And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus *said to her, “Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother *said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing two or three measures each. 7 Jesus *said to them, “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He *said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him. 9 Now when the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the bridegroom, 10 and *said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then the inferior wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 Jesus did this in Cana of Galilee as the beginning of His signs, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days. John 2: 1-12 LSB
John 2: 1-12
And on the third day there was a wedding - So, the Apostle John has started off with some huge claims as to Who Jesus is, He is the Word, the Word Become flesh, the Word was with God and the Word was God. John the Baptist has also testified to Jesus being the Messiah, the Lamb of God. He has shown His omniscience to the first of His disciples, and now He is at a wedding, and this is perfect, because the Apostle has also let us know, in clarifying Who Jesus is, that He, the Word is the Maker, everything that was made was made through Him and for Him, so He preexist all that is made. Marriage is an institute created by God, that holy union, covenant, where a man and a woman come together to become one. So the earth belongs to God and marriage belongs to God, besides your covenant with God, being born again, there is no more sacred covenant than this. It is the foundation of all societies, that blessed union that brings forth life and with that life the responsibility to teach and care for it. This is how humanity not only populates the planet, but this bond, the understanding of it or lack there of, leads to the success or downward decay of all civilizations. God has called Israel His wife and the church He has called the bride of Christ. We have a generally corrupted view of marriage as a result of our fallen natures, but it belongs to God and it is both precious and vital. This is the scene of Jesus' first physical miracle.
…27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.” Genesis 1: 27-28
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.
20 The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found aa helper suitable for him.
21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.
22 The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Genesis 2: 18-25
10A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies. 11The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he lacks nothing of value. 12She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life.… Proverbs 31: 10-12
1Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. 3They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.… 1 Timothy 4: 1-3
…3Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them. 4 Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. 5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”… Hebrews 13: 3-5
V. 3 And when the wine ran out - This would be embarrassing for the bride and groom along with their parents. Wine was a staple then, some writers even say that water was seldom drank without wine in some areas because the climate was so warm.
And the mother of Jesus was there - John never mentions Mary by name, even as he tends to leave himself anonymous (cf " the disciple whom He loved" = Jn 19:26,27). Neither is Joseph mentioned so many think he had passed on by now. While this is likely, it is notable that there is also no mention of Jesus' brothers and sisters although we know they are alive (Mt 12:46-47+). "It is probable that Mary was not an invited guest but rather an assistant at the wedding. This might explain how it was that she knew about the wine giving out." (Hendriksen)
Utley- Apparently Mary was helping with the arrangements for the wedding. This can be seen in (1) her ordering the servants (cf. v. 5) and (2) her concern over the refreshments (cf. v. 3). These probably were relatives or family friends.
…14He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth: 15wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart. 16The trees of the LORD have their fill, the cedars of Lebanon that He planted,… Psalm 104:15
V. 4 Woman what do I have to do with you - It is the same for her as it is for those genetically related to Abraham, they still need Christ to die for them. There is no advantage in physical birth other than proximity to the message, but it can only be received spiritually, so one must be born again.
And Jesus said to her, "Woman - This is not disrespect by Jesus but is akin to our modern word "Lady." (cf Jn 19:26 as Jesus spoke from the Cross) He does not call her “mother.” Jesus wanted to emphasize that there was a different relationship with her now. ESV Study note says it was "an expression of polite distance."
MacArthur explains that "that what they had in common in their relationship was no longer to be what it had been while He was growing up in Nazareth. His public ministry had begun, and earthly relationships would not determine His actions. Mary was to relate to Him no longer as her son, but as her Messiah, the Son of God, and her Savior (cf. Matt. 12:47–50; Mark 3:31–35; Luke 11:27–28)." (MNTC-Jn)
Morris adds the comment "That Jesus calls Mary 'Woman' and not 'Mother' probably indicates that there is a new relationship between them as he enters his public ministry."
NET Note - The term Woman is Jesus' normal, polite way of addressing women (Matt 15:28, Luke 13:12; John 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:15). But it is unusual for a son to address his mother with this term. The custom in both Hebrew (or Aramaic) and Greek would be for a son to use a qualifying adjective or title. Is there significance in Jesus' use here? It probably indicates that a new relationship existed between Jesus and his mother once he had embarked on his public ministry. He was no longer or primarily only her son, but the "Son of Man." This is also suggested by the use of the same term in 19:26 in the scene at the cross, where the beloved disciple is "given" to Mary as her "new" son.
What does that have to do with us? - More literally it was a Hebraic idiom that read “What to me and to you?” and means in essence “What do we have in common?" ( (cf. Jdg. 11:12; 2 Sa 16:10; 19:22; 1 Ki 17:18; 2 Ki 3:13; 2 Chr. 35:21; Mt. 8:29; Mk 1:24; 5:7; Lk 4:34; 8:28;). This) Jesus' point is that Mary was no longer to think of Him as her son, for now He was consumed with the consummation of His commission and mission, to die for the sins of the world that He might be the Redeemer of all who believe in Him. It is interesting that the demons spoke similar words when confronted by Christ ("What business do we have with each other, in Mk 1:24+, Mk 5:7+)
COMMENT - It is notable that the expression what does that have to do with us is repeatedly spoken by the demons when Jesus approached. "Our Lord has nothing in common with Satan at all. Christ had nothing in common with Mary because He was the God-man and she was a sinner just like everyone else. Christ was saying, "What authority do you have over me?" There was only one voice that had authority for His ears and that was the voice of God the Father. Jesus could not consent to her authority. He could only consent to His Heavenly Father's authority." (Mattoon) - Precept Austin
My hour has not yet come - He will fulfill this present need of the wine, and by it He will most importantly provide evidence to John's claims that Jesus is God with a capital G. His hour though refers to His death, that is the goal, the cross, salvation for those who believe.
…29but I know Him, because I am from Him and He sent Me.” 30So they tried to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. 31Many in the crowd, however, believed in Him and said, “When the Christ comes, will He perform more signs than this man?”… John 7: 29-31
V. 5 His mother said to the servants Whatever he says to you, do it - She has a lot of faith in His ability, and as Macarthur and others point out she has watched Him all these years, has seen the wisdom that can be found in no other. She does not tell Jesus what to do, but rather the servants, so she seems to be there in some managerial capacity and or as a friend or relative with good managing skills, unless she was the one who decided on the quantity of wine. Realistically it could have been an issue with money and resources as well, but a wedding was a huge thing in these communities, a very common and exciting celebration.
A T Robertson - Mary took comfort in the “not yet” (οὐπω [oupō]) and recognized the right of Jesus as Messiah to independence of her, but evidently expected him to carry out her suggestion ultimately as he did. This mother knew her Son.
D A Carson says that "in Jn 2:3 Mary approaches Jesus as his mother, and is reproached; in Jn 2:5, she responds as a believer, and her faith is honoured. She still does not know what he would do; but she has committed the matter to him, and trusts him. These two verses (Jn 2:4–5), as difficult as they are, help to shape this account of Jesus’ first miracle, and ensure that the focus is on Jesus’ glory (Jn 2:11), not Mary’s, and on the disciples’ faith (Jn 2:11), including Mary’s (Jn 2:5)." (Ibid) - Precept Austin
V. 6 Set there for the Jewish custom of purification - These would be large jars then or pots, holding about 30 gallons of water each.
V. 7 Fill the water jars with water - So they filled them to the brim. His mom pointed them to Him and they are obeying Him. This is a problem outside her scope, she can only pray to the Savior, point to the Savior, it's well within His ability.
V. 9 The head waiter tasted the water which had become wine - Jesus is the One by which all things are made, this is John's evidence that He is God, the Creator of the Water, the One Who spoke it into being, the Living Word. He has charge of things at an elemental level, every atom obeys Him, even like the servants who are filling the pots and taking a sample to the head waiter, so the water obeys Him.
V. 10 You have kept the good wine until now - It's not just wine, not watered down wine, or wine flavored water, no, only water went into the jars, but Jesus has made it into the fermented juice of the vine, in an instant. Just as He spoke the universe and our world into existence, as He so stretched the heavens as to create light years of distance, all in that same day, in moments, so that we see that light which some think millions of years old, yet it was all stretched out in a day, those great beams that must also obey Him. Who can command such things?
V. 11 And His disciples believed in Him - This increased their faith.
30Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. John 20: 30-31
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