[2. MANIFESTATION OF JESUS. VARYING DEGREES OF ACCEPTANCE (John 1:19 to John 4:54). (1) THE WITNESS OF THE BAPTIST (John 1:12): (_a_) _To the messengers of the Sanhedrin_ (John 2:19); (_b_) _At the appearance of Jesus_ (John 1:29); (_c_) _To the two disciples_ (John 1:35).]... [ Continue Reading ]
II. (1) THE THIRD DAY — _i.e.,_ from the last note of time in John 1:43, giving one clear day between the call of Philip and the day of the marriage. CANA OF GALILEE has been identified with both _Kânet el-Jelîl,_ or _Khurbet Kânet,_ and _Kefr Kenna._ The monks of Nazareth and local tradition claim... [ Continue Reading ]
WAS CALLED, or invited, after His arrival in Cana; but we may still think of Him, in whom purpose and result were one, as coming to Cana for the marriage. Nathanael would have known of it, and was perhaps also connected with one of the families. It is quite in accord with Eastern hospitality that th... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THEY WANTED WINE. — Better, _the wine having failed._ THEY HAVE NO WINE. — The question “What was the import of this remark?” has been often asked, and very variously answered. And yet the answer does not seem far to seek. The next verses fix its meaning as the expectation of an outcome of supe... [ Continue Reading ]
WOMAN, WHAT HAVE I TO DO WITH THEE? — This is an old battle-ground between Protestant and Romanist expositors. The former have found in each clause of the sentence a condemnation of Mariolatry; the latter have sought explanations not inconsistent with their faith and practice. It may be hoped that t... [ Continue Reading ]
WHATSOEVER HE SAITH UNTO YOU. — His answer has not repelled her. She still believes and expects. Her command to the servants confirms the opinion that the marriage is of some member of the family. This opinion has taken strange traditional forms; one being that here, too, the Evangelist casts a veil... [ Continue Reading ]
WATERPOTS, or _pitchers,_ like to but larger than the vessels used for carrying water, as in John 4:28. These were placed in the outer court, away from the guest-chamber, for the governor of the feast is ignorant of the circumstances (John 2:9). It is natural that an eyewitness should remember the n... [ Continue Reading ]
FILL THE WATERPOTS. — It is implied that the pitchers were wholly or in part empty, the water in them having been used for the ablutions before the feast. The persons ordered are the servants (John 2:5). “Up to the brim” marks the willing care with which the order was obeyed, and an expectation thro... [ Continue Reading ]
DRAW OUT NOW, AND BEAR UNTO THE GOVERNOR OF THE FEAST. — A vessel was let down into the pitcher, and was then carried to the ruler of the feast, who would distribute the wine in it to the guests. _Ruler_ rather than “governor.” The same English word should be used throughout the two verses. What exa... [ Continue Reading ]
WATER THAT WAS MADE WINE. — Better, _water that had become wine._ At what moment did the transformation take place? What water became wine? The text itself does not speak of “water now become wine” until the ruler of the feast tasted it, and immediately afterwards speaks of it as “water,” when the s... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN MEN HAVE WELL DRUNK. — The same Greek word is used in the LXX. in Genesis 43:34, and rendered in the Authorised version “were merry;” but its general use in the Old Testament, as in classical writers, and its invariable use in the New Testament (Matthew 24:49; Acts 2:15; 1 Corinthians 11:21; Ep... [ Continue Reading ]
This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, or, more exactly, _This did Jesus in Cana of Galilee as the beginning of His signs._ The form of the sentence makes it certain that it is the absolutely first and not the first in Cana which is meant. It is important to note here that St. John... [ Continue Reading ]
AFTER THIS HE WENT DOWN TO CAPERNAUM. — For the position of Capernaum comp. Note on Matthew 4:13. It was on the shore of the lake of Tiberias, and He must have gone “down” to it from any locality among the hills of Galilee. The words do not imply that they went to Capernaum direct from Cana. The “af... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE JEWS’ PASSOVER WAS AT HAND. — Here, again, we are on common ground with the earlier Gospels. They place a cleansing of the Temple at the close of our Lord’s ministry at the only Passover which comes within the scope of their narrative. The subject has been dealt with in Notes on Matthew 21:1... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE SHEEP, AND THE OXEN. — For this read, _both the sheep and the oxen._ The change is of only one word, but it gives an entirely different sense. The driving out with the scourge was not of “all (men) and sheep and oxen,” but of “all,” _i.e.,_ both sheep and oxen.... [ Continue Reading ]
MY FATHER’S HOUSE. — Some among those present now (John 2:18) may have been present in that same house when He, a lad of twelve years, was there at the Passover, and after questions and answers, higher and deeper than these doctors could grasp, claimed God as His true Father (Luke 2:49). What that r... [ Continue Reading ]
WAS WRITTEN... HATH EATEN ME UP. — More literally, _is written._.. _shall eat me up._ The verse is full of interest in many ways. It gives us the thought of the disciples at the time (comp. John 2:22) which could be known only to one of their number. It shows us what we too seldom realise in reading... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN ANSWERED THE JEWS. — Comp. for the meaning of “the Jews” John 1:19; and for their question, Matthew 21:23. The Mosaic legislation contained a warning against the efficiency of the test by signs (Deuteronomy 13:1), but it was of the essence of Pharisaism to cling to it (Matthew 12:38; 1 Corinthi... [ Continue Reading ]
Here, as in Matthew 12:38, a sign is given referring to His resurrection. The sign is in its nature an enigma, meaningless to him who does not seek to understand it, but full of meaning for him who earnestly examines into the thing signified, and in such a form as impresses itself on the memory and... [ Continue Reading ]
They profess to seek a sign for evidence; they use it for cavil. FORTY AND SIX YEARS WAS THIS TEMPLE IN BUILDING. — It is implied that it was not then finished. The date of the completion is given by Josephus (_Ant._ xx. 9, § 7) as A.D. 64. The same author gives the eighteenth year of the reign of H... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT HE SPAKE. — Literally, _was speaking._ This is the solution of the enigma as the disciples read it in the after history. It is remarkable that we have the interpretation of the spiritual temple in Mark 14:58 (see Note there, and comp. John 4:21; John 4:23).... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT HE HAD SAID THIS UNTO THEM. — The better texts omit “unto them.” For the way in which the saying, hard to be understood, fixed itself in men’s minds, comp. Matthew 26:61; Matthew 27:40; Mark 14:58; Mark 15:29; Acts 6:13. It becomes in the mouth of false witnesses the accusation by means of whic... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE FEAST DAY. — Omit the word “day” after feast. The italics show that there is no word to express it in the Greek, and it gives the impression of one day, whereas the feast extended over a week. The idea of time, moreover, is not expressed by “in the feast.” The sentence means, _When He was in... [ Continue Reading ]
But beneath this shallow surface there is the unbroken ledge of rock. They are easily moved just because they are not deeply moved. The eye which looked at, looked into, others (comp. John 1:47 _et seq._)_,_ saw to the very depth of their hearts too, and knew all. It saw in that depth that the true... [ Continue Reading ]
AND NEEDED NOT. — Better, _and because He needed not._ FOR HE KNEW. — Better, _for He of Himself knew._ The verse is a wider statement of the general truth of which John 2:24 is a particular instance. He did not in that instance need any testimony of spiritual state and character, because He then,... [ Continue Reading ]