John 2

The First Miracle SUMMARY OF JOHN 2: The Marriage at Cana. The Water Made Wine. The Passover. Jesus at Jerusalem. The Temple Cleansed. The Resurrection Foretold.
1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

• The third day. After the conversation with Nathanael, Jesus departed into Galilee (John 1:43).
• A marriage in Cana. The site of Cana is not certainly known. Dr. Robinson, Giekie and other authorities place it at a ruin now called Kana, twelve miles north of Nazareth.
• The mother of Jesus was there. Reasons are suggested from the narrative that follows for believing that Mary was related to the family. As Joseph is never mentioned as living after Jesus entered upon his ministry, he is supposed to have died before this time. It is believed that in h absence of his step father Joseph, as the oldest child, Jesus took care of the family. That answers all of the fallacies regarding the “lost years” from between 12-30 years of age.
• This refers to more than a wedding ceremony and includes a wedding feast that would last five to six days. A Jewish marriage contained three primary events. First there was the marriage agreement between the two families. Second was the betrothal. This lasted around a year and was a legally binding relationship. Third was the wedding feast—one of the primary social events in the life of a family.

2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

• Jesus also was called, and his disciples. He now had disciples, those called in the few days before; John, Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathanael (John 1:40-45).

3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

• And when they wanted wine. The Revised Version says, "When the wine failed". For some cause, perhaps from a large number of guests than was expected, the wine gave out. In the East, where hospitality is so lavish, this would cause great mortification. Wine was a rabbinical symbol of joy.

4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

• Woman, what have I do to with thee? These words in our language sound harsh and almost rude, but the Greek term "gune", rendered "woman", was respectful and gentle (John 19:26).
• This language, partly a rebuke, to Mary, shows very plainly that the Catholic fiction of Mary being immaculate, the "Queen of Heaven", and "the Mother of God", is all-nonsensical.
• Mine hour is not yet come. The hour of his full manifestation, as the divine King of Israel. Jesus makes clear to His mother that He has entered into the role of the Messiah. His father’s voice will now guide Him, not hers.

5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do [it].

• Whatsoever he saith unto you, do [it]. These are the last words of Mary recorded in Scripture. We do well to take heed to them. The recorded words of Mary are few. However, it is good to pay attention to her words that are recorded, because they consistently glorify Jesus, not Mary herself.
• It is written of Noah, the man of faith that Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. Gen 6.22
• Both Matthew and Luke tell us that when we trust an obey The Lord, it is like building our house upon a solid foundation that can withstand the storms and challenges of life.

6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

• There were set there six waterpots of stone. These waterpots were to supply water for the washings usual at feasts. The Jews were regarded ceremonially unclean if they did not wash both before and after eating. The pots each held between 20-30 gallons of water.

7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

• This would have made no sense to the servants but that is why they were told to do whatever Jesus told them. Obedience to God’s word is faith in action and indicates the expectation of divine results regardless of one’s ability to understand how the obedience will produce God’s divine intervention.

8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare [it)
9 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,

• Please note that it was the servants who obeyed Jesus by faith who saw the miracle unfold before their very eyes. The servants did not do the miracle. Their efforts alone were completely insufficient. But because of their obedience to Jesus, they shared in the joy of the miracle.

10 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.

• When the ruler of the feast had tasted. The ruler of the feast, and the governor of John 2:8 are the same. It was customary to choose, sometimes by lot, a president who regulated the whole order of festivities.
• Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine. Some go to great lengths to show that what Jesus made here was really grape juice. While some find that line of thinking convincing, it is not the opinion of the author. Good wine is good wine, not good grape juice. It is true that wine in that day, as commonly served, had a much lower content of alcohol than modern wine. But it was still wine. David Guzik

11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

• Manifested forth his glory. This was the first supernatural manifestation of His divine power; that He by Whom all things were made controlled the powers of nature.
• Miracles are not an end in themselves, but rather they serve to point us to the wonder and excellency of Jesus Christ.
• His disciples believed on him. They already believed, but their faith was made firmer. John 20.30,31 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
• This Scripture clearly reproves any alleged miracles done by Jesus when He was a young boy as spoken of in literature of false religious systems.

12 After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.

• After this he went down to Capernaum. From the other gospels we are told that Jesus returned to Nazareth briefly after His time at Cana for the wedding. From there He went to Capernaum. His stay is only for a short time at this point because it was near the time for the Passover in Jerusalem. He will, however, return to Capernaum.
• His mother, and his brethren. Catholics and some Protestants have held that these "brethren" were not brothers in the flesh, but kinsmen. The phrase, "his brethren", occurs nine times in the Gospels, and once in Acts. The natural interpretation is always that they were his brothers, sons of Mary. Two places (Mt 13:55 Mr 6:3) mention his sisters.
• Had it not been for the dogma that Mary remained a virgin, a dogma that has no foundation in the Scriptures, it would never have been doubted that these "brethren" and "sisters" were her children.

13 And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,

• The Jews' passover was at hand. For institution of the passover, see Ex 12:1-28. It was celebrated yearly at Jerusalem. This is the first that the Lord attended after he began his ministry, and of this attendance there is no mention in the other Gospels.
• This was the first of four Passovers Jesus attended during His public ministry (John 2:14, 6:4, 11:55; Luke 6:1). It is from this reckoning of the Passover visits that it is generally assumed Jesus’ public ministry lasted about three and a half years.
• The Passover was during the spring on the 14th of Nisan according to the Jewish calendar. Every male older than 12 years of age was to attend.

14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

• Found in the temple. In the Court of the Gentiles, which was within the temple walls.
• Those that sold oxen and sheep and doves. These were for the sacrifices. The great crowds who came to Jerusalem at this time could not bring victims, and the traffic in oxen, sheep, kids and doves became enormous. It would have been proper enough if it had been conducted at stockyards, but the priests made a monopoly of it and installed it right in the temple. The Court of the Gentiles, "a house of prayer for all nations" (Mr 11:15-19), was filled with cattle, ordure, and the din of traffic.
• The changers of money. Every Jew paid a half-shekel annually to the support of the temple (Ex 30:13), but Gentile money was the coin in usual circulation, and this was refused at the temple. These money brokers, agents of the priests, furnished Jewish coin at a heavy charge. Edersheim says that this traffic alone cleared the priests what would be equivalent to about $300,000 a year.

15 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;

• Made a scourge of small cords. Rather as a symbol than for use.
• Drove them all out. He had the right to cleanse his Father's house and here first asserts his authority. The traffickers fled before his glance, awed by a superhuman majesty. This is an example of righteous anger.

16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.

• Make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. his occurred in the Court of the Gentiles. It was the only place non- Jews were allowed. If a Gentile visited to discover the beliefs and meaning of worship of the God of Israel he would have left not experiencing God or a devotion to God, but rather a bazaar or present-day shopping mall. That is why later, when Jesus cleanses this temple a second time (Mark 11: 15-17), He tells them that this place was to be a place of prayer for all nations—a place to pray for the Gentiles to come to the true and living God.
• John began with a miracle of conversion (changing water into wine). Then he shows Jesus with a work of cleansing (the cleansing of the temple). This is always how Jesus works in His people: conversion, then cleansing.

17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
The zeal of thine house. Quoted from Ps 69:9.

18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

• What sign? The Jewish officials demand some sign that would demonstrate that he had authority over the temple.

19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

• Matt 12.40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
• John 10.17,18 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
• The sign that he would give the Jewish nation was his Resurrection. The Jews did not understand him, nor his own disciples, until after he rose from the dead (Mt 26:60,61 Mr 14:58).

20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

• Forty and six years. It had been forty-six years since Herod the Great began the reconstruction of the temple, and it was not yet entirely completed. When Jesus was on trial before the Sanhedrin, these words were brought up as blasphemy.

21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
22 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.

• To believe the words of Jesus is equivalent to believing in Scripture.

23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast [day], many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all [men],
25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

• What it says, in essence, is that Jesus knows what is in every heart, and so he can see when someone believes in a way that is not really believing. In other words, Jesus’ ability to know every heart perfectly leads to the unsettling truth that some belief is not the kind of belief that obtains fellowship with Jesus and eternal life. Some belief is not saving belief. John Piper
• There is such a thing as superficial faith that does not result in salvation. He knew that their faith was based on seeing the miracles that He performed, but they weren’t repenting of their sins and trusting in Him as their Savior from sin.
• Chapter 6 reports a similar incident. After Jesus fed the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, we read (6:14), “Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, ‘This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.’” “The Prophet” was a Messianic term (Deut. 18:15). The disciples no doubt thought, “Great! These people get it! They’re acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah!” But the next verse says that Jesus perceived that the people were going to take Him by force to make Him king, so He withdrew to the mountain by Himself alone. Jesus knew that the people superficially believed in Him, but He didn’t entrust Himself to them.
• Martyn Lloyd-Jones (The Path to True Happiness [Baker], pp. 159-161) points out that there are some who “believe” in Jesus in- tellectually, but their hearts and their wills have never been touched. They may be scholars, but their knowledge has never changed their lives. Others have their hearts touched, but their minds have not been in operation. In fact, they have been told that they should not try to understand. Often, they have not submitted their wills to Christ. Experience is everything. There is a third group where their Christianity is almost entirely a matter of the will. They don’t bother to understand and they aren’t interested in their feelings. They just want to be doing things to serve God.
• Lloyd-Jones argues that all three types have superficial faith because they have only picked out what appeals to them and be- lieved in that. They haven’t seen themselves as lost sinners and Christ as the only one who can save them. Their faith is partial, based on what they like about Jesus. But when things don’t go the way that they envisioned, they fall away.
• You don’t want to stand before the Lord and hear Him say, “Your faith was only superficial; I never entrusted Myself to you.” Genuine saving faith means having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting Him as the One who saves you from your sins. Repent and believe in The Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.