JOHN CHAPTER TWO

OBSERVATION STAGE

The purpose of the observation stage is to maintain focus on the text at hand in accordance with the framework in which it was written: a framework which is defined by the normative rules of language, context and logic. Rules which do not impose undue, unintended meanings to the text , and which largely limit the observer to the content offered by the Gospel of John. In order for any passage from elsewhere to be considered, it must have a relationship with the context at hand, such as a Scriptural quotation or a specific cross reference in the passage at hand by the author. This will serve to avoid going on unnecessary tangents elsewhere; and more importantly, it will provide the framework for a proper and objective comparison with passages located elsewhere in Scripture.

Remember that something elsewhere may be true, but in the text at hand it may not be in view.

I) [Jn 2:1-12]:

(Jn 2:1 YLT) "And the third day a marriage happened [lit., took place] in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there,

(Jn 2:2 YLT) and also Jesus was called, [lit., invited] and His disciples, to the marriage;

(Jn 2:3 YLT) and wine having failed, [lit., lacking, i.e., having run out] the mother of Jesus saith unto him, 'Wine they have not;'

(Jn 2:4 NAS) And Jesus said to her, 'Woman, what does that have to do with us? [lit., 'What to Me and to you?] My hour has not yet come.'

(Jn 2:5 NAS) His mother said to the servants, 'Whatever He says to you, do [it].'

(Jn 2:6 KJV) And there were set [lit., standing] there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins [twenty or thirty gallons] apiece.

(Jn 2:7 NKJV) Jesus said to them, 'Fill the waterpots with water.' And they filled them up to the brim.

(Jn 2:8 NKJV) And He said to them, 'Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.' And they took it [lit., carried (it)]

(Jn 2:9 NKJV) When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made [lit., had become] wine, and did not know [from] where it came from [lit., is] (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.

(Jn 2:10 NKJV) And he said to him, 'Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, [lit., they may have gotten drunk] then [he serves] the inferior [wine]. You have kept the good wine until now!'

(Jn 2:11 NKJV) This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

(Jn 2:12 YLT) after this he went down to Capernaum, He, and His mother, and His brethren, and his disciples; and there they remained not many days."

A) THE THIRD DAY, JESUS CHANGES WATER INTO FINE WINE AT A WEDDING IN CANA OF GALILEE - THE BEGINNING OF HIS MIRACULOUS SIGNS, MANIFESTING HIS GLORY. AND AS A RESULT HIS DISCIPLES BELIEVED IN HIM. AFTERWARDS JESUS, HIS MOTHER, BROTHERS AND DISCIPLES WENT DOWN TO CAPERNAUM FOR NOT MANY DAYS

(Jn 2:1 YLT) "And the third day a marriage happened [lit., took place] in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there, (Jn 2:2 YLT) and also Jesus was called, [lit., invited] and his disciples, to the marriage; (Jn 2:3 YLT) and wine having failed, [lit., lacking, i.e., having run out] the mother of Jesus saith unto him, 'Wine they have not;' (Jn 2:4 NAS) And Jesus said to her, 'Woman, what does that have to do with us? [lit., 'What to Me and to you?] My hour has not yet come.' (Jn 2:5 NAS) His mother said to the servants, 'Whatever He says to you, do [it].' (Jn 2:6 KJV) And there were set [lit., standing] there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins [twenty or thirty gallons] apiece. (Jn 2:7 NKJV) Jesus said to them, 'Fill the waterpots with water.' And they filled them up to the brim. (Jn 2:8 NKJV) And He said to them, 'Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.' And they took it [lit., carried (it)] (Jn 2:9 NKJV) When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made [lit., had become] wine, and did not know [from] where it came from [lit., is] (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. (Jn 2:10 NKJV) And he said to him, 'Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, [lit., they may have gotten drunk] then [he serves] the inferior [wine]. You have kept the good wine until now!' (Jn 2:11 NKJV) This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him." =

The third day after the Jews began to interrogate John the Baptist about his activities, (Jn 1:29, 35; 2:1), and after Jesus appeared to John, was announced by John as "the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, (Jn 1:29) and after He began to gather disciples, (Jn 1:39); there was a marriage that took place in Cana of Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and His disciples were invited and were there also, (Jn 2:1-2). When Jesus' mother remarked to Him that the wine had run out, (Jn 2:3); Jesus responded with, 'Woman, what does that have to do with us? [lit., 'What to Me and to you?'] My hour has not yet come," (Jn 2:4). This implies that Jesus understood that His mother was requesting that He make supernatural provision of wine for the wedding; on the other hand, He explained to her that the hour, i.e., the time for, Him to begin fulfilling His mission was not yet come. His mother then said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do [it]," (Jn 2:5). And there were standing there, evidently nearby, six water vessels which were used for the Jewish purification rites. Each vessel held 2 to 3 firkins or 20 to 30 gallons apiece, (Jn 2:6). Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the waterpots with water." And the servants filled them up to the brim, (Jn 2:7). And then He said to them to draw out some of the contents and take it to the master of the wedding feast. Which they did, (Jn 2:8). The next verse, (Jn 2:9), stipulates that the water had become wine: "When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made [lit., had become] wine, and did not know [from] where it came from [lit., is] (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, 'Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, [lit., they may have gotten drunk] then [he serves] the inferior [wine]. You have kept the good wine until now!" (Jn 2:9-10).

Note that this does not imply that the wine first served or later served at the particular wedding feast at Cana was alcoholic, nor that the guests got inebriated. The Greek verb "methusthOsin" which is aorist, subjunctive mood, (= "may"), merely presents the case that at past weddings, after the guests so freely consumed the wine first served that it made them drunk, then they were served inferior wine, implying that they did not notice the difference in the quality because their drunken senses were dulled. Furthermore, the word "oinon" = "wine" is not necessarily alcoholic wine as this term is used for non-alcoholic also. The Greek noun "oinon" is a generic term for beverage obtained from grapes. Objectors point to Jn 1:10 to support their conclusion that "oinon" must be alcoholic because they would say one ordinarily served the best wine first and as the guests become more inebriated they would 'break out' the lesser quality, cheaper wine when men's tastes have been dulled by much drinking. But consider that the master of the feast implied that he and the people at the wedding at Cana where our Lord performed His first miracle of turning water into wine were able to recognize that this wine served later was much better than was served at first. Therefore they could not have been inebriated since that would have dulled their senses and they would not have been able to distinguish the difference! So the wine served at the wedding at Cana, unlike at some weddings of the past, must have been non alcoholic.

In view of the content of Jn 2:11, which says, "This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him," one must conclude that our LORD would not have gotten glory had He made drunk people drunker by providing more alcoholic wine to drink. Notice that the guests of the wedding had already consumed all of the wine originally provided. Had the beverage been alcoholic wine, which is questionable due to the presence of the LORD there, then many of the guests would have been inebriated. So if the wine that our Lord created from water had been alcoholic then it would have made the already intoxicated guests even drunker. Such an undertaking would have brought disgrace to our Lord not glory!

Furthermore, the disciples would not have been given a good reason to believe on Jesus Christ if His miracle contributed to the sinful behavior of drunkeness, (Jn 1:41).

Other passages in Scripture provide further corroboration that Jesus neither drank nor created alcoholic wine, nor had fellowship with those that became drunk:

Incidentally, the glory of Jesus being the Son of God, the Christ - come from God, was manifested by His miraculously changing the water to wine - a fulfillment of prophecy in Scripture foretelling that He would indeed perform many such signs. This first miraculous sign prompted His disciples to believe in Him - tantamount to the reception of the authority of a child of God, born of God unto an eternal familial relationship with God. Note that Jn 2:12 distinguishes between Jesus' brothers, i.e., His family relations, and His disciples. Hence He indeed did have brothers, hence His mother Mary had other children.

[Expositor's, Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1981, p. 43]

"The effect of this miracle is noteworthy. It marked the beginning of a ministry accompanied by supernatural power; and it proved so convincing to the new disciples that they 'put their faith in Him.' The deed helped confirm the conclusion they had drawn from their previouis interviews with Him: Jesus must be the Messiah."

II) [Jn 2:13-22]:

(Jn 2:13 NAS) "The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

(Jn 2:14 YLT) and he found in the temple [those] selling oxen, and sheep, and doves, and the money-changers sitting,

(Jn 2:15 NAS) And He made [lit., having made] a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

(Jn 2:16 YLT) and to those selling the doves he said, 'Take these things hence [lit., from here]; make not the house of my Father a house of merchandise.'

(Jn 2:17 NAS) His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house will consume Me.

(Jn 2:18 NKJV) So the Jews answered and said to Him, 'What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?'

(Jn 2:19 NKJV) Jesus answered and said to them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.'

(Jn 2:20 NAS) The Jews then said, 'It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?'

(Jn 2:21 NAS) But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

(Jn 2:22 NAS) So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

A) NEAR THE TIME OF THE PASSOVER, JESUS CLEARED THE TEMPLE OF MERCHANTS, ANIMALS, BIRDS AND MONEY CHANGERS:

WITH A WHIP, OVER TURNING TABLES, DECLARING "MAKE NOT THE HOUSE OF MY FATHER A HOUSE OF MERCHANDISE;" FULFILLING SCRIPTURE: 'ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME" AS NOTED BY HIS DISCIPLES. THE JEWS DEMANDED A SIGN FROM JESUS TO PROVE HIS AUTHORITY TO DO THIS, WHEREUPON JESUS SAID, "DESTROY THIS TEMPLE, AND IN THREE DAYS, I WILL RAISE IT UP." THE JEWS RESPONDED INCREDUOUSLY, "IT TOOK FORTY-SIX YEARS TO BUILD THIS TEMPLE, AND YOU WILL RAISE IT UP IN THREE DAYS?" AUTHOR JOHN NOTES THAT JESUS WAS SPEAKING OF THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY, AND NOT THE JERUSALEM TEMPLE BUILT BY HEROD AS THE JEWS WERE THINKING OF. WHEN JESUS WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD, HIS DISCIPLES REMEMBERED AND BELIEVED THE SCRIPTURE AND THE WORD WHICH JESUS HAD SPOKEN

(Jn 2:13 NAS) "The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (Jn 2:14 YLT) and he found in the temple [those] selling oxen, and sheep, and doves, and the money-changers sitting, (Jn 2:15 NAS) And He made [lit., having made] a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. (Jn 2:16 YLT) and to those selling the doves he said, 'Take these things hence [lit., from here]; make not the house of my Father a house of merchandise.' (Jn 2:17 NAS) His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house will consume Me. (Jn 2:18 NKJV) So the Jews answered and said to Him, 'What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?' (Jn 2:19 NKJV) Jesus answered and said to them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' (Jn 2:20 NAS) The Jews then said, 'It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?' (Jn 2:21 NAS) But He was speaking of the temple of His body. (Jn 2:22 NAS) So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken." =

When it was near passover time, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found merchants selling oxen, sheep and doves and money changers in the Temple. So He made a scourge of cords and drove them all out of the temple, including the animals. He poured out the money changers' coins and overturned their tables, and told the dove merchants, 'Take these things out, make not the house of My father a house of merchandise.' Author John writes that His disciples were reminded by Jesus' cleansing of the Temple that it was written in Scripture, 'Zeal for Your House will consume Me.' Then those representing Jewish authority answered Jesus with a question, which the NKJV renders, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" (Jn 2:18). This implies that Jesus took upon Himself the authority to clear the Temple of the merchandizers, whereupon the Jews wanted to see His credentials via a miraculous sign that demonstrated this authority. This indicates that they were looking to see if He was their Messiah / Savior / Deliverer.

Jesus declared that the sign of His authority would be as follows: "[You (Jews) will] Destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, [referring to the Temple in Jerusalem built by Herod], and You will raise it up in three days?"

Note that this will not be the only time that Jesus will clear the Temple of merchants, (Mt 21:12-19, Mk 11:12-24, Luke 19:45-47, )

Jesus continues to focus His ministry for all who listened to Him on His being the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world; this time indicating His resurrection from the dead after His body would be destroyed by the very Jews who were interrogating Him.

Author John interjects here, relative to the resurrection of Jesus, "When [the disciples knew that] He was raised from the dead... [they] remembered He said this and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken."

III) [Jn 2:23-25]:

(Jn 2:23 NAS) "Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.

(Jn 2:24 YLT) and Jesus Himself was not trusting himself to them, because of His knowing all [men],

(Jn 2:25 NKJV) and had no need that anyone should testify [to Him] of man, for He knew what was in man."

A) WHILE JESUS WAS IN JERUSALEM DURING THE FEAST OF PASSOVER, MANY BELIEVED IN HIS NAME, HAVING OBSERVED HIS MIRACULOUS SIGNS. BUT JESUS WAS NOT TRUSTING HIMSELF TO THEM IN THE SENSE OF TRUSTING THEM WITH HIS LIFE AND MISSION BECAUSE HE KNEW WHAT WAS IN MAN - HIS SINFUL CHARACTER; AND HE, BEING THE SON OF GOD, HAD NO NEED THAT ANYONE SHOULD TESTIFY TO HIM OF MAN

(Jn 1:12 YLT) "But as many [individuals of His own creation, (Jn 1:11a)] as did receive Him to them He gave authority to become sons [lit., children] of God - to those believing in His name: (Jn 1:13 YLT) who - not of blood nor of a will of flesh, nor of a will of man but - of God were begotten [born]... (Jn 2:23 NAS) Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. (Jn 2:24 YLT) and Jesus himself was not trusting himself to them, because of his knowing all [men], (Jn 2:25 NKJV) and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man." =

While Jesus was in Jerusalem during the feast time of the Passover, Scripture says many believed in His name, observing His miraculous signs, (Jn 2:23). Evidently Jesus performed a number of miraculous signs after the first one at the wedding in Cana. The statement that many believed in His name has the same result as Jn 1:12-13 indicates, which stipulates that those that "believed in His name" received the authority to become children of God, born of God unto an eternal life familial relationship with God. . The fact that the many who believed in His name of Jn 2:23 had been observing miraculous signs Jesus performed which got their attention and hence they believed, does not change the outcome that they became born again children of God in an eternal life familial relationship with God, as some maintain. Since Jn 1:12-13 stipulates that a moment of faith in the name of Jesus Christ results in becoming a born again, eternal life child of God; then the moment of faith in Jesus that many exercised in Jn 2:23 must result in eternal life.

Furthermore, Jesus' response to the many who had believed in His name, of "not trusting Himself to them, because of His knowing all [men]," does not connote the idea that the many who believed in His name while observing miracles did not receive eternal life because Jesus did not trust that their faith in Him was real or effectual as some maintain. Since Jn 2:23 stipulates that they did believe in His name without equivocation, i.e., that the faith they expressed was real, then they received eternal life, (cf. Jn 1:12-13)!!! The part of the passage which objectors twist out of context: "and Jesus Himself was not trusting Himself to them, because of His knowing all [men], and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man, (Jn 2:24-25)" does not stipulate that Jesus was not trusting that their moment of faith in Him was real. The Greek verb "episteuen" is in the imperfect tense and is best rendered, "was not trusting" as it is rendered in the YLT, as opposed to "did not commit" or "did not trust;" indicating an ongoing lack of trust in the character of mankind. There is no question implied that they exercised a moment of faith in Him to provide eternal life. This is corroborated by Jn 2:25: "and [He] had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man." This verse testifies to Jesus having a supernatural knowledge of the character of men; Who being the Son of God, did not need anyone to testify to Him of man's sinful, hence untrustworthy nature. This implies that these men have an innate capacity to sin, hence are untrustworthy relative to Jesus entrusting them with His Person and mission - even as believers, especially new, untested believers. If He were to trust anyone it would be and of course was the Father.

MOVE TO JN CHAPTER 3