Page 24 - The Gospel of John - Student textbook

The Situation
2:3 – 5
4
3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother told Him, “They don’t have any wine.” “What has this concern of
5
yours to do with Me, woman?” Jesus. “My hour has not yet come.” “Do whatever He tells you,” His mother
told the servants.

Wine was a staple drink in the ancient Near East. Due to the warm climate and the lack of any means of
refrigeration or precertification, fruit juice tended to ferment. The result was an alcoholic beverage with the
capability of inducing drunkenness. To help avoid the risk of inebriation, wine was commonly diluted with water
to one – third to one – tenth of its strength. Though the Bible does not forbid drinking wine, and in some cases
commands it (Psalm 104:14 – 15; Proverbs 31:6; Jeremiah 31:12; first Timothy 5:23), it strongly condemns
drunkenness (Genesis 9:20 – 27; Proverbs 20:1; 23:29 – 35; Ephesians 5:18).

Mary was apparently helping to oversee the catering of the celebration. Aware of the serious problem that had
developed, she anxiously said to Jesus, "They have no wine." If she was already a widow, Mary would naturally
have learned to depend on her firstborn son. Whether she expected Jesus to perform a miracle is not clear,
since He as yet have never done one (verse 11).

My hour has not yet come

Jesus’ abrupt and startling reply, "Woman, what does that have to do with this?" singled a major change in their
relationship. Woman was a polite, but not intimate, form of address (John 4:21; 19:26; 20:13, 15; Matthew
15:28; Luke 13:12), much like the English word "ma'am." Jesus’ reply, "Want does that have to do with us?"
(Literally, what to me and to you?) Is an idiomatic expression, which asked rhetorically what the two parties in
question have in common and has the effect of distancing them (Judges 11:12; 2 Samuel 16:10; 19:22). The
statement, coupled with Jesus’ addressing Mary as woman instead of mother, politely but firmly informed her
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 (Matthew 12:47 –
50; Mark 3:31 – 35; Luke 11:27 – 28).

The Phrase "My hour has not yet come" refers to Jesus’ death and glorification (John 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20; 12:23, 27;
13:1; 16:32; 17:1;) This supports the possibility that Mary was knowingly asking Jesus to reveal Himself that
time, since He had for years been in the fullness of mature manhood. Jesus made it clear that He would act
according to God’s timetable, decreed before the foundation of the world, not hers or any man's (7:2 – 8).

The Supply
2:6 – 10
7
6 Now six stone water jars had been set there for Jewish purification. Each contained 20 or 30 gallons. “Fill
8
the jars with water,” Jesus told them. So they filled them to the brim. Then He said to them, “Now draw
some out and take it to the chief servant.” And they did. When the chief servant tasted the water (after it
9
had become wine), he did not know where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water
10
knew. He called the groom and told him, “Everybody sets out the fine wine first, then, after people have
drunk freely, the inferior. But you have kept the fine wine until now.”

In response, they filled them up to the brim. This seemingly insignificant detail, that the water was up to the
very top, shows that nothing was added to the water, and that what followed was indeed a transformation
miracle.

23