John 2
The Voice
2 Three days later, they all went to celebrate a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was invited 2 together with Him and His disciples. 3 While they were celebrating, the wine ran out; and Jesus’ mother hurried over to her son.
Mary: The host stands on the brink of embarrassment; there are many guests, and there is no more wine.
Jesus: 4 Dear woman, is it our problem they miscalculated when buying wine and inviting guests? My time has not arrived.
5 But she turned to the servants.
Mary: Do whatever my son tells you.
6 In that area were six massive stone water pots that could each hold 20 to 30 gallons.[a] They were typically used for Jewish purification rites. 7 Jesus’ instructions were clear:
Jesus: Fill each water pot with water until it’s ready to spill over the top; 8 then fill a cup, and deliver it to the headwaiter.
They did exactly as they were instructed. 9 After tasting the water that had become wine, the headwaiter couldn’t figure out where such wine came from (even though the servants knew), and he called over the bridegroom in amazement.
Headwaiter: 10 This wine is delectable. Why would you save the most exquisite fruit of the vine? A host would generally serve the good wine first and, when his inebriated guests don’t notice or care, he would serve the inferior wine. You have held back the best for last.
11 Jesus performed this miracle, the first of His signs, in Cana of Galilee. They did not know how this happened; but when the disciples and the servants witnessed this miracle, their faith blossomed.
With a wedding as the setting of Jesus’ first sign, John shows how Jesus’ ministry isn’t limited to just “spiritual” things, but is His blessing for all of life.
12 Jesus then gathered His clan—His family members and disciples—for a journey to Capernaum where they lingered several days. 13 The time was near to celebrate the Passover, the festival commemorating when God rescued His children from slavery in Egypt, so Jesus went to Jerusalem for the celebration. 14 Upon arriving, He entered the temple to worship. But the porches and colonnades were filled with merchants selling sacrificial animals (such as doves, oxen, and sheep) and exchanging money. 15 Jesus fashioned a whip of cords and used it with skill driving out animals; He scattered the money and overturned the tables, emptying profiteers from the house of God. 16 There were dove merchants still standing around, and Jesus reprimanded them.
Jesus: What are you still doing here? Get all your stuff, and haul it out of here! Stop making My Father’s house a place for your own profit!
17 The disciples were astounded, but they remembered that the Hebrew Scriptures said, “Jealous devotion for God’s house consumes me.”[b] 18 Some of the Jews cried out to Him in unison.
Jews: Who gave You the right to shut us down? If it is God, then show us a sign.
Jesus: 19 You want a sign? Here it is. Destroy this temple, and I will rebuild it in 3 days.
Jews: 20 Three days? This temple took more than 46 years to complete. You think You can replicate that feat in 3 days?
21 The true temple was His body. 22 His disciples remembered this bold prediction after He was resurrected. Because of this knowledge, their faith in the Hebrew Scriptures and in Jesus’ teachings grew.
23 During the Passover feast in Jerusalem, the crowds were watching Jesus closely; and many began to believe in Him because of the signs He was doing. 24-25 But Jesus saw through to the heart of humankind, and He chose not to give them what they requested. He didn’t need anyone to prove to Him the character of humanity. He knew what man was made of.
Footnotes
- 2:6 Literally, two to three measures
- 2:17 Psalm 69:9
John 2
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The First Sign: Turning Water into Wine
2 On the third day a wedding took place in Cana(A) of Galilee.(B) Jesus’ mother(C) was there, and 2 Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding as well. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother told Him, “They don’t have any wine.”
4 “What has this concern of yours to do with Me,[a](D) woman?”(E) Jesus asked. “My hour[b] has not yet come.”
5 “Do whatever He tells you,” His mother told the servants.
6 Now six stone water jars had been set there for Jewish purification.(F) Each contained 20 or 30 gallons.[c]
7 “Fill the jars with water,” Jesus told them. So they filled them to the brim. 8 Then He said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the chief servant.”[d] And they did.
9 When the chief servant tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom 10 and told him, “Everyone sets out the fine wine first, then, after people have drunk freely, the inferior. But you have kept the fine wine until now.”
11 Jesus performed this first sign[e] in Cana(G) of Galilee.(H) He displayed(I) His glory,(J) and His disciples believed in Him.
12 After this, He went down to Capernaum,(K) together with His mother, His brothers,(L) and His disciples, and they stayed there only a few days.
Cleansing the Temple Complex
13 The Jewish Passover(M) was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.(N) 14 In the temple complex(O) He found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and He also found the money changers sitting there. 15 After making a whip out of cords,(P) He drove everyone out of the temple complex with their sheep(Q) and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables. 16 He told those who were selling doves, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning My Father’s(R) house(S) into a marketplace!”[f](T)
17 And His disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal(U) for Your house will consume(V) Me.(W)[g]
18 So the Jews replied to Him, “What sign of authority will You show us for doing these things?”
19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this sanctuary,(X) and I will raise it up in three days.”(Y)
20 Therefore the Jews said, “This sanctuary took 46 years to build, and will You raise it up in three days?”(Z)
21 But He was speaking about the sanctuary of His body.(AA) 22 So when He was raised from the dead,(AB) His disciples remembered that He had said this.(AC) And they believed the Scripture(AD) and the statement Jesus had made.
23 While He was in Jerusalem(AE) at the Passover Festival,(AF) many trusted in His name(AG) when they saw the signs He was doing. 24 Jesus, however, would not entrust Himself to them, since He knew them all 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify about man; for He Himself knew what was in man.(AH)
Footnotes
- John 2:4 Or You and I see things differently; lit What to Me and to you; Mt 8:29; Mk 1:24; 5:7; Lk 8:28
- John 2:4 The time of His sacrificial death and exaltation; Jn 7:30; 8:20; 12:23,27; 13:1; 17:1
- John 2:6 Lit 2 or 3 measures
- John 2:8 Lit ruler of the table; perhaps master of the feast, or headwaiter
- John 2:11 Lit this beginning of the signs; Jn 4:54; 20:30. Seven miraculous signs occur in John’s Gospel and are so noted in the headings.
- John 2:16 Lit a house of business
- John 2:17 Ps 69:9
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