John 2 - The Moody Bible Commentary

B. Premature Reception of Jesus’ Ministry (2:1–4:54)

2:1-2 The third day is marked from the time Jesus found Philip (1:43; see comment on 1:29). Cana was about eight miles north of Nazareth, the home of Jesus and Mary. For the first time, Jesus is said to have disciples (never called “apostles” in John). Mary, the mother of Jesus (never identified by name in John), was fully aware by faith that her Son was the Messiah (Lk 1:26-56; 2:1-51). Apparently Mary thought the time for Jesus to reveal His identity had come. Since she gave directions to the servants (v. 5), she must have had some official responsibilities.

1 Wedding at Cana (2:1-11)

Jesus traveled to Cana of Galilee with Mary, His mother, and His disciples. Jewish weddings were filled with festivity and occasionally lasted a week.

2:3 Mary told Jesus, They have no [more] wine. A failure of this kind was a serious offense against Jewish standards of hospitality. Mary’s request implied that she anticipated a miracle.

2:4-5 In the Jewish culture, woman was a respectful address (cf. 4:21; 19:26). Yet by asking, What does that have to do with us? Jesus distanced Himself from His earthly mother (cf. Mk 1:24; 5:7). The reference to Jesus’ hour or “time” (see also comment on 4:21) is not found in the Synoptics but is frequent in John. At first, His hour had not yet come (2:4; 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20), but later it had come (12:23; 13:1; 16:32; 17:1). The term refers to the glory displayed in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Since in v. 4 it had not yet come, the Lord was fully aware of its divine timing. This timing was set by the sovereign plan of the Father (12:27). Mary instructed the servants, Whatever He says to you, do it. This must also be our response to His will.

2:6-7 Symbolically, six may well represent the imperfection or insufficiency of Judaism (Andrew T. Lincoln, The Gospel According to Saint John, [Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2005], 129; Andreas J. Köstenberger, John, BECNT [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2004], 96) and characterizes the Jewish legalistic custom of purification (cf. Mt. 15:1-2). Yet it is impossible to be certain that John intended such a symbolic use of the number “six.” Such washings were for religious, not hygienic, purposes. The six stone waterpots holding twenty or thirty gallons each totaled 120 to 180 gallons. At Jesus’ directions, the servants were to fill the large waterpots with water. That the servants filled them up to the brim expresses the overabundance of joy (wine) that comes through the Messiah (Cf. 1:17).

2:8-10 In obedience to Mary’s advice and Jesus’ instructions, the servants were to draw from the waterpots some water-turned-to-wine and take it to the headwaiter. Culturally, the poorer wine was served last when the sensibilities of the guests had become dull. To the headwaiter’s surprise (v. 9), he now tasted a wine that was far better than the bridegroom had been serving to this point. Jesus contradicted what every man does (v. 10) and corrected a conventional but unethical social custom.

2:11 This was the very first of the signs or miracles Jesus did and it manifested His glory (an attribute of God). The divine glory and presence that first dwelt in the OT tabernacle (1:14) was now residing in the person of Jesus. But the greatest display of glory, ironically, was yet to come in the humiliation and suffering of the cross (7:39; 12:16; 13:31, 32; 17:1). A “sign” (semeion), a special word in John (the Synoptics use dynamis, “power,” for Jesus’ miracles), is a miracle designed to attest to the authority of a messenger and the validity of His message. The Evangelist recorded these signs to bring about faith in Christ (20:31-32). The words His disciples believed in Him show that at the earliest contacts with Jesus (Cf. 3:24 with Mt 4:12, 17; Mk 1:14-15), His disciples (excluding Judas, Jn 6:70-71) had saving faith. A Jewish wedding symbolized the messianic kingdom (Is 54:1-8; 62:1-5; Mt 8:11; 22:2; Rv 19:7, 9), and the wine symbolized the joy and blessings of that kingdom (Is 25:6; Jr 31:12; Jl 2:19; 3:18; Mt 26:29). The water-to-wine miracle also revealed Jesus as the Creator (Jn 1:3, 10) and the Giver of Life (1:4; 4:14), and that He would be the One to provide the abundant fertility that would yield much wine (joy and celebration) in the millennial kingdom (see Am 9:13-15).

2:12 Jesus went down from the mountains of Cana to Capernaum, some 16 miles NE of Cana. The author’s comment is brief since the Fourth Gospel is more interested in Jesus’ activities in Jerusalem. His mother and His brothers are mentioned (cf. Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3), but not Joseph, who apparently died before Christ’s public ministry. Although His brothers witnessed this miracle, they did not believe (cf. Jn 7:5). Since the Passover was near (cf. v. 13), they stayed only a few days in Capernaum.

2 Temple Cleansing (2:12-25)

The temple cleansing reveals that Jesus is the “temple” of the New Era. The miracle of the new wine (2:1-11) was semiprivate; the cleansing of the temple was the first public presentation to Israel that Jesus is the Messiah.

2:13-14 This is the first of three explicit references to the Passover in John (though the feast mentioned in 5:1 is probably also a Passover), marking perhaps as many as three-and-one-half years of Jesus’ ministry (see comments on 5:1). The Synoptics refer to a second cleansing of the temple during the last week of Jesus’ life (Mt 21:12-13; Mk 11:15-17; Lk 19:45-46). The Greek for temple (hieron) designates the temple complex that included the large Court of the Gentiles where the money changers were seated. Money changers exacted a fee to exchange Roman and Galilean coins for acceptable temple coinage. Jewish worshipers could then pay the temple tax and purchase animals for sacrifice.

2:15 Jesus viewed this commerce inside the temple complex as a sacrilege since it exploited the poor to gain funds to beautify the temple, and it disrupted Gentile worship in the court of the Gentiles, their only place to worship (Köstenberger, John, 106). So He drove the merchants all out of the temple, including the animals. He also overturned the tables of the money changers, symbolically cleansing the temple. This act fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy of the sudden entrance of the Messiah into the temple to purify the nation (Mal 3:1-3). It also may have served as a symbolic act of judgment against the leaders who had allowed the corruption to go so far (see the comments on Mt 21:12).

2:16-18 Jesus’ command stop making My Father’s house a place of business alluded to Zch 14:20-21. Zechariah described the messianic kingdom as one in which there would be no “merchants” in the temple (see NASB footnote at Zch 14:21). “My Father’s house” set forth a clear messianic claim, as the quote (v. 17) from Ps 69:9 proves. For His disciples remembered, see v. 22. In Ps 69, David’s passion for the temple typifies the greater ZEAL that the Messiah would have for protecting the sanctity of God’s house. Jesus’ actions invoked the anger of the Jews (v. 18)—the first note of antagonism toward Jesus in John. The Jews (the religious leaders of the temple) demanded an attesting sign (see comment on 2:11) by which He could validate His authority in having committed such a subversive act. Their question was understandable. No Jewish man would dare to do what Jesus did. But He was not simply a man.

2:19-22 As God’s foremost Prophet, Jesus predicted His own death (Destroy this temple) and the precise timing of His resurrection (in three days). The words I will raise it up present Jesus as the divine agent of His own resurrection. The temple (naos, “sanctuary,” vv. 19, 20, 21) refers to the Most Holy place where God’s presence lived in the OT, not the entire temple complex. The sanctuary (naos) construction was completed in 18/17 BC. It took forty-six years to build this temple (v. 20) means “this sanctuary has been built (completed) for forty-six years” (i.e., AD 20–30). This helps date the crucifixion of Christ three years later in AD 33. Because Jesus was speaking of the temple (naos) that was His body (v. 21), the glory that resided in the OT sanctuary now resided in Jesus (Cf. 1:14). Prompted by His resurrection to reflect on OT messianic prophecy, His disciples remembered (v. 22) these prophecies in Zch 14 and Ps 69 (see 2:16-18 above) and linked them to the word which Jesus had spoken about His death and resurrection (raising the “temple” in three days).

2:23-25 The Passover included the Passover itself (one day) followed by seven days for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Some understand many believed in His name to be inauthentic faith because (1) faith based on miracles (the signs which He was doing) is insufficient, and (2) Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them (v. 24). But John declared that Jesus’ signs were intended to bring about faith (20:31-32). Also, the apostle used a Greek phrase (believed in His name) that clearly speaks of genuine faith (cf. Jn 1:12; 3:18; Cf. 20:31). That Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them means that Jesus considered these new believers not yet prepared for further disclosures of spiritual truth. This begins John’s theme of the “secret disciple” (Cf. 19:38-39). John’s declaration that He Himself knew what was in man (v. 25) underlines the Lord’s divine knowledge of people (see comments on 1:48). To demonstrate that knowledge of humanity, three interviews follow, with Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, the Samaritan woman, and a Gentile nobleman. In each one, Jesus demonstrated His supernatural understanding of their inner thoughts and needs. With Nicodemus, a scholar, Jesus saw his need for a faith that was not merely intellectual. With the woman, He saw a need for moral transformation. With the nobleman, He perceived the man’s need for a physical healing of his son.