John 2:11 confirms that the event of the wedding at Cana is where Jesus performed His first miracle.  Some make reference to this as an argument for social drinking, but it would be safe to say that the Lord would not be providing a means for people to become drunk with wine.  For Jesus to have done so would have been a sin (Habakkuk 2:15); and the point of this scripture is found in examining the miracle (or sign, as John refers to it) itself.  There were six stone jars, each holding 20-30 gallons.  Note that verse 7 says that He had the servants fill the jars to the brim with water – nothing could have been poured into them afterward, and Jesus never touched them.  Running out of wine at a wedding feast would be particularly awkward.

Addressing His mother as “Woman” in verse 4 would seem disrespectful to people today, but such was not the case in the language of the day.  It was a term of respectful distance.  Note that the anger is righteous anger, as Jesus drives out the merchants and money changers.  The temple area spoken of here would be the surrounding area of the temple itself that would be used for worship as well by worshiping Gentiles.  So these traders would be disrupting that worship.  In verse 18, the Jews present questioned Jesus as to what His authority for doing this was.  He answered “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”  Of course, they did not understand that He was talking about His own body – not the temple He had just cleansed.  But verse 22 confirms that His disciples would remember after the crucifixion.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.