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John 2

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The Wedding at Cana: Jesus' First Sign 1–12

1
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: ​
2
And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
3
And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. ​
4
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. ​
5
His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
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. ​
7
Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
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,
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. ​
11
This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. ​
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. ​

Jesus Cleanses the Temple 13–22

13
And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, ​
14
And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: ​
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; ​
16
And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. ​
17
And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. ​
18
Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? ​
19
Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. ​
20
Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? ​
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. ​

Jesus Knows What is in Man 23–25

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. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for John 2

Verse 1

the third day — The count runs on from the days of John 1: 'the day following' Jesus went into Galilee and found Philip (John 1:43). Cana of Galilee appears again where he 'made the water wine' (John 4:46) and as the home of Nathanael (John 21:2). His mother is present; he and his disciples are 'called' (v.2).

Verse 3

they wanted wine — Hystereo, to fall short, run out. Mary's 'They have no wine' states a need and leaves the remedy to him; the reply in v.4 shows she had looked for him to act. Wine is named as one of God's gifts, 'wine that maketh glad the heart of man' (Ps 104:15).

Verse 4

Woman, what have I to do with thee? — 'Woman' (gyne) is the address he uses again from the cross, 'Woman, behold thy son!' (John 19:26). 'Mine hour' (hora) is a fixed time in this Gospel: 'his hour was not yet come' (John 7:30; 8:20), until 'The hour is come' (John 12:23).

Verse 6

six waterpots of stone — Hydria, a water jar, here set for 'the purifying of the Jews' (katharismos, ceremonial washing; cf. Mark 7:2–5). Stone vessels are named, and 'firkin' (metretes, a liquid measure) occurs only here in the New Testament. Each jar held two or three; the old rites supply the vessels for the new wine.

Verse 10

when men have well drunk — Methyo, to be drunken, the verb of Acts 2:15 and 1 Cor 11:21. It is the steward's description of the custom of feasts, not of this company. 'Thou hast kept the good wine until now' (kalos, good): the best comes last, after the water of the old purifying.

Verse 11

beginning of miracles — 'Miracles' is semeia, signs: acts that point beyond themselves. This is the first; John counts the next at Cana as 'the second miracle' (John 4:54). It 'manifested forth his glory' (doxa), the glory John saw in the Word made flesh (John 1:14), and 'his disciples believed on him'.

Verse 12

went down to Capernaum — Katabaino, to go down: Capernaum lay lower than Cana. He later 'dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast' (Matt 4:13). His 'brethren' go with him here; of them John says later, 'neither did his brethren believe in him' (John 7:5). The stay was 'not many days'.

Verse 13

the Jews' passover — The first of the Passovers John records: a later one is named at John 6:4, and the last at John 11:55, kept at the crucifixion (John 18:28; 19:14). 'Went up' (anabaino) is the usual verb for going to Jerusalem, set on high ground; the feast was kept 'in the month of Abib' (Deut 16:1).

Verse 14

the temple — Hieron, the whole sacred precinct, not the sanctuary itself (naos, used in vv.19–21). Oxen, sheep and doves were the sacrifices; 'changers of money' (kermatistes, found only here) dealt in coin. Matthew and Mark record a similar cleansing at the close of his ministry (Matt 21:12; Mark 11:15).

Verse 15

a scourge of small cords — Phragellion occurs only here in the New Testament, a whip (schoinion, a cord of rush or grass). It drives out 'the sheep, and the oxen'; the money-changers' coins are poured out (kermata) and their tables overthrown. The word for changers, kollybistes, recurs at Matt 21:12 and Mark 11:15.

Verse 16

my Father's house — The title claims sonship in the place where the LORD's name dwelt; Jesus had said as a boy, 'I must be about my Father's business' (Luke 2:49). 'Merchandise' (emporion, a market) occurs only here. At the later cleansing the charge is 'a den of thieves' (Matt 21:13; Jer 7:11).

Verse 17

The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up — The disciples recall Ps 69:9, which Paul quotes in its second half of Christ: 'The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me' (Rom 15:3). Zelos is burning ardour; 'eaten up' (katesthio) is devoured, a consuming. They 'remembered' here, as they did again after the resurrection (v.22).

Verse 18

What sign shewest thou — Semeion, a sign. The Jews ask for proof of authority to act as he has: 'the Jews require a sign' (1 Cor 1:22). The same demand is made again in 'What sign shewest thou then?' (John 6:30). His answer in v.19 names a sign, but one they cannot understand.

Verse 19

Destroy this temple — Naos, the sanctuary, here his body (v.21). 'Destroy' (lyo) is to loose or dissolve. 'I will raise it up' (egeiro) puts the raising in his own hand. The saying was later twisted into a charge against him: 'I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days' (Matt 26:61).

Verse 20

Forty and six years — The Jews speak of the naos in the long building of the sanctuary, taking his words in the plain sense. 'Rear it up' is the verb egeiro of v.19. They hear a boast about stone; the passers-by at the cross repeat it, 'Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days' (Matt 27:40).

Verse 21

the temple of his body — Naos and soma: the sanctuary where God dwells is his body. 'In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily' (Col 2:9). The same figure is applied to believers: 'ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you' (1 Cor 3:16).

Verse 22

his disciples remembered — The saying was understood only after the resurrection: 'When therefore he was risen from the dead'. Likewise 'These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they' (John 12:16). They 'believed the scripture' (graphe) and his word together.

Verse 23

believed in his name — Pisteuo eis, to believe into, trust in. It rests here on the miracles they 'saw' (theoreo, to behold). Nicodemus is of this kind: 'we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles' (John 3:2). Such belief may lack root (Luke 8:13).

Verse 24

did not commit himself — The verb is pisteuo, the very word 'believed' of v.23: they believed in him, but he did not believe himself to them. He 'knew all men' (ginosko); he had known Nathanael before Philip called him (John 1:48), and 'knew from the beginning who they were that believed not' (John 6:64).

Verse 25

he knew what was in man — He 'needed not' (chreia, need) a witness (martyreo) about man. What men are within is open to him alone, as of God: 'Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men' (Acts 1:24); 'the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance' (1 Sam 16:7).