John 2:1

Turning Water into Wine

2:1 Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana ¹  in Galilee. ²  Jesus’ mother ³  was there,

John 2:12

Cleansing the Temple

2:12 After this he went down to Capernaum ⁴  with his mother and brothers ⁵  and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days.

John 8:18

8:18 I testify about myself ⁶  and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”

John 11:3

11:3 So the sisters sent a message ⁷  to Jesus, ⁸  “Lord, look, the one you love is sick.”

[2:1]  ¹ map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[2:1]  ² sn Cana in Galilee was not a very well-known place. It is mentioned only here, in 4:46, and 21:2, and nowhere else in the NT. Josephus (Life 16 [86]) says he once had his quarters there. The probable location is present day Khirbet Cana, 8 mi (14 km) north of Nazareth, or Khirbet Kenna, 4 mi (7 km) northeast of Nazareth.

[2:1]  ³ tn Grk “in Galilee, and Jesus’ mother.”

[2:12]  ⁴ sn Verse 12 is merely a transitional note in the narrative (although Capernaum does not lie on the direct route to Jerusalem from Cana). Nothing is mentioned in John’s Gospel at this point about anything Jesus said or did there (although later his teaching is mentioned, see 6:59). From the synoptics it is clear that Capernaum was a center of Jesus’ Galilean ministry and might even be called “his own town” (Matt 9:1). The royal official whose son Jesus healed (John 4:46-54) was from Capernaum. He may have heard Jesus speak there, or picked up the story about the miracle at Cana from one of Jesus’ disciples.

[2:12]  ⁵ sn With respect to Jesus’ brothers, the so-called Helvidian view is to be preferred (named after Helvidius, a 4th-century theologian). This view holds that the most natural way to understand the phrase is as a reference to children of Joseph and Mary after the birth of Jesus. Other views are that of Epiphanius (they were children of Joseph by a former marriage) or Jerome (they were cousins). The tradition of Mary’s perpetual virginity appeared in the 2nd century and is difficult to explain (as J. H. Bernard, St. John [ICC], 1:85, points out) if some of her other children were prominent members of the early church (e.g., James of Jerusalem). But this is outweighed by the natural sense of the words.

[8:18]  ⁷ tn Grk “I am the one who testifies about myself.”

[11:3]  ¹⁰ tn The phrase “a message” is not in the Greek text but is implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from context.

[11:3]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to him, saying”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.