The first miracle that Jesus performed, in His public ministry and in John's Gospel, was semi-public. Apparently only Jesus' disciples, the servants present, and Jesus' mother understood what had happened.
2:1 The third day evidently refers to the third day after the day Nathanael met Jesus. John's references to succeeding days (1:29, 35, 43; 2:1) at least reflect his precise knowledge of these events. Perhaps this is also a symbolic reference to God's actions coming to a culmination with this miracle (cf. the Resurrection on the third day).
John's specific reference to days in chapter 1 and here is unusual for him. On the first day, John the Baptist gave his veiled witness to Jesus (1:19-28). The second day he gave his open witness to Jesus (1:29-34). The third day John's two disciples followed Jesus (1:35-42). The fourth day Philip and Nathanael met Jesus (1:43-51). On the third day after that, the seventh day, Jesus did His miracle at Cana. The Jews regarded periods of seven days as reflecting God's creative activity. Perhaps John wanted his readers to associate this beginning of Jesus' ministry with the beginning of the cosmos (Gen. 1) that also happened in seven days. If so, this would be another witness to Jesus' deity.
Cana was about nine miles north of Nazareth in Galilee.97John never mentioned Mary by name perhaps to avoid confusing her with other Marys in his story.
2:2 The facts that Jesus received an invitation to a wedding and accepted it show that He was not a recluse. He participated in the normal affairs of human life. This included occasions of rejoicing. The Gospels consistently present this picture of Him. Godliness does not require separation from human society, though John the Baptist did not mix with people as much as Jesus did. A Christ-like person is a socially active person.
In a small village such as Cana--archaeologists have not been able to locate it definitely probably because it was small--a wedding would have been a community celebration. Perhaps the hosts included Jesus because Nathanael was from Cana (21:2), and Nathanael had recently become a follower of Jesus. Yet probably they knew Jesus and invited Him as a friend since His mother was also there and took some responsibility for the catering. This event evidently transpired very early in Jesus' ministry before He called the Twelve. Consequently the only disciples present many have been the five to which John referred in chapter 1.
"Wise is that couple who invite Jesus to their wedding!"98
2:3 Weddings in the ancient East typically lasted several days and often a whole week.99
"To fail to provide adequately for the guests would involve social disgrace. In the closely knit communities of Jesus' day, such an error would never be forgotten and would haunt the newly married couple all their lives."100
The loss would not only have been social disgrace, however, but also financial since grooms had a legal responsibility in that culture to provide a suitable feast for their guests.
"Our bridegroom stood to lose financially--say, up to about half the value of the presents Jesus and his party ought to have brought."101
Mary undoubtedly told Jesus about the situation because she knew that He would do whatever He could to solve the problem. As a compassionate person He would try to help the groom, who was responsible for the food and drink (v. 9), to avoid unnecessary embarrassment. Clearly Mary expected Jesus to do something (v. 5). Evidently Jesus had done no miracles before this incident (v. 11). Consequently it seems far-fetched to suppose that she expected Him to perform a miracle. Mary knew that Jesus was the Messiah, and she apparently wanted Him to do something that would show who He was to everyone present. The wine normally drunk in Palestine at this time was fermented grape juice diluted with water.102
2:4 Westerners would consider anyone addressing his mother as "woman"to be disrespectful, but this was an acceptable word to use in Jesus' culture (Gr. gunai, cf. 19:26; 20:15). It did not have negative connotations.103
"That Jesus calls Mary Woman' and not Mother' probably indicates that there is a new relationship between them as he enters his public ministry."104
Similarly the words "What do I have to do with you?"(NASB) sound arrogant, but they were only a gentle rebuke. They constituted an idiom that is hard to translate (cf. Judg. 11:12; 2 Sam. 16:10; Matt. 8:29; Mark 1:24; 5:7; Luke 4:34; 8:28). "What do we have in common?"meaning "Your concern and mine are not the same"105captures the spirit of the clause. Jesus was not dishonoring His mother. He was explaining to her that He would handle the situation, but in His own time and way. Jesus' obedience to His heavenly Father was more important than His obedience to His earthly mother.
Jesus elsewhere always spoke of His "hour"(Gr. hora) as the time of His passion and its consequences (cf. 5:28-29; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1).
"It refers to the special time in Jesus' earthly life when He was to leave this world and return to the Father (13:1), the hour when the Son of man was to be glorified (17:1). This was accomplished through His suffering, death, resurrection (and ascension, though this was not emphasized by John)."106
When Jesus' hour finally did come, He met the need of the entire human race by dying on the cross. Mary was requesting that He meet a need immediately. Perhaps Jesus referred to His hour not yet being present to help Mary realize that the meeting of needs was something He needed to control. Just as it was not yet time for Him to die, so it was not yet time for Him to meet this pressing need for wine. Probably He meant, The time for me to meet this need has not yet arrived. Throughout this Gospel, John made it clear that Jesus was on a divine schedule that His Father controlled.
2:5 Mary accepted Jesus' statement humbly and did not nag Him. She did, however, urge the servants to cooperate with Him if He would act soon. She did not understand what He would do or when, but she had confidence in His compassion and ability. She demonstrated admirable submission and faith toward Jesus. She allowed Jesus to take charge and solve the problem, and she pointed others to Jesus, not to herself. Previously she had approached Jesus as His mother and had received a mild rebuke. Now she approached Him as her Lord and shortly received satisfaction (cf. Matt. 15:21-28). In this she provides an excellent example for us.
2:6 The Jews washed before eating to cleanse themselves from the defilement of contact with Gentiles and other ritually defiling things more than from germs. They needed much water since they washed often (cf. Matt. 15:1-2; Mark 7:3-4). Each pot held two or three measures (Gr. metretes), namely between 20 and 30 gallons. Their joint capacity would have been between 120 and 180 gallons of liquid. Stone pots did not absorb moisture and uncleanness as earthenware vessels did, so they were better containers for water used in ceremonial washings.
2:7-8 "Them"(NASB) is the servants to whom Mary had previously spoken (v. 5). Their obedience is admirable and accounts in part for the full provision of the need. Normally people did not drink the water in those pots, but the headwaiter or toastmaster did not know that what the servant handed him came from there. Probably the pots were outside the house and he was inside.
Most commentators assumed that when the servants had filled the pots to the brim the water in them became wine. The servants then drew the wine out of the pots and served it to the headwaiter. A few writers noted that the verb "draw"(Gr. antleo, v. 8) usually describes drawing water from a well.107This led some of them to conclude a different scenario. Perhaps the servants filled the pots from a well and then continued drawing water out of the well that they served to the headwaiter. This explanation seems unnatural to me.
Most commentators saw the significance of what they understood to have happened as follows. Jesus' disciples as well as the servants, and presumably Mary, knew that water had gone into the pots but that wine had come out. The only thing that accounted for the change was Jesus' instructions. They realized that Jesus had the supernatural power to change water into wine. This miracle thus fortified their faith in Him (v. 11).
Advocates of the view that the water the servants presented to the headwaiter came from the well see the same significance and more.
"Up to this time the servants had drawn water to fill the vessels used for ceremonial washing; nowthey are to draw for the feast that symbolizes the messianic banquet. Filling jars with such large capacity to the brimthen indicates that the time for ceremonial purification is completely fulfilled; the new order, symbolized by the wine, could not be drawn from jars so intimately connected with merely ceremonial purification."108
I believe it is somewhat tenuous to build this interpretation on the usual meaning of antleo. Its essential meaning is "to draw"even though this word usually refers to drawing water from a well or spring (Gen. 24:13, 20; Exod. 2:16, 19; Isa. 12:3; John 4:7, 15). In classical Greek it describes drawing water out of a ship's bilge.109Furthermore the symbolic interpretation that accompanies this view is questionable. There is nothing in the text that indicates that John intended his readers to see this miracle as teaching the termination of the old Mosaic order and the commencement of a new order. Jesus' ministry certainly accomplished that, but there is no other evidence that this was a lesson that John was communicating to his readers here. Perhaps Jesus ordered the pots filled to the brim simply so there would be enough wine for everyone.
2:9-10 John's point in recording the headwaiter's comments as he did seems to have been to stress the superior quality of the wine that Jesus produced for the guests. Jesus as the Creator produced the best, as He always does whenever He creates. "Drunk freely"(NASB) and "had too much to drink"(NIV) translate the Greek word methyskothat refers to inebriation. The fact that Jesus created something that people could abuse should not surprise us. Humans have consistently abused God's good gifts. Fortunately that does not keep God from giving them.
Is there a deeper meaning to this story? Many students of this passage have identified the wine as symbolic of the joy that Messiah brings. This harmonizes with the metaphorical use of wine throughout Scripture. Some have seen it as typical of Christianity as contrasted with Judaism (the water).110These parallels lack Scriptural support. Perhaps there is some validity to seeing this banquet as a preview of the messianic banquet since Jesus' provision of joy is common to them both. However, Jesus may not have been the host at this banquet, but He will be the host at the messianic banquet.
2:11 In conclusion, John mentioned that this miracle was a sign. It was a miracle that had significance.111Its significance appears to be that it showed that Jesus had the same power to create that God demonstrated in the Creation. Thus it pointed to Jesus being the Creator God who could transform things from one condition into another (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17). This demonstration of His power glorified Jesus in the eyes of those who witnessed and heard about it. Moses had turned water into blood destructively (Exod. 7:14-24), but Jesus turned water into wine for the blessing and benefit of others (cf. 1:17). This miracle also resulted in these disciples believing in Him (cf. 1:50), not for the first time but in a deeper way than they had believed previously (cf. 20:30-31). John's concluding references to the time and place establish the historicity of this event and reduce the possibility of reading it as an allegory or a legend.
"There is significance in the miracle first for Israel, especially the Israel of Christ's day. The wedding feast with its new wine portrays the coming of the kingdom. By this sign the Lord declares He is the Messiah of Israel who is capable of bringing the predicted kingdom into its glorious existence. . . .
"The miracle shows the old order had run its course; now was the time for a new one.
"The significance of this miracle is not for Jews only; it is obviously for the church as well. The basic truth for Christians is found in the joy of salvation. . . .
"This miracle portrays not only the joy Christ brings into a person's life but also the abundanceof joy. . . .
"Finally, for the Christian there is a new life in Christ. The old is passed away and there is a whole new life and perspective in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17)."112
