Jesus Changes Water Into Wine
2 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman, [The Greek for Woman does not denote any disrespect.] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. [Or from about 75 to about 115 liters ]
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
Jesus Clears the Temple Courts
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts, he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves, he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”[Psalm 69:9]
18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.[Or in him] 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.
NOTES:
2:1–6:71 Signs revealing Jesus as the Messiah to all Israel.
“Sign” (sēmeion) is John’s symbolic term for Jesus’ wondrous deeds (see
Introduction). The Old Testament background lies in the Exodus story (cf. Dt
11:3; 29:2). John is interested primarily in what the sēmeia signify: God’s
intervention in human history in a new way through Jesus.
2:1–11 The first sign. This story of replacement of Jewish
ceremonial washings (Jn 2:6) presents the initial revelation about Jesus at the
outset of his ministry. He manifests his glory; the disciples believe. There is
no synoptic parallel.
2:1 Cana: unknown from the Old Testament. The mother of
Jesus: she is never named in John.
2:4 This verse may seek to show that Jesus did not work
miracles to help his family and friends, as in the apocryphal gospels. Woman: a
normal, polite form of address, but unattested in reference to one’s mother.
Cf. also Jn 19:26. How does your concern affect me?: literally, “What is this
to me and to you?”—a Hebrew expression of either hostility (Jgs 11:12; 2 Chr
35:21; 1 Kgs 17:18) or denial of common interest (Hos 14:9; 2 Kgs 3:13). Cf. Mk
1:24; 5:7 used by demons to Jesus. My hour has not yet come: the translation as
a question (“Has not my hour now come?”), while preferable grammatically and
supported by Greek Fathers, seems unlikely from a comparison with Jn 7:6, 30.
The “hour” is that of Jesus’ passion, death, resurrection, and ascension (Jn
13:1).
2:6 Twenty to thirty gallons: literally, “two or three
measures”; the Attic liquid measure contained 39.39 liters. The vast quantity
recalls prophecies of abundance in the last days; cf. Am 9:13–14; Hos 14:7; Jer
31:12.
2:8 Headwaiter: used of the official who managed a banquet,
but there is no evidence of such a functionary in Palestine. Perhaps here a
friend of the family acted as master of ceremonies; cf. Sir 32:1.
2:11 The beginning of his signs: the first of seven (see
Introduction).
2:12–3:21 The next three episodes take place in Jerusalem.
Only the first is paralleled in the synoptic gospels.
2:12 This transitional verse may be a harmonization with the
synoptic tradition in Lk 4:31 and Mt 4:13. There are many textual variants.
John depicts no extended ministry in Capernaum as do the synoptics.
2:13–22 This episode indicates the post-resurrectional
replacement of the temple by the person of Jesus.
2:13 Passover: this is the first Passover mentioned in John;
a second is mentioned in Jn 6:4; a third in Jn 13:1. Taken literally, they
point to a ministry of at least two years.
2:14–22 The other gospels place the cleansing of the temple
in the last days of Jesus’ life (Matthew, on the day Jesus entered Jerusalem;
Mark, on the next day). The order of events in the gospel narratives is often
determined by theological motives rather than by chronological data.
2:14 Oxen, sheep, and doves: intended for sacrifice. The
doves were the offerings of the poor (Lv 5:7). Money-changers: for a temple tax
paid by every male Jew more than nineteen years of age, with a half-shekel coin
(Ex 30:11–16), in Syrian currency. See note on Mt 17:24.
2:17 Ps 69:10, changed to future tense to apply to Jesus.
2:19 This saying about the destruction of the temple occurs
in various forms (Mt 24:2; 27:40; Mk 13:2; 15:29; Lk 21:6; cf. Acts 6:14). Mt
26:61 has: “I can destroy the temple of God…”; see note there. In Mk 14:58,
there is a metaphorical contrast with a new temple: “I will destroy this temple
made with hands and within three days I will build another not made with
hands.” Here it is symbolic of Jesus’ resurrection and the resulting community
(see Jn 2:21 and Rev 21:2). In three days: an Old Testament expression for a
short, indefinite period of time; cf. Hos 6:2.
2:20 Forty-six years: based on references in Josephus
(Jewish Wars 1:401; Antiquities 15:380), possibly the spring of A.D. 28. Cf.
note on Lk 3:1.
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