John 2:1-12

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.  When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”  And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”  His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.  Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.  And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.  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.
 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

John 2:1-12

Now we read of a wedding that is being held.  Jesus, his mother and his disciples are invited to this wedding.  The problem comes when the wine runs out.  It was apparently a very big deal for the wine to run out.  So, Jesus' mother tells Jesus "they have no wine".  I guess she is bringing this to his attention with the intention of him doing something about it.  However, to this Jesus replies, "Woman, what does this have to do with me?  My hour has not yet come".

With regards to Jesus' response, it is firstly not as bad as it sounds.  AMP and NLT seem to put it as "Dear woman" to show that it wasn't an aggressive or disrespectful address.  It does seem to distance Jesus from his mother, since he didn't address her as "mother" or something like that.

In his response, Jesus also asks "what does this have to do with me?" and says "my hour has not yet come".  If Jesus' address of "women" didn't sound bad, these things he says doesn't seem to help.  What does Jesus mean when he talks about his hour?  Jesus is referring to his purpose and why he's even here.  He came with a mission in mind and this isn't directly related to that mission.  With that in mind, we see Jesus focused on his goal and not wanting to deal with something that is not part of that goal.

In any case, Jesus' mother steps in and instructs servants to "do whatever he tells you".  Though his "hour has not yet come", Jesus still solves this problem.  He turns water into wine.  He saves the wedding and saves people from embarassment and disgrace.

The important parts come at the end of this story.  When the water-turned-wine is brought to the master of the feast and he drinks it, he tells the bridegroom about this amazing wine.

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.”

John 2:9-10

This is probably in reference to Jesus himself.  Like the good wine that has been saved until now, Jesus is now appearing (and not earlier or at the beginning).

John adds at the end of the story that this was "the first of his signs".  It is a starting point and a beginning.  More importantly, John says of this first sign that Jesus "manifested his glory".  AMP puts it this way: "...and revealed His glory [displaying His deity and His great power openly]".  Beforehand, Jesus wasn't openly known and didn't openly display his deity and power.  However, now he is and has begun with this first sign.

This sign may itself not have been well known to many.  Yet, there were some who knew.  The servants who obeyed Jesus' directions knew.  More importantly, Jesus' disciples knew.  This is why John adds "and his disciples believed in him".  This makes me wonder, "Did his disciples believe him before this?".  Perhaps this is referring to a different level of belief.  Before, they may have begun following Jesus because of what John the Baptist had said or what a brother had said about Jesus.  Now, they are seeing a sign from Jesus firsthand.

This sign that the disciples had witnessed was very important.  Yes, he helped the bridgroom save face and avoid embarassment.  Yes, he did a miraculous thing by making water into wine in an instant.  But, looking back at the purpose of this book, how does this story point towards faith in Jesus?  We see the disciples begin to believe in Jesus.  They have seen firsthand his power and this shows that he is more than a simple man and more than an average Rabbi.  This is pointing to the fact that Jesus truly is the Son of God.

I was reading a commentary about this and I really liked what was written in a section titled "Reflections".  After listing a few examples of metaphorical references writers have found in this story, the author of this commentary writes the following:

"While these allegorical reflections are homiletically permissible, they do not lie at the heart of what was intended by identifying the miracle as a sign.  What the miracle pointed to was the divine nature of Jesus, not a series of comparisons between Jewish law and gospel"

-Expositor's Bible Commentary