The very first miracle Jesus performed was a living illustration of his mission to cleanse. What did Jesus mean that his hour had not yet come? His hour to perform miracles? His mother surely was not asking him to perform a miracle, for he had never even done any miracles. Besides that, he immediately performed the miracle, something he would not have done if the time was not right.
As one of the other posters already pointed out, later in his book the apostle John shares insights into what Jesus meant by saying his hour had not yet come. When the Feast of Tabernacles was approaching, Jesus’ brothers tried to encourage him to go to Judea and act publicly so he could show himself to the world, but Jesus said, “My time is not yet here.” He eventually did go to the feast in a not-so-public way, and while he taught in the temple, the leaders desired to seize him, but, “No man laid his hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.” (John 7:30) A few days later he was again teaching in the temple, and the crowd was enraged by his claims, yet still, “No one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.” (John 8:20)
About three days before he was crucified, Jesus was in the temple and some Greeks sought him out. Jesus said to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal...Now my soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.” (John 12:23-27) The time and hour Jesus so often referred to was when he would shed his blood so that many could receive cleansing and truly satisfy the thirst of their hearts. When Jesus’ mother said, “They have no wine,” it was true not only of their lack of physical wine, but also their lack of the wine that truly satisfies.
Even though it was not the time to give them his blood, yet he gave them physical wine as a symbol of what he would later provide. Six large stone water jars were sitting there which were used for ceremonial washing. He told the servants to fill these with water, and they filled them to the brim. Then he told them to draw some out and take it to the headwaiter, and they did so. The headwaiter did not know where it had come from, and when he tasted it he was so impressed that he called the bridegroom and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:10)
Just as this wine came from jars used in ceremonial washing, the blood of Jesus can truly cleanse people from all sin. This wine was so good that the headwaiter exclaimed his delight; the blood that Jesus provides truly satisfies the soul-thirst, and all who taste it will marvel at its quality. This wine helped give physical strength to those who drank it; Jesus’ blood provides spiritual life to all who will accept it. This is what Jesus was trying to draw attention to when he said, “My hour has not yet come.”