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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadCambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - John 2:11 - 2:11
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11. ταύτην ἐπ. ἀρχ. τ. σ. This as a beginning of His signs did Jesus: it is the first miracle of all, not merely the first in Cana. This is quite conclusive against the miracles of Christ’s childhood recorded in the Apocryphal Gospels and is evidence of the truthfulness of the writer. If he were inventing, would he not also place miracles throughout the whole of Christ’s life? See on Joh 2:23, Joh 4:48; σημεῖον should throughout the Gospel be rendered ‘sign’ not ‘miracle.’ Δυνάμεις, so frequent in the Synoptists for ‘miracles,’ is never used by S. John; τέρατα only once (Joh 4:48), and then in conjunction with σημεῖα, a word which he uses 17 times. Christ’s miracles were ‘signs’ of His Divine mission: comp. Exo 4:8. They were evidence of a perfect humanity working in unison with a perfect Divinity. They were also symbolical of spiritual truths: see on Joh 9:39.
ἐν Κανᾷ τ. Γαλ. Thus S. John agrees with the Synoptists in representing the Messianic career as beginning in Galilee.
ἐφανέρωσεν. Another of S. John’s favourite words (see on Joh 1:31): the rendering should be kept uniform, especially here, Joh 7:4, Joh 17:6, Joh 21:1, where the active is used. In the other Gospels the word occurs only Mar 4:22 [Joh 16:12; Joh 16:14], always in the passive.
τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ. This is the final cause of Christ’s ‘signs,’ His own and His Father’s glory (Joh 11:4), and these two are one. Herein lies the difference between His miracles and those wrought by Prophets and others: they never manifested their own glory, but that of Jehovah (Exo 16:7).
ἐπιστ. εἰς αὐ. οἱ μαθ. αὐ. What a strange remark for a writer in the second century to make! His disciples believed on Him? Of course they did. Assume that a disciple himself is the writer, and all is explained: he well remembers how his own imperfect faith was confirmed by the miracle. A forger would rather have given us the effect on the guests. Three times in this chapter does S. John give us the disciples’ point of view, here, Joh 2:17 and Joh 2:22; very natural in a disciple, not natural in a later writer. See on Joh 11:15, Joh 21:12.
This verse gives us four facts respecting the sign; 1. it was the first; 2. it took place in Galilee; 3. its end was Christ’s glory; 4. its immediate result was the confirmation of the disciples’ faith.
Two objections have been made to this miracle (1) on rationalistic, (2) on ‘Temperance’ grounds. (1) It is said that it is a wasteful miracle, a parade of power, unworthy of a Divine Agent: a tenth of the quantity of wine would have been ample. But the surplus was not wasted any more than the twelve baskets of fragments (Joh 6:13); it would be a royal present to the bridal pair. (2) It is urged that Christ would not have supplied the means for gross excess; and to avoid this supposed difficulty it is suggested that the wine made was not intoxicating, i.e. was not wine at all. But in all His dealings with men God allows the possibility of a temptation to excess. All His gifts may be thus abused. The 5000 might have been gluttonous over the loaves and fishes.
Christ’s honouring a marriage-feast with His first miracle gives His sanction (1) to marriage, (2) to times of festivity. And here we see the contrast between O. and N.T. The miracles of O.T. are mostly miracles of judgment. Those of N.T. are nearly all miracles of blessing. Moses turns water into blood: Jesus turns water into wine.
Four hundred years had elapsed since the Jews had seen a miracle. The era of Daniel was the last age of Jewish miracles. Since the three children walked in the burning fiery furnace, and Daniel had remained unhurt in the lions’ den, and had read the handwriting on the wall, no miracle is recorded in the history of the Jews until Jesus made this beginning of His ‘signs’ at Cana of Galilee. No wonder that the almost simultaneous appearance of a Prophet like John and a Worker of miracles like Jesus attracted the attention of all classes.
On the symbolical meaning of this first sign see Introduction, chap. v. § 3.