John 2:3

Joh_2:3

When they wanted wine

I.

The wine supplied was m ACCORDANCE WITH THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY. The produce probably of their own industry in the vineyards around. Wine in Bible lands was not an occasional luxury as with us, but a part of the daily food of the people. A simple, natural beverage, very different to the branded wines of this country, but intoxicating, nevertheless. Such wine was among the first oblations to the Divinity Gen_14:18). Wine and bread, in conformity with this principle, are the essential elements of the Holy Supper, because they are the essential elements in the support of life in the East.

II. THERE IS A NATURAL HARMONY BETWEEN THE FRUIT OF THE VINE AND THE BRIDAL FESTIVITY. The richest juices of the vine plant are prepared and stored up in those parts which are specially associated with the propagation of the species. For aught we know, the reproduction of the vine might be accomplished without the exquisite goblets of the grape cluster; and so the marriage rite can take place without any festivity. But God loves not a mere utilitarianism; and it is as natural that wine should form part of the festivities of marriage as that beauty and gladness should crown the accomplishment of the common purposes of the world.

III. Understanding the importance attached to wine on such an occasion, we can realize THE CALAMITY OF ITS FAILURE. Without wine there is no joy, a common Jewish saying. It may have been caused by the poverty of the host, or through the unexpected arrival of Jesus and His disciples. Anyhow it was an intense mortification. Why? Because we all desire to appear prosperous. Poverty is hard to bear; but its disclosure is a thousand times worse. Not because poverty is a disgrace; but because man was made for happiness, and without it he feels that he has fallen from his natural place. This is owing to sin. There was no scarcity in Eden.

IV. Viewed in this light, it is a most striking coincidence that OUR LORDS FIRST MIRACLE SHOULD BE WROUGHT TO RELIEVE WANT. The kingdom of heaven meets humanity where the law has left it stripped and destitute.

V. This failure teaches us THE FAILURE OF THE WORLDS JOY. It was the highest and happiest occasion on which want intruded itself. What a testimony to the insufficiency of even the richest feast of worldly attainment or experience. Marriage, the crowning bliss of life, with all its dear ties and affections, comes to a close.

VI. JESUS COMES TO US AT EVERY CRISIS OF WANT, and provides for us what we ourselves cannot supply. Christ, received as guest, becomes host, and out of His fulness supplies all our need. (H. Macmillan, LL. D.)

What kind of wine was it?

The miracle took place a few days before the Passover, and this festival usually fell on the 30th of March. The wine that was drunk at the feast must therefore have been kept for six or seven months from the previous vintage. It must, in consequence, have undergone the process of fermentation, for, without this, no organic juice could have been preserved for such a length of time. Fermentation is a natural process, which takes place in all watery solutions of vegetable substances containing saccharine matters; and depends entirely upon the growth of a microscopic fungus called the yeast-plant, which develops with extreme rapidity into myriads of minute ceils or vesicles, and while doing so resolves the sugar in solution into alcohol and carbonic acid gas. The spores, or seeds, of this fungus exist in enormous quantities everywhere; and no vegetable juice can be exposed to the air for however short a time without receiving some of them; and if the temperature and other conditions be suitable, they begin at once to grow and multiply, thereby producing fermentation and liberating alcohol. Even in ripe grapes, while they are hanging on the vine, this yeast-fungus is often developed, causing vinous fermentation. It is impossible, therefore, to produce an infusion of grapes from which these ubiquitous germs are absent--unless the juice is boiled and the vessel hermetically sealed; and even then, so tenacious are they of life, we cannot be sure that we have got rid of them, as Pasteurs recent researches abundantly testify. And wherever these germs are present, the process of fermentation begins, and is carried on with greater or less rapidity according to the temperature. In a warm climate it goes on with extraordinary vigour. There is no such thing, therefore, as unfermented wine. The juice of the grape when immediately squeezed out may be so called; but if it is kept for a few days under ordinary conditions it inevitably undergoes the vinous fermentation. (H. Macmillan, LL. D.)

God honours our leaning upon Him

A circumstance happened to me yesterday. I cannot help telling it to you. I received a note from one of the trustees of the Orphanage to say that the running account was so low that, when the cheques were paid on Friday morning, we should have overdrawn our banking account. I did not like that state of things; but I did not fret about it. I breathed a prayer to God that He would send money to put into the bank to keep the account right. Last night, at nearly ten oclock, I opened a letter that came from Belfast, and it had in it a cheque for £200, being the amount left as a legacy. I wrote across my acknowledgment, O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together! That amount put the account square for the time being; and although the Orphanage has no ready money to go on with, still that does not matter, God will send more means during the week, and at all other times when the expenditure calls for it. At the moment when I opened the letter, and found the £200, I felt as if my hair stood on end, because of the conscious nearness of the Lord my God. My brother, Hugh Hanna, when he sent that cheque, and sent it on that particular day, did not know that it would coma just when I was praying to God for help in a time of trouble; yet it came exactly when it was sought for. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Trouble carried to Christ

What do you do without a mother to tell all your troubles to? asked a child who had a mother of one who had none. Mother told me whom to go to before she died, answered the little orphan. I go to the Lord Jesus; He was mothers friend, and Hes mine. Jesus Christ is in the sky; He is a way off, and He has a great many things to attend to in heaven, it is not likely He can stop to mind you. I do not know anything about that, said the orphan; all I know, He says He will; and thats enough for me.

Joh_2:3-4

The mother of Jesus saith unto Him they have no wine

I.

THE MIRACLE WAS WROUGHT AT THE SUGGESTION OF A MOTHER, and was the result of the promptings of human affection. The first influence that reaches the senses of a child is from the mother; and whatever miracles of blessing have been done in the world may be traced to her. She who rocks the cradle sways the world. Jesus was like all human beings in this respect. And now He has entered on His lifes work, it is fitting that He should receive the first call to the exercise of His power from His mother.

II. THE IMPORT OF THE WORDS OF MARY. Some regard them as a passing remark; others as a delicate hint that they should retire. These explanations inadequate. Mary expected some unusual manifestations of Christs power, and drew attention to the want of wine to excite His sympathy and help. She knew that there were no ordinary means of procuring wine, and that a crisis had happened in His life which was in keeping with what she knew about Him. Now, therefore, was the time to show to the world who He was. But mingled with this there were selfish elements: personal pride in the expectation of His achievements, and anxiety to keep her old motherly influence over Him.

III. JESUS REPLY. Just as He assured her in the Temple that He must be about His Fathers business, so now He told her that a higher motive than a mothers authority must regulate the manifestation of His glory. The blessings of heaven are bestowed, not according to a capricious favouritism, but according to a fixed principle of Divine government. At first sight the reply seems repellent; but

1. In those days woman was a title of respect. When the true dignity of woman is recognized, that is the best name by which she can be known. Emperors have called their queens by this name, and Jesus used it in His tenderest message on the cross.

2. Christ avoided calling Mary His mother for the same reason that He refused to acknowledge David as His Father. Henceforth He was not to be known as her Son, but as the Son of the Eternal Father.

3. What have I to do with thee, a common phrase indicating the conclusion of all debate. It has no severity in it, and may have been uttered in a tone and with a gesture that could not be reported. Anyhow, Marys feelings were not hurt, as is seen from her expectant words to the servants.

IV. THE SON HAD NOW BECOME LORD EVEN OF HIS OWN MOTHER, and her happiness could only be secured by obedience to Him. (H. Macmillan, LL. D.)

The anxious mother

I. THE SOLICITUDE SHE FELT. While it becomes the friends of Jesus to be careful for nothing (Php_4:6; Mat_6:31; Luk_10:41), Marys distress was

1. Natural, seeing that the wine failed through the arrival of her Son and His companions.

2. Beautiful, inasmuch as it was sympathy with others.

3. Permissible, because a habit enjoined by Christ (Mar_12:31; Luk_6:31; Luk_10:36; Joh_15:17; Rom_12:10; Php_2:4).

III. THE REQUEST SHE MADE. That Christ should establish His Messiahship by miracle.

1. In turning to Christ in her emergency, Mary acted with propriety, teaching us where to go with our troubles as they arise (Heb_4:15; 1Pe_5:7).

2. In prescribing to Christ the manner of His help, her example must be eschewed; Christ then, as now, regulating all His movements by the will of the Father (Eph_1:11).

3. In failing to grasp the character of Christs mission, she represents the dulness of the natural heart (1Co_2:14).

III. THE REPROOF SHE RECEIVED.

1. Inconceivable that there was any contempt in it (1Jn_3:5; 1Pe_2:22). In this let Christ be our exemplar (Eph_6:2).

2. A respectful reminder that henceforth He had passed beyond His earthly home, and had entered upon engagements in which the will of God was supreme (Joh_4:34; Joh_6:38).

(1) Whom Christ loves He reproves when they go astray (Heb Rev_3:19).

(2) There are higher obligations than those due to parents (Act_4:19).

(3) In all matters connected with religion and conscience (Jam_4:12),

IV. THE COMFORT SHE OBTAINED. Repelling the suggestion of a public demonstration, He intimated by some explained sign that His assistance would not be wanting. So it is ever His custom to mingle mercy with judgment (Psa_101:1).

V. THE TRUST SHE DISPLAYED. With quiet confidence she directed the servants to hold themselves in readiness to execute any instructions He might give, symbolizing the faith which is ready to interpret and cling to Christs hints of favour, whether found in His Word or Providence. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)

Mine hour is not yet come

Christs hour

I. CHRISTS HOUR WAS THE TIME FIXED BY THE FATHER. No outward event or motive could decide when it was right for Him to do a mighty work. He waited obscure and inactive for thirty years, until the hour appointed had come for beginning His public ministry; and when He entered on its career, all its incidents were regulated by the Fathers predetermined purpose.

II. THE ULTIMATE REFERENCE IS TO THAT POINT OF HIS LIFE MOST DECISIVE OF ALL, THE HOUR OF HIS GLORIFICATION. But the way lay through the valley of the shadow of death. The hour when He was glorified was the hour when His work was finished. Jesus, therefore, connected the hour of His greatest triumph with the hour of His greatest defeat: and everything that promoted His glory made sure His death. The converse on the Transfiguration Mount was about His decease (see also Joh_12:23-29). All this was realized here in anticipation. He saw the inevitable connection between the miracle and His hour of doom. We need not wonder, therefore, that He should hesitate before performing an act involving such tremendous issues. His mother knew nothing of all this, and His gentle words of rebuke struck a note which He meant to vibrate in her heart like the memorable word of Simeon in the Temple. It is striking that we hear no more of Mary in St. John until she stands beside the cross.

III. This foreshadowing of the cross by the first manifestation of Christs glory is TYPICAL OF A COMMON HUMAN EXPERIENCE. The marriage indicated the commencement of the most serious part in the drama of life, in which self-sacrifice is continually necessary. Marriage is natures preparation for death. Death empties the world and marriage is ordained to replenish it. The happiest hour of life is thus intimately connected with the saddest. And so with all the glories of man. Triumph and success come late in life and are associated with ebbing strength and failing desire, which rob them of nearly all their pleasure.

IV. WITH PURIFIED FAITH AND SPIRITUAL INSIGHT MARY ENTERED INTO HER SONS DESIGN. Her command to the servants proves the greatness of her faith. (H. Macmillan, LL. D.)

The supreme hour

(cf. Joh_17:1):--

I. A DESTINY FORESEEN. It has been maintained that there is a fixed plan and destiny for each life. What then about the multitude of wicked and suffering lives? And yet it is impossible that God should not have some plan and purpose for all: for Divine Providence is the care for the whole and for each part. Otherwise chance and accident would be governors of the world. To get out of this order and follow our own blind wills, however, is possible. We are ever treated as creatures to whom choice is offered. God will not compel us; but He will guide our lives if we will trust Him. But we can choose to stand in antagonism to His purposes. All sin does this. Yet there is a Sovereignty which is able to see all contingencies and provide for every catastrophe. Therefore there is a work for each to do and a time to do it in. We come into life for a purpose. What that is seems hidden. We learn by experience. Christs mission, of course, was of transcendant importance; but He comes possessed of a conviction that He is sent to do a special work in a special hour. This is constantly on His lips. There was to be nothing accidental. He completely foresaw and foretold His destiny, What that was stands out clear in its own light--death for our salvation. Take that away and what is left? Like music without the leading part, the air, there may be harmony, but there is no meaning. So as Christ knows it is coming He prepares Himself and His disciples for it. And when it comes He cries It is finished.

II. A FORESEEN DESTINY TRIUMPHING OVER ALL OBSTACLES. What wonderful preservations there were which prevented any failure. The thought of Christs possible failure is overwhelmingly terrible. Yet He was tried in every possible way. The devil tried Him by his temptations; His friends by their endeavours to seize Him as a madman; the Pharisees by their invitations; the people by their attempt to crown Him; His townsmen by their attempt to assassinate Him. Twice the reason is said to be because His hour was not yet come. The hour came, not a moment too soon or too late, but at the appointed time. Conclusion:

1. A word of comfort to His servants in times of anxiety about their lives and work. If we have surrendered ourselves to God let us accept curler and place without fear.

2. A word of encouragement to workers whose results seem so meagre. Be still, live on, every pulse beat brings the hour of glory nearer.

3. Let no man fear premature death, A man is immortal till his work is done. (W. Braden.)

Our hour

I. THE HOUR THAT STRIKES WHEN GOD CALLS TO HIGHER DUTY, better thoughts, purer purposes, more unworldly aims than are common in this lower life. Neglect that and you have lost a great possession. You may succeed elsewhere, but you have suffered the supreme loss. You are not watching for it: it may come and go and leave you a wreck.

II. THE HOUR CALLS IN SPECIAL MOMENTS OF TEMPTATION. Every soul has in it its special strand of sin. We find it out by contemplating what is hardest for us to give up, what we most like, what we least like to do. The call comes and our hour approaches.

III. Then there is THE LAST HOUR WHICH BELONGS TO US ALL, about which it is impossible to speak since none of us have died. But it is coming quickly. Prepare for it. (Canon Knox-Little.)

Our hour

I. NO HOUR IS UNIMPORTANT. It may seem to be, and be treated as trivial. But an architect will tell you that every stone in a building is necessary for the strength and symmetry of the whole. So with life. Its hours are of untold value in relation to each other and the great whole.

II. ANY HOUR MAY BE TO US THE MOST MOMENTOUS HOUR OF ALL. There may come quite unexpectedly some solemn event which rosy change the whole purpose and current of our life. A letter, a friend, a call, a casual visit to a strangers house, may result in beginning a business or finding a wife. This may not be the supreme hour, but it assuredly leads to it. It is one link in the chain of hours; take away that one and all the possibilities of the future are gone. The present hour contains the germ of our destiny.

III. TO EVERY LIFE SOME GREAT AND SOLEMN PERIOD COMES, a decisive period, a turning point, one which condenses in itself all others, and for which all others have prepared--just as the hundred years of patient culture have prepared the aloe for the single year in which it flowers. It may come in youth of middle age. Then what we are is proved and what we shall be decided. (W. Braden.)

Christs treatment of His mother

The phrase ἐμοὶ χαὶ σοί is a literal translation of the Hebrew ילךְמַה־לּי (Josiah 22:24; 2Sa_16:10; 1Ki_18:18; 2Ki_3:13; Mat_8:29; Mat_27:19; Mar_1:24). It is also found in the classics. The radical idea appears to be: What have we in common? Our relations are wholly different. The formula there is used to express unwillingness to be disturbed or hindered by any one. It always implies reproof, although sometimes a friendly one merely (2Sa_16:10), here, Mingle not thyself in my concerns; we pursue different aims and thou comprehendest me not. If Christ, then, did not consider this as a suitable occasion for the performance of a miracle, why does He, nevertheless, follow His mothers suggestion? Because it could not, on the other hand be regarded as an unsuitable one for it offered Him an occasion for proving His philanthropic disposition. As Messiah He uttered the reproof, as a son He complied with the request. The address γύναι is not disrespectful, but solemn, (cf. the address from the cross Joh_19:26). Augustus thus addresses Cleopatra: Take courage, O woman, and keep a good heart. That the look of Jesus expressed more than His words convey, may be gathered from the address of His mother to the servants. (A. Tholuck, D. D.)

The sense is what have I as God to do with thee a woman?. Dost thou suppose that the Divine power by which I work miracles can be set in motion by thee because thou art the mother of My humanity? Hence Christ who loved and revered His earthly mother (Luk_2:51; Joh_19:26) teaches us to begin with love and reverence to our Heavenly Father. The hour of My weakness derived from thee has not yet come; but it will come, and when that hour of human infirmity arrives, and when that infirmity of which thou art the mother, hangs on the cross, then will I own thee. Joh_19:26-27 is the best comment on this text. (Bp. Wordsworth.)

Mary catches at the little unobtrusive word, not yet, and with great penetration infers from it, then it will come! (Herberger.)

The reasonableness of this incident

If this miracle was one of the manifestations of Jesus as the Son of God, can anything be more natural or consistent than that it should be introduced by words which declare that He could not be in subjection to any earthly authority, while yet the act itself was an act of ministry to even the commonest necessities of the sons of Earth? Is not this apparent contradiction accomplishment of His work, the exhibition of Him in His complete character? He will not be the servant of His creatures, not even of His mother; He obeys the will which all are created to obey. He will be the servant of His creatures. He is come into the world for that end. He is doing the will of His Father when He is stooping to the lowest of all. (F. D. Maurice, M. A.)

Mariolatry

Jesus Christ Himself is the expression of the fatherly and motherly nature in God. But this great truth was lost sight of in the dark ages; and the strange idea arose that even Christ Himself was what God was formerly conceived to be--a stern and angry judge, needing intercession and appeased with difficulty. The manhood in Him, from its very sinlessness, was supposed to be implacable; and therefore the pitying, compassionate womanhood was personified by His mother, who acted the part of intercessor between Him and a guilty world. She was a human being, having all a human beings experience of sin, its temptations, trials, and sorrows; having the consciousness of weakness in herself, teaching her how hard it is not to sin, which would necessarily make her compassionate towards others. We all know how, step by step, she has been raised from that position of participation in human sin and sorrow to an exemption from it. We can trace this gradual ascent in the pictures of her which represent her first as alone; then with the infant Saviour in her arms; then with Christ crowning her; then kneeling before Him; then sitting a little lower; then on a level with Him. And now there is a tendency to place her above Him; for there are more churches dedicated to her than to Him. In Rome God the Father is almost unknown, and God the Son has ceased to be an object of adoration. The Father is pictorially represented as an old man, and the Saviour as a little child; arid both are made subservient to the Virgin. But there is a Nemesis in this last monstrous development. By the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, thus paying Divine honours to her, she is removed further from the sympathies of men, and the attraction of her intercession will ultimately be weakened. What made her worship so alluring was the mistaken idea that just because she was a tender human being--a loving, sainted mother--having the knowledge of sin, she would be less severe towards the frailties of men. But this charm she will lose by her deification. She will come to be regarded as a stern and implacable judge, having no sympathy with men, because she is herself withdrawn from the possibilities of their frailties; and the confiding trustfulness with which prayers are now offered to her will cease to be felt. Indeed, the change has already taken place, and the supposed mother of the Virgin, called St. Anne, is now invoked to entreat her daughter to ask her Son to be propitious to the suppliant. Where is to be the end of such meditatorship? May not the Virgins grandmother be also brought in? And if the Virgin is to be regarded as conceived without sin, must not her mother also--and so on--back to Adam; and thus the doctrine of the Fall and of original sin be done away with altogether, and with it the standing-ground and necessity of the Church? How simple and satisfactory the truth itself which is thus so strangely perverted! (H. Macmillan, LL. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 2:3-4. And when they wanted wine — It is probable that, in consequence of its being known that Jesus would be present at this feast, a greater resort of company came than was expected, and that this occasioned a failure of the wine. The mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine — Some infer from this application which she made to Jesus, that she had either seen some of his miracles in private, or had received from him some hint of his intentions of working one now. For, without supposing the one or the other of these, one can hardly imagine why she should thus apply to him on this occasion: for, doubtless, she knew, both that he had not money to buy a quantity of wine, and that if he had, it would not have been proper for him to have done it, as it must have been interpreted as an affront to the bridegroom. But the supply that she expected from him was undoubtedly by his working of a miracle; and it is plain, from her direction to the servants afterward, that, notwithstanding the rebuke she justly met with, yet she had still a view to this. Jesus saith unto her, Woman — Using a plainness of language, suited to the simplicity of those ages and countries. For that this compellation was not in those days accounted disrespectful, has been fully evinced by critics from the best authorities. We find in this gospel, (Joh 19:26,) our Lord addressing his mother by this title, on a very moving occasion, on which he showed her the most tender affection and regard. What have I to do with thee? — Or rather, What hast thou to do with me? namely, to direct me when and how my miracles are to be wrought. The original expression, τι εμοι και σοι, is rendered by some, What is this to me and thee? namely, that they want wine: What concern is it of ours? it does not belong to us to provide necessaries for this feast. But Jesus, says Dr. Doddridge: “was of so benevolent a temper, and Mary seems to have been so far concerned as a relation, that it does not appear this would have been a proper reply. The words seem rather to be intended as a rebuke to Mary, and it was surely expedient she should know that Jesus was not, upon such occasions, to be directed by her. And nothing is more evident than that the phrase, in other places, has the meaning that our version gives it.” Thus also Dr. Campbell: “It was, no doubt, our Lord’s intention in these words gently to suggest, that in what concerned his office, earthly parents had no authority over him. In other things he had been subject to them.” To translate the clause, What is it to me and thee? “at first sight appears preferable to other versions, because the most literal. But, as Bishop Pearce well observes, had that been the evangelist’s meaning, he would have written, τι προς εμε και σε; as in Joh 21:23, τι προς σε, what is that to thee? and Mat 27:4, τι προς ημας, what is that to us?” He observes, further, that the common version suits the phrase in every place where it occurs; and that the other conveys a worse sense, a sense not suitable to the spirit of our Lord’s instructions, as “not favouring that tender sympathy, which his religion so warmly recommends, whereby the interests and the concerns of others, their joys and their sorrows, are made our own.” Mine hour is not yet come — “The season of my public ministry in this country is not yet come. Before I work miracles in Galilee, I must go into Judea and preach, where the Baptist, my forerunner, has been preparing my way.” So Macknight. Or, he may speak of the time when he intended to perform the miracle desired by his mother; for which the proper moment, though very near, was not yet quite come. Some translate the clause interrogatively, Is not mine hour come? the season of my public ministry, at which period thy authority over me ends? Upon the whole, our Lord’s answer to his mother was not in the least disrespectful, nor did she consider it as implying a denial of her request, as is evident from the temper with which she received it, and from her desiring the servants (Joh 2:5) to wait on him, and to execute his orders punctually. Many writers have interpreted this rebuke of our Lord as being given in his prophetic spirit, as a standing testimony against that idolatry which he foresaw after ages would superstitiously bestow upon his mother, even to the robbing him of the right and honour of his alone mediatorship and intercession.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2:3 When the wine supply ran out, the host’s family would face embarrassment for failure to plan properly. Perhaps Jesus arrived unexpectedly (cp. Matt 25:1-13), bringing his circle of disciples, which might explain why his mother brought the problem to him. • A wedding banquet was a primary celebration in Jewish village life, and this episode also symbolized the joy of the Messiah’s arrival.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 2:3. Ὑστερήσαντος, failing [coming short]) How many days the marriage-feast lasted, on what day of it the Lord came and the wine failed, is not known.—οὐκ ἔχουσι) The newly-wedded couple have not. She means this: I would wish you to withdraw, in order that the rest also may withdraw, before that the scarcity be made evident to all.[45] Adopting this [Bongel’s] sense as the meaning of Mary, the reply of Jesus not only does not appear harsh, but is most full of love.

[45] This seems mere conjecture. Lücke more probably supposes that the Lord Himself had recently given some reason to expect that He would manifest His Messiahship in wonderful works. Indeed she herself might have inferred this from prophecy: Isa 35:5-6; Gen 49:10-11.—E. and T.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh_2:3. Ὑστερήσ. οἴνου] because a scarcity of wine had occurred,on what day of the marriage feast (it usually lasted seven, Gen_29:27; Jdg_14:14; Tob_9:1-2; Tob_10:1) we are not told.[134] The expression ὑστερεῖ τι, something fails or runs short, belongs to later Greek (Mar_10:21; Isa_51:14; Neh_9:21; Dios. v. 86).

οἶνον οὐκ ἔχουσι] they are short of wine, they, i.e. the family of the bridegroom, who provided the feast. They might be disgraced by the failure of the wine. The words, however, are not only an expression of interest, which was all the more reasonable, as the deficiency was accelerated by the invitation of her Son and His disciples; but they also contain, as Jesus Himself understood (Joh_2:4), an indirect appeal for help, as is confirmed by Joh_2:5, which was prompted by thoughtful consideration for the credit of the house providing the feast. Some find herein a call to work a miracle. But wrongly, because this would imply either that Mary had inferred from the conception, birth, etc., of her Son, His power of working miracles, which she now expected Him to display, or that Jesus had already, on some previous occasion, though in a narrower circle, done some wonderful works (the former hypothesis in Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euthymius Zigabenus, Baumgarten, Maier, Godet, Hengstenberg, and many more; the latter in Lücke and others),assumptions which are equally incapable of proof. Wrongly too, because the supply of this want of itself so little suggested the need of a miracle, that the thought of so disproportionate a means occurring to Marys mind without any adequate reason, even by the recollection of such traits as are related in Luk_2:49 ff. (Brückner), or by the miracle at His baptism, or by the call of the disciples, or by the declaration of Joh_1:51, of which she would be informed at the marriage (Godet), is quite inexplicable, even supposing that she had observed more clearly than any others the change which had taken place in her Son, and had therefore with fuller expectation looked up to Him as the Messiah (Ewalds view, comp. Tho luck). Far rather did she wish to prompt Jesus in a general way to render help; and this she would suppose He would do in the most natural manner (by furnishing wine), which must have appeared as obvious a way as that of miracle was remote. But Jesus, in the feeling of His divine call (Joh_2:4), intended to render help in a special and miraculous manner; and accordingly, with this design of His own in view, returns the answer contained in Joh_2:4. In this way the obscurity of the words is removed (which Lampe and De Wette dwell upon), and at the same time the objection raised from Joh_2:11 (by Strauss, B. Bauer, Schweizer, Scholten) against the entire narrative, upon the assumption that Mary (from the Logos standing-point of the evangelist, it is supposed!) expected a miracle. Lastly, it is purely gratuitous to suppose that Mary wished to give a hint to Jesus and His disciples to go away (Bengel, Paulus); yet Ebrard (on Olshausen) has brought this view forward again, explaining afterwards mine hour of the time of His death, when Jesus would have to leave the marriage (the marriage figuratively representing the period of His earthly ministry). This is not profundity, but a mere playing with exegesis.

[134] The text does not say that it lasted only one day, as Hengstenberg finds expressed in ver. 1, where we are simply told that the marriage began on the third day,which has nothing to do with its duration. Nor is there any hint in the text of poor circumstances, for it speaks of the master of the feast and of servants. Least of all does the inviting of Jesus disciples along with Himself imply poverty. This also in answer to Godet.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 2:3 . Through this unexpected addition to the number of guests the wine began to fail, ὑστερήσαντος οἴνου . ὑστερέω , from ὕστερος , signifies “to be late,” and hence “to come short of,” “to lack,” and also “to be awanting”. Cf. Mat 19:20 , τί ἔτι ὑστερῶ ; and Mar 10:21 , ἕν σοι ὑστερεῖ . Here the meaning is “the wine having failed,” or “given out”. Consequently λέγει ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν , Οἶνον οὐκ ἔχουσι . Bengel supposes she wished him to leave “velim discedas, ut ceteri item discedant, antequam penuria patefiat”. Calvin suggests “fieri potest, ut [mater] tale remedium [miraculum] non expectans eum admonuerit, ut pia aliqua exhortatione convivis taedium eximeret, ac simul levaret pudorem sponsi”. Lampe says: “Obscurum est”. Lücke thinks Jesus had given proof of His miracle-working previously. The Greek commentators and Godet suppose that when she saw Him recognised as Messiah the time for extraordinary manifestation of power had arrived. The words show that she was on terms of intimacy with the family of the bridegroom, that she knew of the failure of the wine and wished to relieve the embarrassment. She naturally turns to her oldest son, who had always in past emergencies proved helpful in counsel and practical aid. But from the words of Jesus in reply, “Mine hour is not yet come,” it certainly would seem as if she had suggested that He should use Messianic powers for the relief of the wedding guests.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Christ is careful enough of our salvation, and therefore hath no need of others to put him in mind of it.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

no wine--evidently expecting some display of His glory, and hinting that now was His time.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 3. They have no wine.] Though the blessed virgin is supposed to have never seen her son work a miracle before this time, yet she seems to have expected him to do something extraordinary on this occasion; as, from her acquaintance with him, she must have formed some adequate idea of his power and goodness.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. The mother of Jesus saith to him. It may be doubted if she expected or asked any thing from her Son, since he had not yet performed any miracle; and it is possible that, without expecting any remedy of this sort, she advised him to give some pious exhortations which would have the effect of preventing the guests from feeling uneasiness, and at the same time of relieving the shame of the bridegroom. I consider her words to be expressive of (συμπαθεία) earnest compassion; for the holy woman, perceiving that those who had been invited were likely to consider themselves as having been treated with disrespect, and to murmur against the bridegroom, and that the entertainment might in that way be disturbed, wished that some means of soothing them could be adopted. Chrysostom throws out a suspicion that she was moved by the feelings of a woman to seek I know not what favor for herself and her Son; but this conjecture is not supported by any argument.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(3) When they wanted wine.—Better, the wine having failed.

They have no wine.—The question “What was the import of this remark?” has been often asked, and very variously answered. And yet the answer does not seem far to seek. The next verses fix its meaning as the expectation of an outcome of supernatural power. This is quite in harmony with the mother’s hopes and musings, without any previous miracle on which to base them (Joh_2:11). For many long years she had kept in her heart the Son’s words and deeds (Luk_2:51). She must have heard of John the Baptist’s witness, of the events of the Baptism six weeks now past, and on that very day every hope must have started into new life, as she heard from those who came with Him how conviction had seized upon their own minds. To cause the. increase of meal, and prevent the failure of the cruse of oil (1Ki_17:14), was within the power of the prophet whom they expected as herald of the Messiah. Here was an unexpected need, caused, it may be, by the presence of Himself and followers at that festival. Can He not, will He not, supply the need, and prove Himself indeed the Christ?

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. when they wanted wine] Better, when the wine failed. Perhaps the arrival of these six or seven guests caused the want; certainly it would make it more apparent. To Eastern hospitality such a mishap on such an occasion would seem a most disgraceful calamity.

They have no wine] Much comment has here obscured a simple text. The family in which she was a guest was in a serious difficulty. Perhaps she felt herself partly responsible for the arrangements: certainly she would wish to help. What more natural than that she should turn to her Son and tell Him the difficulty? Probably she did not expect a miracle, still less wish Him to break up the party, or begin a discourse to distract attention from the want. The meaning simply is—‘They have no wine; what is to be done?’

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when they wanted wine,.... Or wine was wanting; not through the intemperance of the guests, rather through the poverty of the family, who were not able to provide very largely; and it may be by reason of a larger number of guests than were expected; however, so it was ordered by Divine Providence, that there might be an opportunity for Christ to manifest forth his glory:

the mother of Jesus saith unto him, they have no wine; being concerned for the family, lest they should be put to shame and disgrace, and the entertainment should not proceed with becoming credit and honour; and knowing the power of Christ to help in this time of necessity, she modestly moves it to him, perhaps by a whisper, sitting next him; or, it may be, might call him out, and just drop the hint; being well persuaded of his power, as she might; not from any miracles wrought by him in her family for the support of it, when in distress; for as Christ wrought no miracle, in the time of his public ministry, for the support of himself, or his disciples, but for others, it is not likely he should do it for his family in private life; but from the wonderful things told her by the angel that brought the news of her conception, and by the shepherds, and by Simeon and Anna, which she had laid up in her heart; and from his being the Messiah, who, according to the general belief of the nation, was to work miracles; and particularly from the last words of the preceding chapter; See Gill on Joh 1:50, for she might be present at the delivery of them; and therefore might hope that as this was the first opportunity that offered after, that he would display his power in supplying the family with wine in this time of exigence.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

Ver. 3. And when they wanted wine] Wine then may be wanting, though Christ be at the wedding; yea, bread, though Christ be at the board. But the hidden manna is ever ready; and anon in our Father’s house will be bread enough, and wine, God’s plenty. {a} What though we beg our bread here, heaven will make up all; and it is but winking, and we are there presently, said that martyr.

The mother of Jesus saith unto him] To show her authority belike over him. Howsoever, she was too hasty with him, and is taken up for halting. It is not for us to set the sun by our dial.

{a} Mendicato pane hic vivamus, annon hoc pulchre sarcitur, in eo quod pascimur pane cum angelis? &c. Luther.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

When they wanted wine - A marriage feast among the Jews was commonly observed for seven or eight days. It is not probable that there would be a want of wine at the marriage itself, and it is possible, therefore, that Jesus came there some time during the marriage feast.

They have no wine - It is not known why Mary told this to Jesus. It would seem that she had a belief that he was able to supply it, though he had as yet worked no miracle.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

They have no wine. The blessed virgin Mother was not ignorant of the divine power of her Son, and that the time was come when he designed to make himself known to the world. She could not make her request in more modest terms. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The word υστερησαντος may as well be translated, coming short, or behind, as wanting; and so some think it is to be understood; but Mary tells Jesus, they had no wine: they either had none, or she discerned it came short; they had not enough. It lets us know the frugality of him who made the feast. But whether Mary told her Son of it in expectation that he should supply it by a miracle, or that he should entertain the company with some pious discourse while the want should be supplied, is not so easy to determine: that which seems to oppose the first (and most generally received) opinion, is, that this was the first miracle he wrought, which we have upon record; nor had our Saviour by any words given her hope to see any miraculous operations from him; for though some say he had, from the last verse of the former chapter, yet the words can hardly be strained to such a sense, nor doth it appear that Mary was in Judea to hear them. But yet it seems probable she had some such expectation, both from our Saviour’s answer, Joh 2:4, and from her saying to the servants, Joh 2:5,

Whatsoever he say unto you, do it; and though Christ had as yet done no public miracle, yet what the virgin might have seen of him in thirty years time, while he lived at home with her, we cannot tell.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. When… wine—There are two sorts, or rather states, of wine; the one, the unfermented grape juice, which is simply exhilarating; the other, the fermented, which is intoxicating. Fermentation is a phenomenon of decomposition, analagous to putrefaction in a dead animal. The grape juice is alive in the grape; consisting of sugar and albumen, held into juice form by the life power. When pressed out of the grape, the dying juice decomposes; the albumen uniting with the oxygen of the air becomes yeast, and the sugar becomes alcohol, which is the intoxicating substance. The grape juice, must, or new wine, in its live, natural, undecomposed state, is a cheering and nutricious food. By boiling it is cooked, and so protected from decomposition, and retained in its condition as a food.

The Revelation Dr. Duff, the celebrated Scotch missionary, speaking of the vine regions of Southern France, says: “Look at the peasant at his meals in vine-bearing districts! Instead of milk he has a basin of pure unadulterated ‘blood of the grape.’ In this its native original state it is a plain, simple, and wholesome liquid; which, at every repast, becomes to the husbandman what milk is to the shepherd, not a luxury, but a necessary; not an intoxicating, but a nutritive beverage. Hence to the vine-dressing peasant of Auxerre, for example, an abundant vintage, as connected with his own sustenance, is as important as an overflowing dairy to the pastoral peasant of Ayrshire, and hence, by such a view of the subject, are the language and sense of Scripture vindicated.”

Captain Treatt, as quoted by Dr. Lees, says:

“When on the south coast of Italy, last Christmas, (1845,) I inquired particularly about the wines in common use, and found that those esteemed the best were sweet and unintoxicating. The boiled juice of the grape is in common use in Sicily. About three gallons of the juice is boiled until reduced to two—it is then poured into plates to cool. The poor people mix flour into theirs while boiling, to make it go further. It is eaten at their meals with bread, and very nice it is. The Calabrians keep their intoxicating and unintoxicating wines in separate apartments. The bottles were generally marked. From inquiries, I found that the unfermented wine was esteemed the most. It was drunk mixed with water. Great pains were taken in the vintage season to have a good stock of it laid by.”

We see no reason for supposing that the wine of the present occasion was of that kind upon which Scripture places its strongest interdict, (Pro_20:1; Pro_23:31; Isa_22:13,) rather than of that which is eulogized as a blessing. (Psa_104:15; Isa_55:1.)

The priests were interdicted the use of wine during the period of their ministration in the Holy Place. (Lev_10:9; Eze_44:21.) And as leaven is, like wine fermentation, a corruption, death, or decomposition, so it was prohibited at the Passover. It were absurd then to suppose that Jesus administered fermented wine at the Supper, which is his substitute for the Passover; or that he ever used it at all.

When they wanted wine—Rather, when their wine had failed. It is very probable that upon the unexpected arrival of our Lord and his five disciples there was (as Bishop Hall expresses it) “more company than wine.” As marriage feasts sometimes lasted seven days, (Jdg_12:15; Tob_11:19,) the stock of a family might very easily be exhausted.

Mother… saith… no wine—It seems that it was not unusual for the guests to supply a part of the entertainment. And as our Lord appears to have brought the surplus of company, his mother may have thought that he should supply the deficit of wine.

But it is plain that she expected from him an exhibition of miraculous power. Whoever doubted about the miraculous birth of Jesus, his mother certainly could not. No eye like hers would, in his growth, have understood his miraculous development. Nor is it natural to suppose, that at this moment she did not understand that he had left home to pass through the preparation for his full Messianic office. She must therefore have known that the time for his divine manifestation had arrived. In the perplexity of the present moment she turns to him, as to a divine aid, hopeful that he could afford relief, even if it required a supernatural power.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A large accession of guests in such a humble home might easily be supposed to make a famine in the provisions, and so we read, And when the wine failed either from this cause, or from the poverty of the hosts, whose willingness and welcome were larger than their means, or by reason of an advanced stage in the festivalthe mother of Jesus saith to him, They have no wine. The simple presence of the Lord and of his mother, of such guests as these at a wedding feast, is a Divine rebuke of all that morbid asceticism which crept from Essenism and Orientalism into the Christian Church, of all that false pietism and fancied purity which made marriage a contamination, and exalted virginity to an unnatural elevation. The tender hearted interest felt by the blessed mother of the Lord in the condition of the hosts, and her tone of authority towards the diakoni , are eminently natural; her tacit request for help, though she does not specify the way in which the help should be given, implies on her part something of presumption in indicating to our Lord the course he should adopt. A question of great interest arises What did she mean by her appeal? Bengel suggested that Mary simply intended: "Let us depart before the poverty of our hosts reveals itself." This makes Christ"s reply an acceptance of her hint; but along other lines the rabbis were accustomed to say that wine and life were in the mouth of a rabbi (see Geikie"s "Life of Christ," 1:475; Wunsche, in loc. ). We are expressly told that this is the beginning of signs, and therefore we have no right to conclude that, previous to this, in the home at Nazareth, Jesus had been accustomed to conquer fate and master poverty and compel circumstances by miraculous powers for his own or for his mother"s support. We know that it was a temptation of the devil that he should perform some such miracle for his own sustenance, and that he had sternly suppressed the suggestion of the evil one. The mother must have known his powers, and must have known his mind on this very matter. What did she suggest? Was she thinking mainly of the need of wine, or firstly and chiefly of the honour and glory of her Son? She supposed that a moment had arrived when he should by some royal act assert his imperial rights, and give an order which would be obeyed as that of Sovereign Prince. Precisely the same spirit prevailed always in his home and among his disciples an eager desire that he should manifest himself to the world. (cf. Joh_7:4-6) The disciples did not lose it on the night of the Passion, or the eve of the Ascension. (Joh_14:22 Act_1:6) If this was the real meaning of the remark, "They have no wine," it becomes singularly interesting to observe the method of our Lord. The request for a supply of additional solace and refreshment was complied with. The suggestion to show himself to the world was as resolutely withheld. There was no pomp, no claim, no self-assertion; there was quiet, boundless, affluent love. The glory of Divine love was manifested, the need was satisfied; but the impression was not intended to go beyond the hearts of those beings who would partially understand it, at the right time.

"They have no wine.

Just as the scarcity of provisions in the wilderness gave Jesus an opportunity to supply the need of a multitude; just as it was permitted that a man should be born blind, "that the works of God should be manifest in him;" so the falling short of the supply of wine at Cans gave an opportunity for the performance by Christ of a beneficent and instructive miracle. And the lesson is one widely impressive and helpful which is thus conveyed concerning human need and Divine grace and supply.

I GOD LETS MEN WANT. It is a paradox, but it is a truth, that it is for our good to suffer need of many kinds.

1. Thus he teaches us how slender are our resources, and how soon exhausted.

2. Thus it is suggested to us to look without, to look above, for the satisfaction of our desires.

3. Thus it is arranged that, when God interposes upon our behalf, we shall welcome and value his intervention.

II GOD SUPPLIES MEN"S WANTS AND SATISFIES THEIR DESIRES.

1. He does this at the right moment, when the pressure is heavy enough, but not too heavy.

2. He does this in the exercise of his own power, that the glory may be his.

3. He does this in a gracious and affectionate manner, displaying his sympathy as well as his authority.

III THE PURPOSES SUBSERVED BY THE SUPPLY OF HUMAN NEED BY DIVINE BOUNTY.

1. All blessings come thus to be regarded as the immediate bestowments of Heaven.

2. And are seen to be the outward revelations of the attributes of the Father"s heart.

3. And are the occasion of devout acknowledgment and fervent adoration. T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And wine falling short - How many days the solemnity had lasted, and on which day our Lord came, or how many disciples might follow him, does not appear. His mother saith to him, They have not wine - Either she might mean, supply them by miracle; or, Go away, that others may go also, before the want appears.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The embarrassing situation:

v. 3. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto Him, They have no wine.

v. 4. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.

v. 5. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.

The wedding-feast seems to have been planned and carried out on a large scale, and yet not all contingencies had been provided for. Since the increased number of guests required more wine than had been furnished, the supply was shortly exhausted. There was not a bit left to take care of the wants of the festival. In this emergency, Mary, who seems to have been a very close friend of the family, if not indeed a relative, took it upon herself to provide help. She had not forgotten the sayings and prophecies concerning her Son. She believed that He was able to help, and trusted that His willingness would not be wanting. She went over to Jesus and simply stated that one fact to Him: There is no wine. Her words implied that she was looking to Him for counsel and practical aid. Her statement is a model prayer. If we but tell our Lord what we lack and are in need of, we may fitly leave everything else to His gracious helpfulness. We should learn to trust in His mercy without the slightest doubt and hesitation, "The example of faith is very strange in this gospel. There He lets things come to the last emergency, that the want is felt by all those present and there is neither counsel nor help; wherewith He proves the manner of divine grace, that no one can become partaker of it that has sufficient and does not feel his need. For mercy does not feed those that are full and satisfied, but the hungry, as we have often said. He that is wise, strong, and pious, and finds something good in himself, and is not yet poor, miserable, sick, a sinner ant! a fool, he cannot come to Christ the Lord nor receive grace."

The answer of Jesus seems unduly harsh. His address is that of respect, for the word "woman" was used in addressing queens and persons of distinction. But His words are those of a rebuke in form. They are a common Hebrew expression, which occurs often in the Old Testament, as Jdg 11:12. The Lord means to say: What have we two in common in this matter? By what right do you assume that I must help? The performance of miracles was a matter of Christ’s Messianic office; Mary’s plea verged on the exceeding of parental authority, was tantamount, in fact, to an interference in the manner of Christ’s work. "Although there is no greater authority and power on earth than that of father and mother, yet it is at an end when God’s words and works begin. " (Luther.) The Lord’s hour for bringing relief, for revealing His glory, had not yet come. The manifestation of His might was entirely in His own hands, no matter what form, manner, and time He would choose to help. The authority of parents extends over, and governs, only the matters of this earthly life. Where divine matters are concerned, their interference is wrong. They should bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and in no wise hinder them from serving God, from going to church, and placing themselves at the Lord’s disposal. If parents transgress their authority in this respect, if they attempt to hinder their children in working for the Church, in following the call of the Lord for the performance of His work, it is quite right for children to resent the interference. The children, on their part, will be guided by love, and will not presume to create a want where none exists.

Mary understood her Son correctly; she found comfort in the word "not yet. " She did not resent the rebuke, but accepted it meekly. She was sure His reply was not all refusal. And therefore she went over to the servants near the entrance, who were now serving at the tables, and told them to do whatever the Lord chose to tell them,—they might otherwise not have obeyed an unimportant guest,—no matter what it may be that He says, no matter what form and manner He will choose to help. Mary trusted that He would help speedily, a trust even when it seemed that trust must be foolish; preparing for help when help seemed a vain expectation. "Here faith stands in the right battle; behold how His mother does here and teaches us. How harsh His words sound, how unpleasant His attitude is! Yet she does not interpret all that in her heart as a show of anger, against His goodness,... as those do that are without faith and fall back at the first rebuff,... but remains firm in her mind that He must be good. For if the mother had permitted herself to be frightened back by these bard words, she would have gone away quietly and full of discontent. But now that she commands the servants to do what He tells them, she proves that she has conquered the rebuff, and still expects nothing but pure goodness from Him."

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This want of wine was probably so disposed by the providence of God, to give our Saviour an opportunity to manifest his divine power in working a miracle to supply it.

Observe here, 1. How the Virgin enquires into the family’s wants, and then makes them known to Christ.

Learn hence, That it is an argument of piety, and an evidence of Christian love, to enquire into the wants, and to recommend the necessities of others to Christ’s care and consideration; whose bounty and munificence can readily and abundantly supply them.

Thus far the Virgin’s action was good: she laid open the case to Christ; They have no wine. but Christ, who discerned the thoughts of Mary’s heart, finds her guilty of presumption; she thought by her motherly authority, she might have expected, if not commanded, a miracle from him: whereas Christ was subject to her as a man during his private life: but now being entered upon his office a mediator, as God-man, he gives her to understand she had no power over him, nor any motherly authority in the business of his public office; therefore he says to her, Woman, what have I to do with thee?. He that charges his angels with folly, will not be taught when and how to act by poor crawling dust and ashes.

Observe therefore, 2. Christ calls the Virgin, Woman, not Mother; but this was not out of any contempt, but to prevent her being thought more than a woman, above or beyond a woman, having brought forth the Son of God. Woman, says Christ; not Goddess, as the Papists would make her, and proclaim her free from sin, even from venial sin; but Christ’s reproving her shows that she was not faultless.

Observe, 3. Christ would not bear with the Virgin’s commanding on earth, will he them endure her intercession in heaven? Must she not meddle with matters appertaining to his office here below, and will it be endured by Christ, or endeavoured by her, to interpose, in the work of mediation above? No, no; were it possible for her so far to forget herself in heaven, she would receive the answer from Christ which she had on earth, Woman, what have I to do with thee? or thou with me, in my mediatorial office? But instead of this, she returns answer from heaven to her idolatrous petitioners here on earth, "What have I to do with thee? Get you to my Son, go you to Christ, he that was the Mediator of redemption; he, and only he, continues the Mediator of intercession."

O how foolish, as well as impious, is it to think, that she who had not so much power as to direct the working of one miracle on earth, should have now lodged in her hands all the power of heaven!

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. And when they wanted wine. The Revision says, “When the wine failed.” For some cause, perhaps from a larger number of guests than was expected, the wine gave out. In the East, where hospitality is so lavish, this would cause great mortification. The mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. The solicitude of Mary could hardly be expected from one not a relative, but why she appeal to Jesus? In part, because it was natural speak to him in her perplexity, and in part, likewise, because she hoped he would meet the difficulty.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Woman

This refers to Mary. If it is impolite for a son to call his mother "woman" in your language, use another word that is polite, or leave it out.

why do you come to me?

This question is asked to provide emphasis. AT: "this has nothing to do with me." or "you should not tell me what to do." (See: Rhetorical Question)

My time has not yet come

The word "time" is a metonym that represents the right occasion for Jesus to show that he is the Messiah by working miracles. AT: "It is not yet the right time for me to perform a mighty act" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

wine

Mary

Jesus

servant

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

3. ὑστ. οἴν. When wine failed. The arrival of these six or seven guests might cause the want, and certainly would make it more apparent. To Eastern hospitality such a failure on such an occasion would seem a disgraceful calamity. Whether the feast had already lasted several days (Gen 29:27; Jdg 14:17; Tob 9:1-2; Tob 10:1), we do not know.

οἶν. οὐκ ἔχ. Much comment has obscured a simple text. The family in which she was a guest were in a serious difficulty. Perhaps she felt partly responsible for the arrangements; certainly she would wish to help. What more natural than that she should turn to her Son, like the sisters at Bethany afterwards (Joh 11:3), and tell Him of the trouble? That she wished Him to break up the party, or begin a discourse to distract attention, is quite alien from the context. Whether she expected a miracle, is uncertain: but her appeal for help may well have been accompanied by the thought, that here was an opportunity for her mysterious Son, who had already been proclaimed by the Baptist, to manifest Himself as the Messiah. Elisha had used his powers to relieve ordinary needs; why not her Son?

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3.] There is no necessity to suppose that the feast had lasted several days, as De Wette and Lücke do. It has been suggested that the unexpected presence of the disciples may have occasioned a failure in the previously sufficient supply: a gloss in the old latin cod. Rhedigerianus has, “et factum est per multam turbam vocatorum vinum consummari.”

The mother of Jesus evidently is in a position of authority (see ver. 5) in the house, which was probably that of a near relative. The conjectures and traditions on the subject are many, but wholly unsatisfactory.

A graver question arises as to the intent with which this οἶνον οὐκ ἔχ. was said. She cannot have had from experience any reason to suppose that her Son would work a miracle, for this (ver. 11) was His first. Chrysostom suggests (so also Theophyl., , and Neander, L. J. p. 271) that, knowing Him to be Who He was, she had been by the recent divine acknowledgment of Him and His calling disciples to Himself, led to expect the manifestation of his Messianic power about this time; and here seemed an occasion for it. Some of the other explanations are: “that she had always found Him a wise counsellor, and mentioned the want to Him merely that He might suggest some way of remedying it.” Cocceius, cited by Trench. “Velim discedas, ut ceteri item discedant, antequam penuria patefiat.” Bengel. “Ut pia aliqua exhortatione convivis tædium eximeret, ac simul levaret pudorem sponsi.” Calvin, cited by Lücke. “Jesus had wrought miracles, but in secret, before this.” Tholuck.

On the whole, the most probable explanation is that of Lücke, which somewhat modifies the first here mentioned,—that our Lord Himself had recently given some reason to expect that He would shew forth His glory by wonderful works. So, very nearly, Stier, R. J. i. 38, edn. 2.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. For ὑστερήσαντος οἵνου אaABLWΔΘ is found in א* a b ff2 a Western paraphrase, οἶνον οὐκ εἶχον, ὅτι συνετελέσθη ὁ οἶνος τοῦ γάμου, εἶτα … For οἶνον οὐκ ἕχουσιν at the end of the verse, א* has accordingly substituted οἶνος οὐκ ἕστιν.

Wine was always provided on occasions of rejoicing (cf. Gen 14:18); and there was a Jewish saying, “Without wine there is no joy” (Pesachim, 109a). That there should not be enough for the guests would be deemed unfortunate; and Mary, who is represented as having some kind of authority in the house, or at any rate as sufficiently intimate to give orders to the servants (v. 5), calls the attention of Jesus to the deficiency. That she should tell Him of this, rather than the host or the “governor of the feast,” suggests at least that she had unbounded trust in His resourcefulness. But probably something more is meant. Jesus had now for the first time gathered disciples round Him, and Mary may well have thought that the time had come for Him to show Himself for what she knew Him to be.

γέγει … πρὸς αὐτόν. The more usual constr. λέγει αὐτῇ occurs in the next line. The constr. πρός τινα after λέγειν is not found in Mk., Mt., the Apocalypse, or the Johannine Epistles, but it is often found in Jn. (3:4, 4:15, 48, 49, 6:5, 7:50, 8:31) as well as in Lk.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They wanted wine [υστερησαντος οινου] . Literally, when the wine failed. So Rev., Wyc., and wine failing. Some early authorities read : "they had no wine, for the wine of the marriage was consumed." Marriage festivals sometimes lasted a whole week (Gen 29:27; Jud 14:15; Tobit 9 12; 10 1).

They have no wine. Implying a request for help, not necessarily the expectation of a miracle.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 3. “And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus saith to Him: They have no wine.”

The marriage feasts sometimes continued several days, even a whole week (Gen 29:27; Jdg 14:15; Tob. 9:12; 10:1). The failure of the wine is commonly explained by this circumstance. However this may be, it is scarcely possible to doubt that this failure was connected with the unexpected arrival of six or seven guests, Jesus and His disciples. The reading of the Sinaitic MS.: “And they had no more wine, for the wine of the wedding-feast was entirely consumed,” is evidently a diluted paraphrase of the primitive text?

What does Mary mean by saying to Jesus: “They have no wine?” Bengel and Paulus have thought that Mary wished to induce Jesus to withdraw and thus to give the rest of the company the signal to depart. The reply of Jesus would signify: “What right hast thou to prescribe to me? The hour for leaving has not yet come for me.” Such an explanation has no need to be refuted. The expression “my hour,” always used, in our Gospel, in a grave and solemn sense, would be enough to make us feel the impossibility of it. The same thing is true of Calvin’s explanation, according to which Mary wished “to admonish Jesus to offer some religious exhortation, for fear that the company might be wearied, and also courteously to cover the shame of the bridegroom.”

This expression, “They have no wine,” has a certain analogy to the message of the sisters of Lazarus: “He whom thou lovest is sick.” It is certainly a tacit request for assistance. But how does it occur to Mary to resort to Jesus in order to ask His aid in a case of this kind? Does she dream of a miracle? Meyer, Weiss andReuss think not; for, according to Joh 2:11, Jesus had not yet performed any. Mary, thus, would only think of natural aid, and the reply of Jesus, far from rejecting this request as an inconsiderate claim, would mean: “Leave me to act! I have in my possession means of which thou knowest not, and whose effect thou shalt see as soon as the hour appointed by my Father shall have struck.” After this, the order of Mary to the servants, “Do whatsoever He shall say to you,” presents no further difficulty. But this explanation, which supposes that Mary asks less than what Jesus is disposed to do, is contradictory to the natural meaning of the words “What is there between me and thee?” which lead rather to the supposition of an encroachment by Mary on a domain which Jesus reserves exclusively to Himself, an inadmissible interference in His office as Messiah. Besides, by what means other than a miracle could Jesus have extricated the bridegroom from his embarrassment? Meyer gives no explanation of this point. Weiss thinks of friends (like Nathanael) who had relations at Cana, and by means of whom Jesus could provide a remedy for the condition of things. But even in this sense we cannot understand the answer of Jesus, by which He certainly wishes to cause Mary to go back within her own bounds, beyond which she had, consequently, just passed. What she wished to ask for, is therefore a striking, miraculous aid worthy of the Messiah.

Whence can such an idea have come to her mind? Hase and Tholuck have supposed that Jesus had already wrought miracles within the limits of His family. Joh 2:11 excludes this hypothesis. Lucke amends it, by saying that He had simply manifested, in the perplexities of domestic life, peculiar gifts and skill: one of those convenient middle-course suggestions which are frequently met with in this commentator and which have procured for him such vigorous censure on the part of Baur. It affirms, in fact, too much or too little. It seems to me that the state of extraordinary exaltation is forgotten in which, at this moment, that whole company, and especially Mary, must have been. Can it be imagined for an instant, that the disciples had not related everything which had just occurred in Judea, the solemn declarations of John the Baptist, the miraculous scene of the baptism proclaimed by John, the proof of supernatural knowledge which Jesus had given on meeting Nathanael, finally that magnificent promise of greater things impending, of an open heaven, of angels ascending and descending, which their eyes were going henceforth to behold? How should not the expectation of the marvelous—that seeking after miracles, which St. Paul indicates as the characteristic feature of Jewish piety—have existed, at that moment, in all those who were present, in the highest degree?

The single fact that Jesus arrived surrounded by disciples, must have been sufficient to make them understand that a new phase was opening at that hour, that the time of obscurity and retirement had come to its end, and that the period of Messianic manifestations was about to begin. Let us add, finally, with reference to Mary herself, the mighty waking up of recollections, so long held closely in her maternal heart, the return of her thoughts to the marvelous circumstances which accompanied the birth of her son. The hour so long and so impatiently waited for had, then, at last struck! Is it not to her, Mary, that it belongs to give the decisive signal of this hour? She is accustomed to obedience from her Son; she does not doubt that He will act at her suggestion. If the words of Mary are carried back to this general situation, we easily understand that what she wishes is not merely aid given to the embarrassed bridegroom, but, on this occasion, a brilliant act fitted to inaugurate the Messianic royalty.

On the occasion of this failure of the wine, she sees the heaven opening, the angel descending, a marvelous manifestation exhibiting itself and opening the series of wonders. Any other difficulty in life would have served her as a pretext for seeking to obtain the same result: “Thou art the Messiah: it is time to show thyself!” As to Jesus, the temptation in the wilderness is here seen reproducing itself in its third form (Luk 4:9). He is invited to make an exhibition of His miraculous power by passing beyond the measure strictly indicated by the providential call. It is what He can no more do at the prayer of His mother than at the suggestion of Satan or at the demand of the Pharisees. Hence the tone of Jesus’ reply, the firmness of which goes even to the point of severity.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.