John 2:1-3
It wasn’t until 1557 that chapters were first introduced in the English Bible, and shortly after that, verses were added. This certainly makes it easier to find passages in the Bible. It does nothing to help and hinders us from understanding that each book of the Bible is written in a narrative, which means that each book is designed to be read all at once.
When studying the Bible, we tend to break down chapter one of John’s gospel into three sections. Yet it is to be read as an inclusive testimony of who the Messiah is and where He originated from. First, there is God’s testimony regarding who Jesus is. Secondly, there is John the Baptizer’s testimony. We tend to stop there and not include chapter two, but chapter two continues the narrative by saying, “On the third Day.”
Now, this requires a bit of explanation. When the author of John’s gospel says, “On the third Day,” he is saying, “The day after tomorrow.” I can hear some of you saying, “Wait a second. This doesn’t make sense. There were three days of testimony by John, and chapter two starts by saying, “On the third day.” The scene in chapter 2 actually begins after the third day of John’s testimony concerning Jesus. The passage begins at 1:43, where it states, “The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow Me.’” Verse 44 states that Philip is from Bethsaida, the same city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael. This was the day after they left John the baptizer when Andrew and John became disciples. Bethsaida is near the Sea of Galilee on the northern shore, where the Jordan River flows into Galilee. Jesus’s destination was Cana, a day-and-a-half journey from Bethsaida. So, when chapter two opens with “On the third day,” it continues the narrative established in John’s three-day testimony. Therefore, starting the day the religious leaders came to interview John, the events at Cana are four days later. Five days in all.
“On the third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now we understand why Jesus, in verse 43, wanted to go to Galilee. There was a wedding in Cana, and He had been invited, which would allow Jesus to visit his mother. After all, it was nearly two months since he had seen her. Over the two months since he left home, a lot has happened. Jesus was baptized and immediately went to the wilderness to pray and meditate upon His Heavenly Father’s plan for his life, and to be tempted in every way like we are tempted (see Matthew 3:1-4:11). Then, as we saw in John chapter one, Jesus returned to John the Baptizer, and before leaving two of John’s disciples followed Jesus. Now, as he enters Cana, he has six followers or disciples. As such, it brought credibility to his ministry, and at the wedding feast, His public ministry began. As we will see, the spiritual applications in John’s second chapter are many and more astounding than we can imagine.
Weddings in the Middle East were much loved, with days of celebration at the groom’s home. When the arrangements were made to pay the dowry for a woman to be given to a man in marriage, the couple did not see each other during the betrothal period. The groom left and began to prepare a place for his soon-to-be bride. When the groom believes all is ready, he asks his father to inspect and give his blessing making sure all is in proper order for the groom to bring his bride to her new home. When his father gave the okay, he would go meet his bride at her parent’s house and bring her to their new place prepared for her. The actual marriage ceremony was a private affair, but when the groom escorted his bride to her new house, all the invited guests would accompany them. Usually, the feasting and festivities would last for seven days, so much for a quiet honeymoon.
In the scriptures, the church, whether the church of the Old or New Testament, is considered the bride of Christ. As we will see in our next post, it is then fitting that Jesus starts His public ministry at a wedding feast. For Jesus’s public ministry and death upon the cross is a type of paying the dowry, and as we see in John 14:1-4, Jesus is using marriage language to illustrate to the disciples what his intentions were.
We will end this post with verse 3 and pick it up on our next post. John 1:3 says, “And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” What an amazing statement with a huge spiritual implication.
Till next time. Blessings to you all!
The Bible In Your Hand 