John 2:1-12

The Marriage at Cana. On the third day the promise to Nathanael of greater things to follow is fulfilled. Modern exploration has suggested three sites for Cana, all of them near Nazareth, and to the N. or NE. of that place (p. 29). In Mark 6:3 only the sisters are mentioned by the people of Nazareth as being with us. Zahn suggests that they had married and settled there, the family having moved to Cana. We mayat least notice the independence of the Synoptic narrative which the mention of the place shows. The mother of Jesus calls His attention to the failure of wine at a wedding feast to which He and His disciples had been invited. Jesus answers, in terms in which there is no trace of rebuke or disrespect [82] (cf. John 19:26), that the time has not come for Him to interfere. He has not yet received the Father's intimation, for which He always waits. His mother, clearly a friend of the house, bids the servants do His bidding. Six large stone jars were standing, to be used in purification. Between them they would hold more than 100 gallons. These He bids the servants fill and draw from them, or (if with Westcott we press the usual meaning of the Gr. word used) from the well, and give to the ruler of the feast, i.e. to the chief servant (cf. mg.) who is in charge of the supply of food and drink. He expresses his surprise in homely language, which suggests popular tradition rather than the didactic aims of the evangelist. [The sign summarises the Galilean ministry with its brightness and cheerfulness; cf. Mark 2:19. A. J. G.] After this the family and the disciples make a short visit to Capernaum. [Possibly John 3:22 originally stood between John 2:12 and John 2:13. A. J. G.]

[82] [ Cf. Nestle In ET, ix. 562, and Burkitt In JThS, xiii. 594. A. J. G.]