- John
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2
Water into wine
1 On the third day*Counting from when? 1:19-28 happened on one day; 1:29-34 happened the next (2nd) day; 1:35-42 happened the next (3rd) day; 1:43-51 happened the next (4th) day. So the third day here must count from the last day mentioned (1:43-51), although it could (and in Jewish thought probably did) include it. The wedding started that day, but such weddings often lasted several days (and the wine would run out toward the end, if it did). Jesus and His disciples (four?) probably had about an 80-mile walk, 55 miles up the Jordan valley (relatively smooth and straight) and 25 of rougher terrain. Since they did all their traveling on foot, and were therefore used to it, they could easily make the distance in two days. a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee, and Jesus' mother was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples had been invited to the wedding.†The disciples had been invited in their own right, before they were disciples. 3 So when the wine had given out, Jesus' mother says to Him, “They don't have any wine!” 4 Jesus says to her: “What is that to you and me, woman?‡Jesus was not being disrespectful; this was a normal form of address. My time has not yet come.”§I conclude from 1:43 that Jesus was at that wedding on purpose, and probably had an idea of what would happen. Perhaps He was testing His mother's faith, and maybe her determination. However, as He declares, He was not yet ready to really go public—He would do that in Jerusalem, as recorded in 2:13-25. He would start with a bang, right in the Temple! 5 His mother says to the servants, “Do whatever He may tell you.”*Mary was evidently in a position to issue orders, which leads me to suspect that she was the mother of the bride, which would also explain why Jesus made a special effort to get there. From verse 12 below, it appears that the whole family was there.
6 (Now there were six stone waterpots set there, according to the purification rites of the Jews, containing 20 or 30 gallons each.) 7 Jesus says to them, “Fill the pots with water.” So they filled them to the brim.†That was a lot of water! If it was toward the end of the festivity, there would presumably be a great deal of wine left over. Such excellent wine would bring a good price; perhaps Jesus chose this way to give the new couple a financial boost. 8 So He says to them, “Now, draw some out and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So they took it. 9 Well, when the master of ceremonies tasted the water‡Wine has color and smell, as well as flavor—I wonder at what point the water took on those characteristics. Perhaps it was only as the servant handed the goblet to the master, so that the servants had drawn and carried ‘water’; they obeyed what seemed to them to be a strange order. that had become wine—he did not know where it came from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew—he calls the bridegroom 10 and says to him: “Everybody serves the good wine first, then, when people are intoxicated, the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
11 This, the first of the miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee and revealed His glory;§Jesus “revealed His glory”. In what sense? As Jehovah the Son He was the Creator of this world. Transforming water into wine was an act of creation. The chemical components that distinguish wine from water had to be created on the spot, and mixed with the water. This “first miraculous sign” was simply tremendous—it revealed Jesus as Creator. However, although presumably all the guests drank of this new wine, being tipsy they may not have realized what went on. Only the disciples, the servants, and of course Mary, knew what had really happened. Apparently this miracle was not broadcast at that time—like Jesus said, not yet. (Neither Matthew, Mark nor Luke were there, but John, the author of this Gospel, probably was; in which case we have an eyewitness account [John and James were partners with Peter and Andrew; so since Peter and Andrew were invited they probably were too].) and His disciples believed into Him.
12 After this He went down to Capernaum—He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples—but they did not stay there many days.*The next verse tells us that the Passover was near. The Passover was one (probably the most important) of the three festivals during the year when every God-fearing male had to present himself at the temple in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 16:16). Often the whole family would go, so perhaps the whole group mentioned in verse 12 went on to Jerusalem. Jesus had just come up from Judea, only to turn around and go back, which gives us some indication of the importance of the wedding in Cana. That Joseph is not mentioned at all leads one to suspect that he had died by now.
The first cleansing of the Temple—Passover, 27 AD
13 Now the Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And in the Temple He found people selling oxen and sheep and doves, also the moneychangers at work. 15 When He had made a scourge out of cords, He drove all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen;†The impression I get is that it was mainly the animals that He drove, not the people; in the next verse He commands the dove-sellers to remove them, presumably still in the cages. and as for the moneychangers, He overturned the tables and scattered the coins. 16 And to the dove-sellers He said: “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father's House into a marketplace!” 17 Then His disciples remembered that it stands written, “Zeal for Your House consumes me.”‡See Psalm 69:9.
18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do you show us, since you do these things?”§The commerce going on in the Temple was crooked, and was under the direction of the religious leaders. What Jesus did was an affront, a direct challenge to their authority. He got their attention! From this moment on they knew about Jesus! What He did was so unexpected, so outrageous, that the Jews did not know how to react. Maybe some were just a little afraid He might be the Messiah. (And just maybe a few of them had been there 18 years before and listened to a certain twelve-year-old Boy.) 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple,*The Lord gives an unexpected meaning to “this temple”, metaphoric, but this prophecy was literally fulfilled. and in three days I will raise it.”†Since Jesus was referring to His own body, once He was dead how could He do this? His spirit did not die, and at the right moment returned to the body and raised it, uniting with it once again (and in so doing He glorified it). 20 So the Jews said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and you will raise it in three days?!” 21 But He was speaking about the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He was raised from among the dead His disciples remembered that He had said this; so they believed the Scripture, even the word that Jesus had spoken.‡Note that my rendering, “They believed the Scripture, even the word that Jesus had spoken”, has the effect of equating His word with Scripture. More precisely, the Lord's statement in verse 19 was repeated as an accusation three years later, as recorded in Matthew 26:61 and 27:40, and Matthew's Gospel had already been circulating as Scripture for decades when John wrote. If this line of reasoning is correct, then John is calling Matthew ‘Scripture’! (Of course there was an interval of a number of years (eight) between the resurrection and the publishing of Matthew's Gospel, but perhaps some did not ‘remember’ until they saw it written down.) I am not aware of any OT prophecy that could be in view here.
23 Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed into His name, observing the signs that He was doing.§I take it that it was at this point that the Lord really began to heal on a large scale. He forced the religious leaders to take notice of Him in more ways than one. Nicodemus refers to these signs. 24 But as for Jesus Himself, He did not entrust Himself to them,*I would suggest that our Lord offers us an important example here: He did not entrust Himself to just anybody, even believers. He will command His followers to keep on forgiving those who sin against them, especially ‘brothers’. To forgive does not equal to trust! because He knew all men 25 and that He had no need that anyone should testify about man, because He Himself knew what was in man.†As Creator He would indeed know what was in man.

- John
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*2:1 Counting from when? 1:19-28 happened on one day; 1:29-34 happened the next (2nd) day; 1:35-42 happened the next (3rd) day; 1:43-51 happened the next (4th) day. So the third day here must count from the last day mentioned (1:43-51), although it could (and in Jewish thought probably did) include it. The wedding started that day, but such weddings often lasted several days (and the wine would run out toward the end, if it did). Jesus and His disciples (four?) probably had about an 80-mile walk, 55 miles up the Jordan valley (relatively smooth and straight) and 25 of rougher terrain. Since they did all their traveling on foot, and were therefore used to it, they could easily make the distance in two days.

†2:2 The disciples had been invited in their own right, before they were disciples.

‡2:4 Jesus was not being disrespectful; this was a normal form of address.

§2:4 I conclude from 1:43 that Jesus was at that wedding on purpose, and probably had an idea of what would happen. Perhaps He was testing His mother's faith, and maybe her determination. However, as He declares, He was not yet ready to really go public—He would do that in Jerusalem, as recorded in 2:13-25. He would start with a bang, right in the Temple!

*2:5 Mary was evidently in a position to issue orders, which leads me to suspect that she was the mother of the bride, which would also explain why Jesus made a special effort to get there. From verse 12 below, it appears that the whole family was there.

†2:7 That was a lot of water! If it was toward the end of the festivity, there would presumably be a great deal of wine left over. Such excellent wine would bring a good price; perhaps Jesus chose this way to give the new couple a financial boost.

‡2:9 Wine has color and smell, as well as flavor—I wonder at what point the water took on those characteristics. Perhaps it was only as the servant handed the goblet to the master, so that the servants had drawn and carried ‘water’; they obeyed what seemed to them to be a strange order.

§2:11 Jesus “revealed His glory”. In what sense? As Jehovah the Son He was the Creator of this world. Transforming water into wine was an act of creation. The chemical components that distinguish wine from water had to be created on the spot, and mixed with the water. This “first miraculous sign” was simply tremendous—it revealed Jesus as Creator. However, although presumably all the guests drank of this new wine, being tipsy they may not have realized what went on. Only the disciples, the servants, and of course Mary, knew what had really happened. Apparently this miracle was not broadcast at that time—like Jesus said, not yet. (Neither Matthew, Mark nor Luke were there, but John, the author of this Gospel, probably was; in which case we have an eyewitness account [John and James were partners with Peter and Andrew; so since Peter and Andrew were invited they probably were too].)

*2:12 The next verse tells us that the Passover was near. The Passover was one (probably the most important) of the three festivals during the year when every God-fearing male had to present himself at the temple in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 16:16). Often the whole family would go, so perhaps the whole group mentioned in verse 12 went on to Jerusalem. Jesus had just come up from Judea, only to turn around and go back, which gives us some indication of the importance of the wedding in Cana. That Joseph is not mentioned at all leads one to suspect that he had died by now.

†2:15 The impression I get is that it was mainly the animals that He drove, not the people; in the next verse He commands the dove-sellers to remove them, presumably still in the cages.

‡2:17 See Psalm 69:9.

§2:18 The commerce going on in the Temple was crooked, and was under the direction of the religious leaders. What Jesus did was an affront, a direct challenge to their authority. He got their attention! From this moment on they knew about Jesus! What He did was so unexpected, so outrageous, that the Jews did not know how to react. Maybe some were just a little afraid He might be the Messiah. (And just maybe a few of them had been there 18 years before and listened to a certain twelve-year-old Boy.)

*2:19 The Lord gives an unexpected meaning to “this temple”, metaphoric, but this prophecy was literally fulfilled.

†2:19 Since Jesus was referring to His own body, once He was dead how could He do this? His spirit did not die, and at the right moment returned to the body and raised it, uniting with it once again (and in so doing He glorified it).

‡2:22 Note that my rendering, “They believed the Scripture, even the word that Jesus had spoken”, has the effect of equating His word with Scripture. More precisely, the Lord's statement in verse 19 was repeated as an accusation three years later, as recorded in Matthew 26:61 and 27:40, and Matthew's Gospel had already been circulating as Scripture for decades when John wrote. If this line of reasoning is correct, then John is calling Matthew ‘Scripture’! (Of course there was an interval of a number of years (eight) between the resurrection and the publishing of Matthew's Gospel, but perhaps some did not ‘remember’ until they saw it written down.) I am not aware of any OT prophecy that could be in view here.

§2:23 I take it that it was at this point that the Lord really began to heal on a large scale. He forced the religious leaders to take notice of Him in more ways than one. Nicodemus refers to these signs.

*2:24 I would suggest that our Lord offers us an important example here: He did not entrust Himself to just anybody, even believers. He will command His followers to keep on forgiving those who sin against them, especially ‘brothers’. To forgive does not equal to trust!

†2:25 As Creator He would indeed know what was in man.

© 2016 Wilbur N. Pickering, ThM, PhD