Bible Study Series: John 2:1-12. There is a spiritual significance to this miracle.
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I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
For the Greek text, click here:
At that link, I provide a lot more commentary.
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture John 2:1-12
1 Now on the third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus was also invited, along with his disciples, to the wedding. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They do not have any wine.” 4 Jesus said to her, “What is that to you and me, woman? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.”
6 Six stone water jars were set there for the ritual washing of the Jews, each containing two or three measures. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water”; and they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he said to them, “Now draw some out and bring it to the master of the banquet.” They brought some.
9 As the master of the banquet tasted the water which had become wine, he did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew). The master of the banquet called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Every person first sets out the fine wine, and when they have drunk freely, the inferior wine! You have reserved the fine wine until now!”
11 Jesus performed the beginning of the signs in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
12 Afterwards, he and his mothers and brothers and his disciples went to Capernaum and remained there not many days. (John 1:1-12)
Commentary
1:
“on the third day”: One commentator steers us away from keeping an airtight chronology in John’s Gospel. However, commentator Edward Klink, connects the six-day creation account in Gen. 1 and John’s use of six days, total (pp. 160-61).
Day 1: 1:19-28
Day 2: 1:29-34 (“on the next day”)
Day 3: 1:35-42 (“on the next day”)
Day 4: 1:43-51 (“on the next day”)
Day 6: 2:1-11 (“on the third day,” i.e. two days later)
I like this interpretation because John clearly says that all things were made through Jesus (1:3). John is developing a new creation motif. So once again, we have to careful about limiting our insight into John’s Gospel to just a surface, newspaper chronology. More is at work than meets the eye of a simplistic, shallow reading. John is deeper than a newspaper.
Cana is not well known. The Jewish historian Josephus (AD 37 to about 100) said he once had his quarters there. It is either Khirbet Cana 8 miles (14 km) north of Nazareth or Khirbet Kenna, 4 miles (7 km) northeast of Nazareth (NET).
2:
“disciple”: the noun is mathētēs (singular and pronounced mah-they-tayss), and it is used 261 times in the NT, though many of them are duplicates in the three synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. BDAG, a thick Greek lexicon which many consider authoritative, says of the noun (1) “one who engages in learning through instruction from another, pupil, apprentice”; (2) “one who is rather constantly associated with someone who has a pedagogical reputation or a particular set of views, disciple, adherent.”
Ten Characteristics of a Healthy Disciple
John seems to use the term “disciple” much less officially than the Synoptics do. Right now, these men attached themselves to Jesus, but would they follow him to the end? Would they all become the twelve? Right now, they must be Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip, Nathanael, and the anonymous disciple.
As we see in v. 11, yes, his disciples believed in him, after this sign, but how deep does their faith and knowledge go? They seem to believe better than they know. This early belief does not contradiction Luke’s picture of Peter in his chapter 5. There, Peter knelt down and said that he (Peter) was a sinful man. We don’t know the sequence of events. Time gets compressed in the four Gospels.
If you’re interested in solving this and other puzzles, click on this link:
Jesus Calls Certain Disciples in Four Gospels. Do the Accounts Contradict?
3-4:
“mother of Jesus”: her name is never stated in the Fourth Gospel (see 19:25). Bruce speculates that John may have intended to avoid confusion with the other Marys.
In any case, this pericope (pronounced puh-RIH-koh-pea) or unit or section of Scripture is a brief dialogue between Jesus and his mother.
“Woman”: the experts tell us that two thousand years ago, and in that culture, “woman” was not rude. It was equivalent to “madam” or “ma’am.” Maybe so, but Jesus does seem to distance himself from her. Jesus turns his mother into a stranger (Novakovic, p. 54). He needs to make a break from her and his family, to fulfill his ministry. Honoring one’s parents, the fifth commandment (Exod. 20:12), does not mean obeying them and remaining a child. They can offer advice when you are of age, but they cannot boss you around.
“what is that to you and me”: this is an idiom that means a warning not to interfere. Novakovic says it exists in Hebrew, but also extra-biblical Greek (p. 54). It is another way of telling his mother that she is not permitted to interfere in his calling. The expression is found in the OT (Josh 22:24; 2 Sam. 16:10; 1 Kings 17:18; 2 Kings 3:13; 2 Chron. 35:21; Hos. 14:8). The expression is a “distancing mechanism” (Klink, comment on v. 4). In other words, Jesus is indeed gently distancing himself and his oncoming mission from his family. In 19:25-27, Jesus handed his mother over to the disciple whom Jesus loved, so throughout his mission, he did not reject his family, if anything; they did not understand his mission.
As usual, Borchert is excellent here:
It is here quite unlikely that Jesus was expressing hostility to his mother, but the statement does seem to imply that he wanted to set straight the parameters of his public relationship with his mother. Thus family relationships were not to be the determining factors in Jesus’ life. As his brothers later could not force Jesus’ timing of his destiny (John 7:3–9), so his mother here was not to govern his activity (2:4; cf. the temple scene in Luke 2:48–50; also cf. Mark 4:31–35). Although a Jewish mother might normally be able to exercise pressure on her children, it was not to be the case with Jesus. (p. 155).
“my hour”: In John it is a technical term which (1) generally assumed to the death of Jesus on the cross (4:21, 23; 5:25, 28; 7:10; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1 16:2, 4, 21, 32; 17:1). Before 12:23, the “hour” is shown to be in the future, yet after that verse, the hour is depicted as immediate. (2) The hour also refers his ascension or going to the Father and his glorification (Klink, p. 165).
Yet, as we just read, Jesus does step forward and meet the needs of the bridegroom. It is amazing that she knew of his miraculous ability, and he surrendered to her request. She does not answer him, but instead turns to the servants and tells them to do whatever he says. Mothers somehow have a way of knowing what will happen next.
This hesitation at a family member’s request and then acting when he believes it is right to do so finds a parallel passage in 7:6. His brothers, who do not believe in him, tell him to go to Jerusalem to make a show of himself. He replies that his time has not yet come, but then he goes to the city on his terms, not theirs. He goes by his own timetable and the Father’s will. Here he says no, in effect, to his mother, but then he must have decided that his time was partially now—the miracle was not in the wide-open public before thousands.
6:
Six stone jars were there, each one holding about two or three measures. One “measure” was about nine gallons (40 liters), so each jar held about 18-27 gallons (80-120 liters). The total volume: 108-162 gallons (480-720 liters) (NET).
The water was for ritual washing.
Childbirth, Bodily Discharges in Leviticus 12, 15 from a NT Perspective
Skin Disease, Mold in Leviticus 13, 14 from a NT Perspective
The servants poured water over the guests’ hands. The larger the number of guests, the more water was needed.
7-8:
So we now see that Jesus’s hesitation should not be seen as a firm refusal to act, because he proceeds to work a miracle. Thus, Jesus carefully instructs the servants what to do. They fill the jars to the brim. Apparently, he turned all of the water in the jars into wine. And it was quality wine. But was it fermented, so that excessively drinking it might cause intoxication? With all due apologies to more restrictive Christians, particularly in the American South, it really could intoxicate, if drunk to excess. BDAG says it means “to become intoxicated” or “to be drunk.” The entire context, like the words and surprise of the banquet master, bears out this interpretation.
But this miracle is not carte blanche to become drunk. The Bible forbids drunkenness, not fermented wine itself: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18, NIV).
9-10:
Just because Jesus made the highest quality of wine, I see no reason to deny the plain meaning of the text; doing so makes us Bible believers seem foolish, as if we are protecting the hypothesis at all costs (the hypothesis being no fermentation in the entire Bible). The plain meaning is that the wine was fermented. Back then, however, wine was diluted between one-third to one-tenth of its fermented strength, so it is not easy to get intoxicated on it. Undiluted wine was viewed with disapproval (Carson, comment on v. 3).
11:
So now begins the first sign, or more literally, the “beginning of the signs.”
Here is a table of the signs, but John also clarifies in various places that Jesus performed many other signs. So now we see that John’s narrative is highly stylized and edited, to suit his purpose.
|
THE EIGHT SIGNS OF JOHN’S GOSPEL |
||
| Sign | Verses | |
| 1 | Turning water into wine | 2:1-11, the “beginning” or “first” sign |
| 2 | Healing an official’s son | 4:43-54 “the second sign” |
| 3 | Healing a disabled man at a pool | 5:1-15; see 6:2, where many healings are summarized |
| 4 | Feeding 5000 | 6:1-14 (see 6:14 and 6:26) |
| 5 | Walking on water | 6:16-21 |
| 6 | Healing a man born blind | 9:1-12 (see 9:16 and “such signs”) |
| 7 | Raising Lazarus from dead | 11:1-44 (see “signs” in 11:47 and “this sign” in 12:18) |
| 8 | Rising from the dead | 20:1-31 (see many other signs in 20:30) |
| Source: BTSB, p. 2141, slightly edited. I paste this table in all the other chapters where the signs are done. There are no worries about the cost per printed page. | ||
And here is the purpose of the signs, without a complicated commentary:
30 So then Jesus performed many other signs in front of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 These were written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31)
The signs are for us to believe that he is the Messiah (or Christ), the Son of God. They are signposts, which point to Jesus and his glory. Evidently, Messiahship and Sonship are interchangeable here.
“Son of God”: Jesus was the Son of the Father eternally, before creation. The Son has no beginning. He and the Father always were, together. The relationship is portrayed in this Father-Son way so we can understand who God is more clearly. Now he relates to us as his sons and daughters. On our sincere repentance and salvation and union with Christ, we are brought into his eternal family.
6. Titles of Jesus: The Son of God
When Did Jesus “Become” the Son of God?
“sign” is used as a synonym for miracles and works, that is another term for miracles. They confirm the message and Jesus himself:
What Are Signs and Wonders and Miracles?
“glory” means, in many contexts, the light of God, shining to all the world.
1. The Glory of God in the Old Testament
2. What Is the Glory of God in the New Testament?
3. What Does the Glory of God Mean to Us?
Moses experienced the glory of God:
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” 21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” (Exod. 33:18-22, NIV).
Commentator Bruce also saw this connection between the glory which Moses saw and the surpassing glory of Jesus. Further, he connects the glory of the old tabernacle with God pitching his tabernacle through his Son (comment on 1:14). “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them” (Exod. 25:8, NIV). When the tabernacle was completed, we read: “34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exod. 40:34-35, NIV).
But Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Spirit, says that the glory which Moses experienced, soon faded away.
7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! (2 Cor. 3:7-11, NIV)
The glory of the New Covenant, initiated by Jesus, will last forever.
In more general terms, Carson says that Jesus’s glory was displayed in his signs (2:11; 11:4, 40); he was supremely glorified in his death and exaltation (7:39: 12:16, 23: 13:31-32), Yes, he also had glory before he began his public ministry, for in fact he enjoyed glory with his Father before his incarnation and returned to his Father to receive the fulness of glory (15:5, 24). While other men seek their own glory, Jesus’s relationship with his Father meant that he did not need to seek his own glory; he was secure in his relationship with his Father. He sought only God’s glory (5:41; 7:18; 8:50). (comment on 1:14).
Keener also brings focus to John’s definition of glory:
Jesus, in contrast to his opponents, accepts this only from the Father (5:41, 33; 7:18; 8:50, 54; 9:24; 12:41, 43; 16:14; 17:12). The Fourth Gospel applies Jesus’ “glory” to various acts of self-revelation (his signs–2:11; 11:4, 40), but the ultimate expression of glory is the complex including Jesus’ death (12:16, 23, 28; 13:31-32; cf. 21:9), resurrection and exaltation (cf. 7:39; 12:16; 17:1, 5). This glory thus becomes the ultimate revelation of “grace and truth”: where the world’s hatred for God comes to its ultimate expression, so also does God’s love for the world (3:16). If the Johannine [adjective for John] community’s opponents regarded the cross as proof that Jesus was not the Messiah, John regards Jesus’ humiliation as the very revelation of God; his whole enfleshment, and especially his mortality and death, continue the ultimate revelation of God’s grace and truth revealed to Moses (p. 411)
Here are posts about the Incarnation:
3. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Was God Incarnate
4. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Took the Form of a Servant
5. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Came Down from Heaven
6. Do I Really Know Jesus? Why Did He Become a Man?
7. Do I Really Know Jesus? Thirty Truths about His Life
The seventh part has an easy-to-read, helpful list. There are other parts to the series.
12:
Capernaum: It was a town on the Lake of Galilee. The Synoptics say that he will go back often enough. He set up his base there, but he won’t stay long. It was larger than Nazareth. Scholars estimate that Capernaum ranged in population from 1000 to 10,000. A centurion lived there (Matt. 8:5) and a custom post was stationed there (Matt. 9:9), so it was an administrative center. So it was probably closer to 10,000 than to 1000. (Keener, in his commentary on Matthew’s Gospel, says it was closer to 1,000-2,000, p. 145, note 210.) It was traditionally a Jewish town, unlike other towns in Galilee, which had been Hellenized (Greek) or Romanized (Roman).
“brothers”: Matt. 13:55 names them: James (Jacob), Joseph, Simon, and Judas (not Judas Iscariot who betrayed him!). Mary may have been overseeing the banquet. I wonder aloud if one of Jesus’s sisters was getting married, for Matt. 13:55 says he had sisters, though unnamed. But we just don’t know, so let’s not go overboard. It may have been a relative, though.
To wrap up this pericope, Klink observes (p. 171) that Jesus replaces the master of ceremonies or the steward or the master of the banquet. He’s the one who made the new wine. Also, the bridegroom did not speak, so Klink believes that Jesus shouts in the bridegroom’s silence. He is the ultimate bridegroom at the Messianic banquet.
To conclude……
So what does the miracle signify? Carson has spotted the insight: “Up to this time, the servants had drawn water to fill the vessels used for ceremonial washing; now they are to draw for the feast that symbolizes the messianic banquet. Filling jars with such large capacity to the brim then indicates that the time for ceremonial purification is completely fulfilled; the new order, symbolized by the new wine, could not be drawn from jars so intimately connected with merely ceremonial purification. If John had not used the verb [‘draw’] loosely (and there is no reason for thinking he has), this latter interpretation prevails” (comments on vv. 7-8)
Klink says about the same thing: “The implication is far reaching: true purification is no longer in reference to external things (e.g. hands and pots) but is entirely internal. And the source of purification is not from the tradition of the leaders but ‘from God’ (1:13). The Christian life according to John is drinking and eating what Jesus provides (cf. 6:51-58)” (Klink, comment on v. 8).
This verse comes to mind: “Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins; or else the wineskins tear, and the wine spills out, and the wineskins are ruined. Instead, they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved” (Matt. 9:17). In other words, Jesus turning the water into wine, contained in stone jars (and not new leather containers), is another way of saying that even though the stone-jar container was ceremoniously appropriate, the water was inadequate. The world needs new wine, and not the old purification rituals. I realize that Matt. 9:17 is not perfectly parallel, but the imagery is strong: new wine.
Grow App for John 2:1-12
1. Turning water into wine speaks of a transformation. How has God transformed your life, and turned something average or even low-grade into someone beautiful and fine?
RELATED
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
12. Eyewitness Testimony in John’s Gospel
4. Church Fathers and John’s Gospel
3. Archaeology and John’s Gospel
SOURCES
For the bibliography, click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 