John 2:8 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Bear unto the governor of the feast.— Among the Greeks, Romans, and Jews, it was usual at great entertainments, especially at marriage feasts, to appoint a master of the ceremonies, who not only gave directions concerning the form and method of the entertainment, but likewise prescribed the regulations in respect to drinking. Jesus therefore ordered the wine which he had formed, to be carried to the governor of the feast, that by his judgment passed upon it, in the hearing of all the guests, it might be known to be genuine wine of the best kind. Our Lord's furnishing wine for the feast by miracle shews, that all the creatures which God's power hath formed for, and his bounty bestowed on man, may be used consistently with piety, provided that the benefits be sanctified to us by the word of God, and by prayer; that is, if they be used in moderation, as the word of God directs, and with due expressions of thankfulness. We may observe, that every circumstance in this miracle was wonderfully directed by our Lord to shew its reality. For this purpose, Jesus ordered the water-pots to be filled with water; for the servants who poured the water out of one vessel into the other, could easily see that there was nothing but water in the vessel from which they had poured; and when the other was filled to the brim, it was equally visible that the vessel which they had filled, had nothing but water in it likewise. Further, it was known to all the guests that these pots or vessels never contained any thing but water; and as all the guests had washed themselves with the fluid contained in them, they were convinced that they held nothing but water. The changing of the water in the vessels was another proof to the same purpose; and the drawing out instantly shewed that there could be no fraud. The servants were so far from being parties with Jesus in any collusion, that they seem not to have known, or to have been willing to obey him, had not Mary ordered them to do it; which is another proof of the reality of this miracle. The ignorance of the governor concerning the filling of the pots, and the change made in the water, shews that he could not have been concerned in any deceit; as his, and not the guests tasting of the wine, and applauding it, shews that no other person could have been a party in the fraud, if there was any. These and other circumstances, which the diligent reader will observe, abundantly prove the reality of the miracle, and set it above the probability of a cavil.