John 2:1-12

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, 2:2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. ⁴  2:3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine left.” ⁵  2:4 Jesus replied, ⁶  “Woman, ⁷  why are you saying this to me? ⁸  My time ⁹  has not yet come.” 2:5 His mother told the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.” ¹⁰ 

2:6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, ¹¹  each holding twenty or thirty gallons. ¹²  2:7 Jesus told the servants, ¹³  “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the very top. 2:8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,” ¹⁴  and they did. 2:9 When ¹⁵  the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from ¹⁶  (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he ¹⁷  called the bridegroom 2:10 and said to him, “Everyone ¹⁸  serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper ¹⁹  wine when the guests ²⁰  are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!” 2:11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, ²¹  in Cana ²²  of Galilee. In this way he revealed ²³  his glory, and his disciples believed in him. ²⁴ 

Cleansing the Temple

2:12 After this he went down to Capernaum ²⁵  with his mother and brothers ²⁶  and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days.

[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.”

[2:2]  ⁴ sn There is no clue to the identity of the bride and groom, but in all probability either relatives or friends of Jesus’ family were involved, since Jesus’ mother and both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the celebration. The attitude of Mary in approaching Jesus and asking him to do something when the wine ran out also suggests that familial obligations were involved.

[2:3]  ⁵ tn The word “left” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[2:4]  ⁶ tn Grk “and Jesus said to her.”

[2:4]  ⁷ sn The term Woman is Jesus’ normal, polite way of addressing women (Matt 15:28, Luke 13:12; John 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:15). But it is unusual for a son to address his mother with this term. The custom in both Hebrew (or Aramaic) and Greek would be for a son to use a qualifying adjective or title. Is there significance in Jesus’ use here? It probably indicates that a new relationship existed between Jesus and his mother once he had embarked on his public ministry. He was no longer or primarily only her son, but the “Son of Man.” This is also suggested by the use of the same term in 19:26 in the scene at the cross, where the beloved disciple is “given” to Mary as her “new” son.

[2:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “Woman, what to me and to you?” (an idiom). The phrase τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί, γύναι (ti emoi kai soi, gunai) is Semitic in origin. The equivalent Hebrew expression in the Old Testament had two basic meanings: (1) When one person was unjustly bothering another, the injured party could say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (Judg 11:12, 2 Chr 35:21, 1 Kgs 17:18). (2) When someone was asked to get involved in a matter he felt was no business of his, he could say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (2 Kgs 3:13, Hos 14:8). Option (1) implies hostility, while option (2) implies merely disengagement. Mere disengagement is almost certainly to be understood here as better fitting the context (although some of the Greek Fathers took the remark as a rebuke to Mary, such a rebuke is unlikely).

[2:4]  ⁹ tn Grk “my hour” (referring to the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and return to the Father).

[2:5]  ¹⁰ tn The pronoun “it” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[2:6]  ¹¹ tn Grk “for the purification of the Jews.”

[2:6]  ¹² tn Grk “holding two or three metretes” (about 75 to 115 liters). Each of the pots held 2 or 3 μετρηταί (metrhtai). A μετρητῆς (metrhths) was about 9 gallons (40 liters); thus each jar held 18-27 gallons (80-120 liters) and the total volume of liquid involved was 108-162 gallons (480-720 liters).

[2:7]  ¹³ tn Grk “them” (it is clear from the context that the servants are addressed).

[2:8]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the master of ceremonies.”

[2:9]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here.

[2:9]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and he did not know where it came from.”

[2:9]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the head steward”; here the repetition of the phrase is somewhat redundant in English and the pronoun (“he”) is substituted in the translation.

[2:10]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “every man” (in a generic sense).

[2:10]  ¹⁹ tn Or “poorer.”

[2:10]  ²⁰ tn Grk “when they”; the referent (the guests) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:11]  ²¹ tn This sentence in Greek involves an object-complement construction. The force can be either “Jesus did this as,” or possibly “Jesus made this to be.” The latter translation accents not only Jesus’ power but his sovereignty too. Cf. also 4:54 where the same construction occurs.

[2:11]  ²² map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[2:11]  ²³ tn Grk “in Cana of Galilee, and he revealed.”

[2:11]  ²⁴ tn Or “his disciples trusted in him,” or “his disciples put their faith in him.”

[2:12]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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.