v. 2: His “disciples”144 followed an invitation to a (week-long festival of) wedding feast at Cana and shared the festivity and joy.
- The Dialogue between Jesus and His Mother (vv. 3–5)
After the opening scene in Cana, the dialogue between Jesus and His mother suggests the inner meaning of “(My) [hour] has not yet come [ ] ( )” (v. 4c) and prepares His “first sign” (in Greek “semeῖon” in v. 11a).
v. 3: Wine145 was essential for a Jewish feast. During the feast (cf. Psalm 104:15; Sirach 31:27) – without “wine”146 (vv. 3a – note the genitivus absolutus –, c, 9a, 10b, d and John 4:46) – the catastrophe/the crisis/the so-called “M(aximum) C(redible) A(ccident)” of the Jewish wedding feast happened. In this situation, Mary147, His mother, informed/requested Him about the fact: “( ) [ ] They have [no] more (wine)”.
v. 4: He answered her with a query without (!) overtones of sharp refusal or angry unwillingness, but as a gentle disagreement: “(Woman/Madam148), what /is between/ me and you149 ( )”? – in the sense: “What do you want from me, Madam?” (cf. Mark 1:24; 5:7; Matthew 8:29; Luke 4:34; 8:28 and, for example, Judges 11:12; 2 Samuel 16:10; 19:23; 1 Kings 17:18; 2 Kings 3:13; 2 Chronicles 35:21). He explained it: “(My) [hour] has not yet come [ ] ( )”. He was simply telling her to leave things to Him, that He will have His own way of dealing with the situation. His “hour”150 (cf., for example, John 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; 17:1; 19:14) is a Johannine Christological/soteriological expression for His Suffering/Death/Crucifixion on “Good Friday” and His Resurrection/Glorification on Easter Sunday in Jerusalem when He is glorified (cf. 7:38; 12:23; 13:31–32; 17:1, 5), and has not yet come during the wedding at Cana.
v. 5: Mary gave the “servants”151/“waiters” (in Greek “dɩákonoɩ” in vv. 5a, 9c) a piece of advice: “(Do) whatever he tells you ( )” (cf. Genesis 41:55) – note the imperative.
- The Command of the Evangelist (v. 6)
“Water”152 was required for the cleansing of the feet on entry to the house (cf. John 13:5–6) and for the washing of the (unclean) hands (cf. Mark 7:2–5/Matthew 15:2; Acts 10:14–15) according to Leviticus 15:11 and Psalm 26:6. For the Jewish purifying ceremonies (cf. John 3:25) of the Jews – note the syntagma “tòn katharɩsmòn tõn ’Ioudaíon” –, there were “six” (cf. 12:1; 19:14) “water jars/pots”153 which could hold about 120–180 gallons or about 468/480–702/720154 liters altogether.
- Jesus and the Servants/Waiters (vv. 7–8)
v. 7: Jesus gave the servants (cf. vv. 5a, 9c) the order: “Fill155 the water jars with water”. They did so – under Mary’s recommendation (cf. v. 5).
v. 8: His second and third imperatives – first imperative: fill in verse 7b – are “draw out”156 (cf. vv. 8b, 9 and John 4:7, 15) and “take”/“bear” (in Greek “phéro” in v. 8b, c). In this way, the servants bought the wine to the “head waiter”157/“steward”/“master of the banquet/feast/ceremony”, the authorized and responsible organizer of the wedding feast.
- Jesus and the Head Waiter/Steward (vv. 9–10)
v. 9: The “head waiter” tasted the drink which should be water but it was wine. How is it possible? He did not ask the servant “where158 it had come from”: but he rebuked the wine service of the “bridegroom”159 (cf. 3:29) with an antithetic logic of the normal rule for serving wine:
v. 10: “Each person/everyone ( ) [serves] the good/best wine (first) [ ]
and when /guests/ are drunken160 /from/ the lower /quality wine/.
/But/ you” – the bridegroom – “have saved161 the good/best wine until now”162 (cf., for example, Plinus, Naturalis historia XIV 91).
The answer is: The best wine came from a divine source, from Jesus, the “Son of God” (1:34b, 49b).
- The Command of the Evangelist (v. 11)
Changing water into wine at Cana was the “first sign163” of “His glory”164 (cf. 1:14; 11:4, 40) which He “revealed”165/performed. The Fourth Evangelist emphasizes that Jesus’ disciples “believed in Him” (cf. 1:50d).
The quintessence of John 2:1–11 is that the guests had to drink the lower quality wine first and after Jesus’ first “sign”, the servants/waiters served them the “good/best” one (cf. v. 10e). The lack of wine was the reason for the wealth of wine though Jesus’ change of water into “good/best wine” (v. 10e) during the marriage at Cana in Galilee.
- The “Transitional” Verse (v. 12)
The Fourth Evangelist connects the narrative story of the marriage at Cana (cf. vv. 1–11) and Jesus’ cleansing of the Jerusalem Temple (cf. vv. 14–22) with a transitional verse in the form of a note of Jesus’ journey – “Itinerar”/“Reisenotiz”166 – with the help of his typical phrase “after this” (in Greek “metà toũto” in v. 12a and 3:22; 5:1; 6:1; 7:1; 19:28, 38; 21:1): So Jesus,
“(His) mother ( )” (cf. vv. 1b, 3b, 5a and John 3:4, 6:42; 19:25–27; Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55 or Sure 3:45 – note also 1:45),
“(His) brothers ( )” – in the sense of “siblings”167 (cf., for example, John 7:3, 5; Mark 3:21; 6:3; 1 Corinthians 9:5; Galatians 1:19) – and
“(His) disciples ( )” (vv. 2a, 11c, 17a, 22b) “went down” (cf. John 1:51e) from “Cana” (vv. 1a, 11a – about 300 metres above sea-level) to the wealthy Jewish town of “Capernaum”168 (Hebrew: “village of Nahum”) near the northwest corner of the “Sea of Galilee/Tiberias”. They “stayed” only a few “days” – a short time – there.
2.2.2 Jesus’ Cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem (vv. 13–22169)
- The Setting (vv. 13–14a)
Who: Jesus, the merchants (v. 14a), His disciples (vv. 17, 22), the Jewish authority/leadership of the Jerusalem Temple (vv. 18, 20)
Where: the Temple (v. 14a) in Jerusalem (v. 13b)
When: near the “Passover of the Jews” (v. 13a)
After the wedding in Cana (cf. vv. 1–11) and His stop