The Strand Study Bible

JOHN JOHN 1:51 Because Christ was both the SON OF GOD and the SON OF MAN , it makes sense that Christ is the only LADDER ( ascending and descending ) between God and men (Gen 28:12 and I Tim 2:5). 2:1 a It is to be carefully noted that chapter two opens with the word “ And ,” which indicates that its contents are closely connected with chapter one. One of the great emphases of chapter one is the failure of Judaism . John 1:11 says, “ He came unto his own, and his own received him not .” So blind were the religious leaders of Israel, that they neither knew the Christ of God who stood in their very midst (Jn 1:26), nor recognized His forerunner to whom the Old Testament bore explicit witness (Jn 1:19, Isa 40:3 and Mal 3:1). Simply put, the Judaistic religion had failed the people of Israel miserably. Like every other religion birthed in the minds of men ( Deut 34:6 ), Judaism was empty; it was but a dead husk, the heart and life of it were gone. Only one thing remained. Judaism must be set aside for the “only hope” for mankind –the “Blessed Hope” Himself, JESUS CHRIST (Titus 2:13). 2:1 b Three days after the events mentioned in chapter one, Jesus came to Cana , the home of Nathanael (Jn 21:2), and attended a marriage feast where He would perform His very first miracle. 2:3 Appearing to exert her parental authority, and knowing her Son’s ability due to His deity, Mary suggested to Jesus what He ought to do ( They have no wine ). His response to her in verse four showed that His season of subjection to both her and Joseph was over, and that she must not presume to dictate to Him, as His public ministry had now commenced. 2:4 a “ Woman ” (“Lady”) was a designation commonly used for addressing females of all classes and relationships, and was sometimes employed with great reverence and affection. Thus, the expression was not meant to sound harsh or rough, but was meant to remind Mary of His divine relationship to her. Christ would teach us here that Mary was only a woman –“Blessed among women (Lk 1:28), but not “blessed above women (Lk 8:19-21).” With prophetic foresight Christ anticipated the monstrous system of Mariolatry, and thus refused to use a term which would ascribe Divine honors to a mere mortal woman. 2:4 b “ Woman , what have I to do with thee ? ” is an idiom. It was an accepted expression having a meaning different from the literal. G. Campbell Morgan in The Gospel According to John notes: It was as if He had said; Mother Mine, I know what you want, but you do not understand; there are limitations to your understanding of Me. 2 As humans, we are often prone to dictate to God what He ought to do or not do in our lives. This is a woeful lack of spiritual discernment on our part. 2:4 c “ Mine hour is not yet come ” became the most solemn catchphrase of Jesus’ life, marking the stages by which He drew nigh to His death. There are seven references in John’s gospel to that awful “ hour ” of suffering and humiliation: Jn 2:4 & 7:30 & 8:20 & 12:23,27 & 16:32 & 17:1. 2:5 “ Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it ” was a nice recovery by Mary. She meekly accepted the Lord’s rebuke, recognized His right to act as He pleased, and left the matter entirely in His hands. 2:6 Recognizing an opportunity to share eternal principles with the Jews who attended the wedding, Christ set up His first miracle using the items before Him – six (empty) waterpots of stone . Jesus noticed six ( six being the number of man) waterpots, made not of silver, made not of gold, but made of stone ( stone symbolizing “earthen” Israel). He also noticed that all six pots that were used for Jewish purification purposes were empty ( the empty pots symbolizing Israel’s condition under Judaism ). Was it no wonder the wine ( wine being a picture of joy – Judg 9:13 and Psa 104:15, which was to come through the blood of Christ – I Cor 11:25) had given out? Judaism ministered no comfort to the heart and had degenerated into a cold, mechanical routine, utterly destitute of the joy of God. While it is true that religion produces a “wine” of its own, which may be enjoyed for a season (Heb 11:25), its merriment is fleeting. On the other hand, the “wine” (joy) that comes from the Lord (Christ) can quench the thirst of the heart for all eternity (Jn 4:10-14). This is the lesson through the miracle that our Lord wished to convey. Now in order to secure the moment (vs. 7), Christ immediately commanded the servants to fill the empty waterpots with water ( water symbolizing the Spirit of God – Jn 7:38-39, and the written Word – Eph 5:26). To the servants Christ’s command might have seemed meaningless, if not foolish; but their obedience made them fellow-workers in this miracle, and the Lord is always pleased to employ human agents in bringing joy to the hearts of men. The thing that is going to make God’s Marriage Supper superior to all other marriage suppers are servants who are willing to take the water of salvation, which is miraculously provided for by Christ, and pour it out to all who are invited. The Word of God via the Spirit of God ( water ) leads to the joy of God ( wine ). Word-filled (Colo 3:16-20) and Spirit-filled (Eph 5:18-22) men and women ( Zech 4:2 b ), willing to obey the Great Commission (Mt 28:18-20) and proclaim the blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sin, will bring the wine of Divine joy to many a sad heart. 2:10 This word ( good ) is the Greek word NDOοQ ( kalon ), which comes from the Greek word NDOο9 ( kalos ). According to Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words , kalos denotes “ that which is intrinsically (belonging to the real nature of a thing; inherent in itself ) good and ethically right 3 , and speaks of that which is “ unspoiled, untainted, and unfermented ” (the pure blood of the grape). Seeing that the exact same word is used to describe Christ in John 10:11,14, it’s quite obvious that Christ turned the water into the purest ( NDOο9 ) form of grape juice ( Eph 5:18 a and Prov 23:31 & 20:1 ). Why would Christ, who authored Proverbs 23:29-35 (Mt 24:35), warn us to stay away from alcoholic beverages and then change the water into anything but that which is “ ethically right and intrinsically good ?” He made nothing rotten. Outside of medicinal purposes mentioned in Proverbs 31:6 , nothing good ever comes from drinking alcohol. Nothing (Gen 9:20-24 and Acts 2:15 ). 1715

1 Anderson, M. The Trinity, Caney, KS, Pioneer Book Co., 1994. Print. 2 Morgan, G. Campbell. The Gospel According to John , Tarrytown, New York: Fleming H. Revell Co. 1929. Print. 3 Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words . Vol . II. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co. 1940.Print.