John 2

John 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of John. After chapter 1 presents the testimony of John the Baptist and the calling of the first disciples, this chapter recounts Jesus' first public acts.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 At a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee, the wine runs out. Jesus' mother tells him about it and instructs the servants to do whatever he tells them.
• Verses 6–10 Jesus has six stone waterpots filled with water and has some drawn out and taken to the governor of the feast. The governor tells the bridegroom that he has kept the good wine until now.
• Verses 11–12 This is the "first sign," and the disciples believe in Jesus. Afterward, Jesus and those with him go down to Capernaum.
• Verses 13–17 Having gone up to Jerusalem at Passover, Jesus drives out of the temple those selling oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers.
• Verses 18–22 When the Jews demand a sign, he answers, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The text explains that he was speaking of his own body.
• Verses 23–25 Many believed when they saw the signs he did, but Jesus did not entrust himself to them, because he knew what was in man.

Key Verses

• John 2:11 "This beginning of miracles did Jesus … and manifested forth his glory" — the first instance in the Gospel of John of a miracle being called a "sign" (rendered "miracles" in the KJV), that is, a marker pointing to something beyond itself. The seven signs of the Gospel of John begin here.
• John 2:19 "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" — understood as pointing ahead to Jesus' death and resurrection.

People and Places

• The mother of Jesus — the Gospel of John never gives her name, but it refers to Mary.
• The governor of the feast — the person responsible for running the feast and overseeing the food and drink.
• Cana — a village in Galilee and the setting of the wedding at Cana.
• Capernaum, the Temple in Jerusalem
• The "forty and six years" in verse 20 is generally understood to refer to the period of the temple expansion begun by Herod.

Interpretive Questions

• Timing of the cleansing of the temple: The Synoptic Gospels place this event in the final week of Jesus' ministry (Mark 11 and parallels). Some interpreters hold that the temple was cleansed twice, while others hold that John placed the event early for thematic reasons.
• The wine: Churches that emphasize temperance or abstinence sometimes regard it as unfermented grape juice, while many interpreters understand it as actual wine (see alcohol and tobacco).
• The role of Jesus' mother: The Catholic Church reads the passage as illustrating Mary's intercession, while Protestants mainly read verse 5 as a model of obedience. It is commonly explained that "Woman" was not a disrespectful form of address at the time.
• The "brethren" in verse 12: Protestants generally regard them as sons of Joseph and Mary, while Catholic and Orthodox traditions interpret them as relatives.
• The text does not name the bridegroom or the bride.

In the Korean Church

The account of the wedding at Cana is frequently used as a sermon text for wedding services, and it is also taught in Sunday school as a representative miracle story.