The Third Day Principle

And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When 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, And 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. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days. And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. John 2:1-22 (KJV) emphasis mine

This is the record of Jesus turning water into wine, which was His first miracle. On the third day (of His public ministry), Jesus and his disciples went to a wedding with Jesus’ mother. The host ran out of wine. Jesus told the servants to fill six clay pots, or jars, with water. Six is the biblical number for man and the Bible calls us clay vessels. Jesus told His mother that His time had not come yet, so apparently He wanted others to do their part in this miracle. In each miraculous event, God has His part and man has his part. The water represents us before salvation and wine represents us after salvation. We become born-again and made new. The wine produced in this miracle was superior to the wine served earlier, showing that God really does save the best for last.

We saw that the wedding was on the third day. Then Jesus said He would rise on the third day. We see a third day principle throughout Scripture. Many references to the number three appear in the Bible: for example- the resurrection produced new life on the third day. Another reference is this wedding miracle in which clay pots full of water are turned into clay pots filled with new wine, pointing to salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

God takes us and turns us into new creations, based on Jesus’ resurrection power. As Jesus’ body was raised to new life, Jesus has raised us to new life. He fills us with His Spirit and turns us into a new creation, allowing us to walk in newness of life. Resurrection power now lives in us, empowering us to be like Christ and act like Christ. The third day principle shows us that the same God that turned water into wine and raised Jesus from the dead is active in us, our lives, and our world.

I recommend that you try to find other references in the Bible in which the third day is mentioned, or the number three. One example is the account of God calling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. In Genesis 1, the third day was the day when the water is separated from the dry ground (note the water reference) and we see new life appearing on the earth. The third day principle is woven throughout the Bible, showing us the plan of salvation from the very beginning.