John 2
- Who wrote it
- Traditionally John, the son of Zebedee
- Who it was for
- Followers of Jesus, Jewish and Gentile
- What was happening
- The first sign at a wedding in Cana, and the temple cleared at Passover
What’s happening
On the third day there is a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus is there; Jesus and his disciples are also invited. When the wine runs out, his mother says to him, "They have no wine." Jesus says, "Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My hour has not yet come." His mother tells the servants, "Whatever he says to you, do it." There are six stone water pots there, set for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding two or three metretes. Jesus says, "Fill the water pots with water," and they fill them to the brim. "Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast." The ruler tastes the water now become wine, not knowing where it came from, though the servants know, and calls the bridegroom: "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the guests have drunk freely, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" This beginning of his signs Jesus does in Cana of Galilee, "and revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him." After this he goes down to Capernaum with his mother, brothers, and disciples, and they stay a few days. The Passover of the Jews is near, and Jesus goes up to Jerusalem. In the temple he finds those selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and the changers of money sitting. Making a whip of cords, he drives them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen, pours out the changers' money, overthrows their tables, and tells the dove sellers, "Take these things out of here! Don't make my Father's house a marketplace!" His disciples remember that it is written, "Zeal for your house will eat me up." The Jews ask, "What sign do you show us, seeing that you do these things?" Jesus answers, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." They say, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple! Will you raise it up in three days?" But he is speaking of the temple of his body; when he is raised from the dead, his disciples remember that he said this, and they believe the Scripture and the word he had said. While he is in Jerusalem at the Passover, many believe in his name when they see the signs he does, but Jesus does not entrust himself to them, because he knows all people and needs no one to testify about man, for he himself knows what is in man.
Why the setting matters
John calls Jesus' miracles "signs," acts that point beyond themselves to who he is, and says the wedding at Cana is the first. A Jewish wedding was a village-wide celebration lasting several days, and running out of wine would have been a serious social embarrassment for the host. "Woman" is a respectful form of address, not harsh, but it is unusual for a son to use it of his mother; "my hour" is John's term for the time of Jesus' death and glorification. The six stone jars were used for the washings of Jewish purity, and a metrete was about nine or ten gallons, so the total is some 120 to 180 gallons; stone was used because it didn't become unclean, and the water becomes wine, which is a sign of abundance and of the messianic feast in Isaiah 25. John puts the temple cleansing at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, while Matthew, Mark, and Luke put it in the last week; whether there were two cleansings or John has moved the event for his own purposes is debated. The money changers and animal sellers served pilgrims, who needed to exchange coins for the temple tax and buy sacrifices. The forty-six years refers to Herod's rebuilding of the temple, which began about 20 or 19 BC and would put this Passover around AD 27 or 28. "Zeal for your house" quotes Psalm 69:9. John adds the explanation that Jesus meant the temple of his body, which his disciples understood only after the resurrection.
Who’s in this chapter
Jesus
Turns water into wine and drives out the sellers.
Mary, the mother of Jesus
Notices the wine has run out, and tells the servants to obey him.
The disciples
Believe after the sign, and remember later.
The servants at Cana
Fill the jars and know where the wine came from.
The ruler of the feast
Tastes the wine, and praises the bridegroom.
The Jews
The temple authorities who ask for a sign.
Talk it through
- Jesus says his "hour has not yet come" and then acts. What is happening in that exchange with his mother?
- John calls the miracle a "sign." What does the wine point to?
- Why might John have put the temple cleansing at the start instead of at the end?
- "Jesus did not entrust himself to them." How is he different from the people who believe because of the signs?
Read John 2
World English Bible
1The third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. 2Jesus also was invited, with his disciples, to the wedding. 3When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine.”
4Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My hour has not yet come.”
5His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.” 6Now there were six water pots of stone set there after the Jews’ way of purifying, containing two or three metretes apiece. 7Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast.” So they took it. 9When the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and didn’t know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom 10and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the guests have drunk freely, then that which is worse. You have kept the good wine until now!” 11This beginning of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
12After this, he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they stayed there a few days. 13The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14He found in the temple those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, and the changers of money sitting. 15He made a whip of cords, and threw all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the changers’ money and overthrew their tables. 16To those who sold the doves, he said, “Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a marketplace!” 17His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will eat me up.”
18The Jews therefore answered him, “What sign do you show us, seeing that you do these things?”
19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20The Jews therefore said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple! Will you raise it up in three days?” 21But he spoke of the temple of his body. 22When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he said this, and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
23Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name, observing his signs which he did. 24But Jesus didn’t entrust himself to them, because he knew everyone, 25and because he didn’t need for anyone to testify concerning man; for he himself knew what was in man.
Text: World English Bible, Public domain. About our sources