August 2018: Tradition has Jesus’ water to wine miracle at Kafr Kanna. The “Wedding Church” is located in this town in northern Israel. Archaeology may be providing a new location five miles north.
Tunnels have been located with references to “Kyrie Iesou” in the ancient Greek. Translated to English, this would be Lord Jesus.
This is the location of Khirbet Qana. This was a Jewish village from 323 BC to 324 AD.
Located in the tunnels were an altar, shelf and the remains of a stone vessel. There was space for five additional vessels.
John 2:6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
For all the teetotalers out there, Jesus is throwing one hell of a party. Jesus subjected a wedding party to 120-180 gallons of wine. And He kept the good stuff (120-180 gallons) for the end of the party after the people have drunk freely.
I conjecture this event is a foreshadowing to His wedding party when He marries His bride the church. You want to be invited to this party! Any one out there want to wag their finger and lecture Jesus?
Dr Tom McCollough who leads the dig had the following observations.
“We have uncovered a large Christian veneration cave complex that was used by Christian pilgrims who came to venerate the water-to-wine miracle. This complex was used beginning in the late fifth or early sixth century and continued to be used by pilgrims into the 12th-century Crusader period. The pilgrim texts we have from this period that describe what pilgrims did and saw when they came to Cana of Galilee match very closely what we have exposed as the veneration complex.”
Dr. McCollough also pointed to the Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus.
Image: Daily Mail
“His references to Cana align geographically with the location of Khirbet Qana and align logically with his movements. The reference to Cana in Josephus, the New Testament and in the rabbinic texts would argue the village was a Jewish village, near the Sea of Galilee and in the region of lower Galilee. Khirbet Qana fulfills all of these criteria.”
As for today’s tourist trips to Kafr Kanna, McCollough had the following observations.
“When tourists visiting Israel today are taken to Cana, they are taken to Kafr Kanna. However, this site was not recognized as a pilgrimage site for those seeking Cana until the 1700s. At this point the Franciscans were managing Christian pilgrimage and facilitating easy passage rather than historical accuracy.”
“I would argue our excavations warrant at least a reconsideration of the historical value of John’s references to Cana and Jesus.”
For more in depth research, pictures of the site, artifacts, see the link below provided.
