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| Chapter 2 |
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1 ¶ And on the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His disciples were called to the marriage. 3 And when they lacked wine, the mother of Jesus said unto Him, "They have no wine." 4 Jesus said unto her, "Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come." 5 His mother said unto the servants, "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it." 6 And there were set there six water pots of stone, according to the manner of the purifying of the Jews, holding twenty to thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said unto them, "Fill the water pots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said unto them, "Draw some out now, and bear it unto the governor of the feast." And they took it. 9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, not knowing from whence it had come (but the servants who drew the water knew), the governor of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said unto him, "Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine, and when men have drunk well, then that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good wine until now." 11 This beginning of miracles Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. 12 ¶ After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brethren and His disciples; and they continued there a few days. 13 And the Jews’ Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem 14 and found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and also the changers of money, sitting there. 15 And when He had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overthrew the tables. 16 And He said unto those who sold doves, "Take these things hence! Make not My Father’s house a house of merchandise!" 17 And His disciples remembered that it was written: "The zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up." 18 Then the Jews answered and said unto Him, "What sign showest 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 raise it up in three days?" 21 But He spoke of the temple of His body. 22 When therefore He had 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. 23 ¶ Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover on 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. |
v1-12 The Marriage in Cana. Cana a few miles northeast of Nazareth. Jewish tradition requires that virgins are to be married on a Wednesday, widows are to be married on a Thursday. This is the first recorded miracle of Jesus. Weddings would often last several days and for the wine to run out would be very embarrassing for the bridegroom. v1 ‘The 3rd day’ refers to John 1:43. v2 There is no reference to why Jesus was at the wedding except this was Nathaniel’s home town so may have been involved with the marriage or perhaps Mary the mother of Jesus was involved. Jesus had not performed any miracles yet so was not ‘special’ to have at a wedding. Our Lord was prepared to enter into the social life of men, even though His enemies used it against Him. v3-5 What made Mary approach Jesus with the problem, she knew who He was but we have no record of Him doing miracles before this event. Mary must have been close to the family involved and even been involved with the arrangements to know the wine was running out. She also must have had some concern for the shame and disaster this wedding could have been to the bridegroom. She did not tell Jesus what to do, just reported the problem. His reply may seem harsh but this was a normal way of addressing the women. "Why should I be involved? It is not my time yet." Jesus was living to God’s time and plan. Mary was happy to let Jesus decide on His actions by her instructions to the servants. He could have ignored her request but now takes charge. Only the servants and Mary knew of this first miracle. His first miracle was very different to His last miracle John 11:1ff. The water pots were used for washing, It must have been quite a job filling the pots with water, and how did the servants feel as they took the ‘water’ to the man in charge, they must have had great respect for Mary to do what Jesus told them to do. The bridegroom was praised for keeping the best to last. The servants knew where the wine had come from, but they obey without question, this reminds us of John 15:14, obedience to the commands of God. Jesus supplied the best wine by His miracle, what a sign of grace but note it involved God and man to do the task. The world always offers best things first, it is later you find out what is the bad points, the truth. v11 This event, sign, must have proved to the new disciples that there was something special about this man. We may be asked to do something ‘strange’ by God, would you trust Him and do it? v12 - 23 Jesus cleanses the Temple. v12 Jesus remains in Capernaum with His family and the disciples for a few days then went to Jerusalem for the Passover. A Jewish man was required to attend three annual feasts in the Holy City,(Deut 16:16) Passover 2:13 ; 6:4; 12:1, Pentecost and the Tabernacles 7:2. Jesus in the temple. The Jewish priests were operating a very good business exchanging foreign money for Jewish money as well as selling the animals required for the sacrifices. It may have started out to help the Jews who came from other countries but it had turned into a business. This was taking place in the temple area called "The Court of the Gentiles," this area was meant to be used to tell the Gentiles about the Jewish faith and true God. They would not find the truth amongst the religious merchants. Jesus drives out all these merchants out of the "house of His Father." The temple conditions were reflecting the spiritual state of the nation, they had lost the meaning of worship, money controlled it all. v17 The disciples are reminded of Psalm 69:9. v18 The religious leaders challenged Jesus for His authority, why they were the official protectors of the faith, what right had He to do this. They had the right to test any new prophet, "they required a sign." But Jesus only predicted what was to happen to "His Temple," His body would be destroyed and rebuilt in 3 days. But the religious leaders were blind to the truth, all they saw was a building which was started in 20 B.C. and not to be finished until 64 A.D. How could a man rebuild it in 3 days? His disciples and the leaders were later to remember this prediction by Jesus. Matt 26:59-61; Matt 27:40. v23-25 Jesus knows all. Jesus performed miracles during this visit, people started to believe in Him. Was Nicodemus one of these? John 3:2 v24 But Jesus knew the hearts of men, it was easy to see and respond to a miracle, but did their hearts change? John 4:48 People Jesus ‘knew.’ John 1:42; John 5:42; John 6:64; John 8:2-11. Some events opened eyes, others became more blind. It takes more than believing a miracle to know Jesus as their Saviour. |
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