The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (115 page)

2:6 six stone jars:
Together holding over 120 gallons of water. • The purpose of these water jars is outlined in Num 19:11-22, which stipulates that any Israelite defiled by contact with the dead must be purified with water on the third day and then again on the seventh day. Curiously, the Cana miracle takes place on the third day (2:1), which, according to John's chronology, is also the seventh day.
See note on Jn 2:1
. • The first sign performed by Jesus (water into wine) recalls the first sign performed by Moses (the first plague, water into blood, Ex 7:19). Note that wine is called the "blood" of the grape in Hebrew poetry (Gen 49:11; Deut 32:14). 
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2:9 the bridegroom:
The unidentified groom at the wedding. Jesus fulfills this role on a spiritual level (3:29; Mt 25:113; CCC 796). 
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2:10 the good wine:
A biblical symbol capable of many associations.
(1)
An abundance of wine is a sign of the messianic age (Is 25:6; Joel 3:18; Amos 9:13).
(2)
It signifies the joys of marital love (Song 1:2; 4:10; 7:9).
(3)
The transformation of water into wine anticipates the transubstantiation of wine into blood when Jesus gives himself to the world in the eucharistic liturgy (6:53; 1 Cor 10:16).
(4)
The wine of the marital celebration looks beyond this life to the marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven (Rev 19:7-9) (CCC 1335). 
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Word Study

Signs
(Jn 2:11)

Semeion
(Gk.): a "sign" or "miracle". The term is used 17 times in John and 60 times in the rest of the NT. Since the signs in the Fourth Gospel are concentrated mainly in chaps. 1-12, the first half of John has been called the "Book of Signs". For the evangelist, the signs of Jesus are not just mighty works, but miracles that unveil the glory and power of God working through Christ. The signs of Jesus also recall the signs performed by Moses during the Exodus, signs that likewise revealed the glory of Yahweh (Num 14:22) working through Moses (Ex 3:12; 4:28-31; Deut 34:11). The Fourth Gospel draws attention to seven signs:
(1)
the miracle at Cana (2:1-11),
(2)
the healing of the official's son (4:4654),
(3)
the healing of the paralytic (5:1-9),
(4)
the multiplication of the loaves (6:1-14),
(5)
the restoration of the blind man (9:1-41),
(6)
the raising of Lazarus (11:17-44), and, most important of all,
(7)
the Resurrection of Jesus, which is the second sign mentioned in the Gospel (2:18-22) but the final and climactic sign to be accomplished (20:1-10). Jesus elsewhere calls this the "sign of the prophet Jonah" (Mt 12:39).

2:12 Capernaum:
A village on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee and the headquarters of Jesus' Galilean ministry (Mt 4:13).
his brethren:
Not full brothers of Jesus but his close relatives (CCC 500).
See note on Mt 12:46
. 
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2:13 The Passover:
Celebrated every spring to commemorate Israel's rescue from Egyptian slavery (Ex 12). Three times the Passover is mentioned in John, indicating that Jesus' ministry extended beyond two years (6:4; 13:1).
See note on Jn 6:4
.
Jerusalem:
Nearly 80 percent of John's narrative places Jesus in Jerusalem. The Synoptic Gospels give greater attention to the ministry of Jesus in Galilee. 
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2:14-22
The cleansing of the Temple is recorded in all four Gospels. One difference among them is that John places the event at the
beginning
of Jesus' ministry, while the other Gospels place it at the
end
of his ministry. Two explanations for this are possible.
(1)
All four accounts may refer to the same event. If so, John moved the episode to the beginning of his narrative to highlight an important truth. As it stands, the Temple cleansing makes the same theological point as that in the preceding Cana episode: Jesus brings a New Covenant that supersedes the institutions of the Old.
(2)
Jesus may have cleansed the Temple twice. In fact, some have dated the episode in John around
A.D.
27 or 28, calculating "forty-six years" from the time Herod the Great began renovating the Temple in 19 or 20
B.C.
(2:20). This date fits more easily into the early period of Jesus' ministry than the latter part of it. 
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2:14 In the temple:
The Jerusalem Temple was divided into several courts. The outermost court, open to Gentile pilgrims, was used for selling sacrificial animals and exchanging foreign currency for the appropriate coins needed to pay the annual Temple tax. Jesus is angry that the merchants are robbing Israel through inflated rates of exchange and robbing the Gentiles of the opportunity to worship and pray (CCC 583-84).
See note on Mt 17:24
. 
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2:15 poured out . . . overturned:
The aggressive actions of Jesus are a prophetic sign of the Temple's imminent destruction (Mk 13:1-2). The expulsion of oxen, sheep, and pigeons (2:14) from the precincts likewise signifies the termination of animal sacrifice in the Temple (4:21-24).
See note on Mk 11:15
. •
Allegorically
(Origen,
Comm. in Jo.
10, 16): the sanctuary is the undisciplined soul, filled, not with animals and merchants, but with earthly and senseless attachments. Christ must expel them with the whip of his divine doctrine to make spiritual worship possible. 
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2:17 Zeal for your house:
A reference to Ps 69:9. • Psalm 69 depicts the suffering of the righteous, who are pained by the insults that sinners heap upon God. Jesus, burning with righteous indignation, is outraged that business dealings have taken the place of prayer in the Temple courts. 
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2:19 Destroy this temple:
Jesus challenges his critics to destroy, not the sacred building, but his own body (2:21-22). Ironically, the latter is destined to replace the former: after the Crucifixion, the Temple of Jerusalem will be razed to the ground in divine judgment while the temple of Jesus' body will be raised from the grave in divine glory (CCC 586, 994). 
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2:25 he knew all men:
The supernatural knowledge of Jesus is often highlighted in the Gospels (4:39; 16:30; Mt 9:4; 17:27; Mk 11:2-4; Lk 22:9-13). Here he detects deficient faith in those who marvel at his miracles but fail to grasp the significance of his mission. In the next episode, Nicodemus is representative of such inadequate belief (3:1-15) (CCC 473). 
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3:1 Nicodemus:
Probably a member of the Jewish court, the Sanhedrin.
See note on Mk 14:55
. 
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3:2 by night:
Nicodemus comes to Jesus under the cover of darkness because he fears persecution from the unbelieving leaders of Israel (12:42; 19:38). Symbolically, he is walking in spiritual darkness and lacks the enlightenment of true faith (8:12). 
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3:3 anew:
The Greek expression can mean either "again" or "from above". Nicodemus takes it to mean "again", as though Jesus required a physical rebirth to enter his kingdom. This is a misunderstanding. Jesus instead calls for a spiritual rebirth "from above" (CCC 526). The Greek expression always means "from above" elsewhere in John (3:31; 19:11, 23). 
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3:5 born of water and the Spirit:
The syntax of this verse in Greek suggests that Jesus is speaking, not of two separate births, one by water and another by the Spirit, but of a single birth through the working of water and Spirit together. Several observations suggest the verse refers to the Sacrament of Baptism.
(1)
A close link between water and Spirit is forged elsewhere in John's writings (7:38-39; 1 Jn 5:8). This is most explicit in 1:33, where the Spirit descends upon Jesus at the very moment he is baptized in the waters of the Jordan.
(2)
Immediately following this episode Jesus and the disciples begin a baptismal ministry in Judea (3:22).
(3)
Other NT passages describe Baptism as a sacrament of salvation through the Spirit (Acts 2:38; 1 Cor 6:11; Tit 3:5; 1 Pet 3:21). • The OT envisions Yahweh pouring out his Spirit from above in the messianic age (Is 32:15; Ezek 39:29; Joel 2:28-29). This was depicted as water being poured upon the Israelites to wash away their iniquities and renew their hearts (Is 44:3; Ezek 36:2526). These prophetic hopes should have prepared Nicodemus to understand the thrust of Jesus' teaching (3:10). • The Council of Trent declared in 1547 that Jn 3:5 refers to Baptism. It was said that "water" is no mere metaphor, but a visible sign of the Spirit's invisible work in the sacrament (Sess. 7, can. 2) (CCC 694, 1215, 1257). 
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3:6 flesh . . . spirit:
A significant contrast in John. Flesh represents all that is natural, earthly, and human, while spirit signifies all that is supernatural, heavenly, and divine. The distance once separating these realms has been bridged by Jesus Christ, whose flesh (1:14) is an instrument that conveys the life and Spirit of God to the world (5:21; 6:51-53; 20:22). 
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