John 2:5

2:5 His mother told the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.” ¹ 

John 19:26

19:26 So when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, ²  look, here is your son!”

John 19:25

19:25 Now standing beside Jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ³ 

John 2:1

Turning Water into Wine

2:1 Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana ⁴  in Galilee. ⁵  Jesus’ mother ⁶  was there,

John 2:3

2:3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine left.” ⁷ 

John 2:12

Cleansing the Temple

2:12 After this he went down to Capernaum ⁸  with his mother and brothers ⁹  and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days.

John 19:27

19:27 He then said to his disciple, “Look, here is your mother!” From that very time ¹⁰  the disciple took her into his own home.

John 6:42

6:42 and they said, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

John 3:4

3:4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time, can he?” ¹¹ 

John 9:2

9:2 His disciples asked him, ¹²  “Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this man ¹³  or his parents?” ¹⁴ 

John 9:20

9:20 So his parents replied, ¹⁵  “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.

John 9:18

9:18 Now the Jewish religious leaders ¹⁶  refused to believe ¹⁷  that he had really been blind and had gained his sight until at last they summoned ¹⁸  the parents of the man who had become able to see. ¹⁹ 

[2:5]  ¹ 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.

[19:26]  ² 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; see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1). 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? Jesus probably used the term here to help establish Mary and the beloved disciple in a new “mother-son” relationship. Someone would soon need to provide for Mary since Jesus, her oldest son, would no longer be alive. By using this term Jesus distanced himself from Mary so the beloved disciple could take his place as her earthly son (cf. John 2:4). See D. A. Carson, John, 617-18, for discussion about symbolic interpretations of this relationship between Mary and the beloved disciple.

[19:25]  ³ sn Several women are mentioned, but it is not easy to determine how many. It is not clear whether his mother’s sister and Mary the wife of Clopas are to be understood as the same individual (in which case only three women are mentioned: Jesus’ mother, her sister Mary, and Mary Magdalene) or as two different individuals (in which case four women are mentioned: Jesus’ mother, her sister, Mary Clopas’ wife, and Mary Magdalene). It is impossible to be certain, but when John’s account is compared to the synoptics it is easier to reconcile the accounts if four women were present than if there were only three. It also seems that if there were four women present, this would have been seen by the author to be in juxtaposition to the four soldiers present who performed the crucifixion, and this may explain the transition from the one incident in 23-24 to the other in 25-27. Finally, if only three were present, this would mean that both Jesus’ mother and her sister were named Mary, and this is highly improbable in a Jewish family of that time. If there were four women present, the name of the second, the sister of Jesus’ mother, is not mentioned. It is entirely possible that the sister of Jesus’ mother mentioned here is to be identified with the woman named Salome mentioned in Mark 15:40 and also with the woman identified as “the mother of the sons of Zebedee” mentioned in Matt 27:56. If so, and if John the Apostle is to be identified as the beloved disciple, then the reason for the omission of the second woman’s name becomes clear; she would have been John’s own mother, and he consistently omitted direct reference to himself or his brother James or any other members of his family in the Fourth Gospel.

[2:1]  ⁴ map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[2:1]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Grk “in Galilee, and Jesus’ mother.”

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

[2:12]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.

[19:27]  ⁷ tn Grk “from that very hour.”

[3:4]  ⁸ tn The grammatical structure of the question in Greek presupposes a negative reply.

[9:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “asked him, saying.”

[9:2]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “this one.”

[9:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “in order that he should be born blind.”

[9:20]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “So his parents answered and said.”

[9:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “the Jewish religious authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.) Here the phrase refers mainly to the Pharisees, mentioned by name in John 9:13, 15, 16. References in this context to Pharisees and to the synagogue (v. 22) suggest an emphasis on the religious nature of the debate which is brought out by the translation “the Jewish religious leaders.”

[9:18]  ¹² tn The Greek text contains the words “about him” at this point: “the Jewish authorities did not believe about him…”

[9:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “they called.”

[9:18]  ¹⁴ tn Or “the man who had gained his sight.”