2:11 beginning of miracles. This is the first of the seven great “miracles,” or “signs” (same Greek word) which John describes in order to persuade his readers to believe on Jesus Christ (John 20:30-31). Like the other six (see John 4:49-54; 5:5-9; 6:5-14; 6:16-21; 9:1-7; 11:41-44), this first miracle was a miracle of creation (as distinct from miracles of providence, which only control rates and timing of natural processes). It required the direct creative power of the Creator, superseding the law of entropy, in order to cause an instantaneous increase of complexity, transmuting the simple molecular structure of water into the much more complex structure of new wine.