Has the True Cana—Site of Jesus’ First Miracle—Been Discovered?

Although Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana, scholars have been uncertain about where the event actually occurred. Now, a team of archaeologists claims they’ve pinpointed the spot.

Exavations began in 1998, by an archaeological team led first by the late Professor Douglas Edwards. Now, Tom McCollogh, a former history professor at Centre College in Kentucky, believes the actual site of the miracle is five miles north of the traditional site, the town of Kafr Kanna, now an Arab community in the Galilee. “We have uncovered a large Christian veneration cave complex that was used by Christian pilgrims who came to venerate the water-to-wine miracle,” he said.

That cave is at the archaeological site of Khirbet Qana, which was a Jewish town for several hundred years between 323 B.C. until A.D. 324 A.D. According to Wikipedia, “Crusader maps have been cited as evidence, as they identify Khirbet Qana with the biblical Cana.” A collection of tunnels used by Christians there 1,500 years ago contain markings of different kinds of crosses and references to Jesus. “No other village has the ensemble of evidence that makes such a persuasive case for Khirbet Qana,” McCollogh said.

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During his excavation, McCollough also uncovered an altar and a shelf with a stone vessel.  He noted that there was space for five additional jars, consistent with the biblical account of six stone jars. On the walls of the complex, his team also uncovered references to Kyrie Iesou, a Greek phrase meaning Lord Jesus.

“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,” he said.

The biblical story of the first miracle is described in John: “On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.”

When Mary, Jesus’ mother, discovers the hosts have run out of wine, she tells her son. Although he asks, “Why do you involve me?” Mary instructs the servants to do as Jesus tells them.  He directs them to fill six large stone water jars, containing 20-30 gallons apiece. The servants filled them completely. Jesus told them to draw some of the water out and take it to the master of the banquet.

Then, the Apostle John wrote, “The master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.'”

John 2:11 concludes, “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.”

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice