John 2 - The NIV Application Commentary on the Bible: One-Volume Edition

The Cana Story (2:1–12). In the village culture of Palestine, weddings were important events, announced well in advance and recognized by the entire village. Following a public betrothal that was far more permanent than a modern engagement, the family announced the wedding date, and elaborate preparations were made for a ceremony that could last for as long as a week. Gift-giving was carefully considered, not as a simple gesture of goodwill but as a means of bringing honor on the couple and their families. This gives us an interesting insight into the concern of the servants when the feast suddenly runs out of wine. This is not merely an embarrassing situation; it is a dishonoring crisis for the host.

Mary’s statement in verse 3 prompts Jesus to respond in an unexpected way. The English tone of this seems harsh, but it is simply formal. In some sense, Mary is presuming on her relationship with him as her son, yet Jesus must follow the course that has been determined for him by God. Jesus’s orientation for activity is elsewhere. The important Greek word “hour” [hōra] in verse 4 is used throughout this Gospel to look forward to Jesus’s important work on the cross. Mary’s request for activity is thus given an ironic spin inasmuch as Jesus will not act merely on behalf of this wedding but for the entire world. His death on the cross will provide far more than wine.

The story gives us an important clue as to its meaning when we discover that six stone jars will now be the source of the new wine. The note that they are stone is a signal that they are for Jewish purification washings. The six jars hold considerable volume, each with a capacity for over twenty gallons.

The stewards are then told to take some of the water that is now wine and bring it to the head steward. The head steward makes a pronouncement with telling significance: in most banquets, the best wine is served first. Jesus is delivering something to the banquet quite unexpected. It is superior to anything the banquet has witnessed before. John’s emphasis, therefore, is on the quality of this wine and its timing; things served before this wine are inferior.

John consistently refers to Jesus’s mighty works as “signs” (sēmeiōn; v. 11). A miracle underscores power and is generally received with awe. A sign is revelatory, disclosing something from God, something hidden before. The signs are not merely acts of power and might, but they unveil that God is at work in Jesus and indeed is present in him. Since he radiates the presence of God, he appropriately shows forth God’s glory.

The Temple Story (2:13–25). In the first section, Jesus worked a miracle on Jewish purification vessels. Now Jesus comes to Jerusalem for a major festival in the city. He enters the temple (a place of sacrificial purification) and likewise does a symbolic work, demonstrating that it also will experience replacement and fulfillment (just as the stone water vessels in Cana were filled with new wine).

The Synoptics place the temple cleansing at the end of the ministry of Jesus, while John introduces it at the beginning. I suggest that John has recorded his own version of one cleansing, and while it is a historical record he has moved it chronologically for theological reasons. Using uncompromised historical material, John is creating a theological portrait of Jesus’s display of signs in the context of Judaism. Jesus is the fulfillment and replacement of Judaism’s festivals and institutions. And the temple is high on his list as a place that soon (through his death) will no longer serve the purposes of God.

Passover was an annual festival celebrated each spring. Over the centuries Passover had become a pilgrimage festival in which Jewish families were expected to travel to Jerusalem and participate in sacrifice, a symbolic meal, and reflective study of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt in the exodus. Since pilgrims would need approved animals for sacrifice, a considerable business grew in the city at this time of year. Jesus is attacking the financial machinery of the festival system, which certainly would put him at odds with Caiaphas and the temple leadership.

His disciples recall Psalm 69:9 (v. 17). Theologically this is John’s way of indicating two things. First, Jesus is acting out of his relationship with the Father. As Messiah and God’s Son, he is driven to defend and promote God’s interests in the world. Second, John often uses the Old Testament at the major junctures of Jesus’s life. He is working out the purposes of God—purposes he knows have already been outlined in Scripture.

When confronted with his actions, his critics demand that he show some sign to demonstrate his authority to cause such upheaval. Curiously, Jesus refers to his own destruction and resurrection. Jesus’s audience misunderstands him and thinks he is referring (ironically) to the Jerusalem temple.

In Judaism of this period, many spiritual leaders expected that a new temple would be built and that the present temple in Jerusalem would be replaced. Even after the Roman destruction of the temple in AD 70, Jews continued to retain a hope in the coming of the Messiah, who would bring a newly built temple. But Jesus’s deeper meaning referred to his body, which would serve the same function as the temple, even replacing it. Jesus is predicting his death and resurrection, which will create a new covenant with God and make the services of the Jerusalem temple obsolete.

John provides a telling wordplay in verse 24. The same Greek word translated “believe” in verse 23 appears in verse 24: even though some of these people believed in him . . . Jesus would not believe in them. Jesus understood about all of humanity and its capacity for deception and duplicity. John is making a sweeping theological affirmation. God alone knows the hearts of men and women—and now Jesus has this same capacity.