John 2.1-25 tells us about the wedding at Cana and Yeshua’s first miracle, the beginning of his signs; the cleansing of the Temple for the first time; his allegory about his body being a Temple and its future; how Yeshua did not need man to testify of him or their approval, because he knew what was in man;
v 1… And on the third day (from the conversation with Nathanael. This verse concludes a picture of the 7000 year plan of God. In John 1.19 we have day one. In John 1.29 we have day two. In John 1.35 we have day three and in John 1.43 we have day four. Day four would correspond to year 4000 when Messiah was expected to reveal himself. As you read John 1.43-51, that is exactly what you see. Day four not only corresponds to year 4000, but the sun was created on the fourth day, which is a picture of the Messiah-Mal 4.2; Psa 19.4-5. Yeshua also was from the fourth tribe of Israel, Judah-Gen 29.35. Day five and six are not mentioned, and these two days correspond to the 2000 years that Messiah will be “hidden” and not on the earth, and then we come to our verse here. On the third day, after the fourth, Yeshua will return and take his followers to a wedding, just like in the passage. So, that makes a total of seven days. After 6000 years, we enter the seventh day, called the Messianic Kingdom, and there will be a wedding. So, from John 1.19 to John 2.1 we have a seven day period which is a picture of the 7000 years. This can also be seen in Hos 6.1-3 where it says that he will raise Israel up “in the third day”) there was a wedding in Cana (“place of reeds) in Galilee (a type of heaven. “Gal” means “circle), and the mother of Yeshua was there (she was possibly a family member).
v 2…And Yeshua also was invited (may have been being related to someone) and his talmidim (because some of them may been related to the couple) to the wedding.
v 3…And when the wine gave out, the mother of Yeshua said to him (in private), “They have no wine (to meet the needs; a humiliation for the family. Wine is symbolic of several things in the Scriptures. It symbolized blood, covenant, joy, marriage and teaching. The family was probably poor and could not afford more).”
v 4…And Yeshua said to her, “Woman (he is not being disrespectful, it was the usual way of speaking, showing respect), what do I have to do with you (that’s not our business). My hour has not yet come (to do public miracles. He came to do the Father’s will, not hers).”
v 5…His mother said to the servants (in care of the feast), “Whatever he says to you, do it (she is not discouraged by what Yeshua said to her).”
v 6… Now there were six (the number of man) stone water pots set there for the Jewish custom of purification (stone kept the water’s purity for ritual hand-washing and cleansing, which was a man-made ordinance, etc), containing twenty or thirty gallons each (could hold a total of about 100 to 135 gallons-these were empty at this time).
v 7… Yeshua said to them, “Fill the water pots with water (they were empty already).” And they filled them to the brim.
v 8… And he said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the headwaiter.” And they took it.
v 9… And when the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from but the servants who had drawn the water knew, the head-waiter called the bridegroom
v 10… and said to him, “Everyman serves the good wine first (as a custom), and when they have drunk freely, that which is poorer; you have kept the good wine until now (the message here is that man has a traditional way to purify themselves, called “works.” The headwaiter symbolized the Jewish rulers who did not know about the good wine, or teaching, but the servants knew, who symbolize the believers in Yeshua).”
v 11… This beginning of his signs Yeshua did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory (kivod, his deity and identity), and his disciples (Andrew, Peter, Phillip and Nathanael and one other talmid, probably John-John 1.40) believed in him.
v 12… After this he went down to Capernaum (“village of the comforter”), he and his mother and his brothers (Yeshua had at least four brothers and two sisters after he was born-Mark 6.3), and his talmidim; and there they stayed a few days.
v 13… And the Passover of the Jews (it was given to them) was at hand, and Yeshua went up (you always “went up” to Jerusalem in a spiritual expectation, called an “aliyah”) to Jerusalem (as required by the Torah; the Passover, meaning the lamb, was the only place you could keep the festival).
v 14… And he found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers (coin dealers-people had coins with an image of pagan gods and on them and they could not be used in the Temple), seated (this was in the royal stoa, at the southern end of the temple where the people entered. To the east is where the Sanhedrin would meet and to the west you had what was called the “bazaar of Chanan, or Annas. As high priest, he had oversight over where these people set up shop. He received a portion of what they made).
v 15… And he made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the coins of the moneychangers and overturned their tables (you could not bring idolatrous coins into the temple to purchase offerings because they had images of their gods on the coins. The moneychangers were robbing the people for this service, and giving Annas a cut).
v 16… And to those who were selling the doves (he could not drive these out because they were in cages) he said, “Take these things away (not only the doves, but the cages also); stop making my Father’s house (the Temple) a house of merchandise (there are several things going on here. First, it was Passover and there is a ceremony called “bedikat chametz” or the removing of the leaven from the house. This is where the head of the house would search for leaven that remained after de-leavening, because no leaven was to remain in your house through unleavened bread. Yeshua was cleansing his Father’s house of leaven, or sin. He may have done this at least three times in his ministry. Here, at the beginning of it, and in Matt 21.12 and Mark 11.15, near the end of his ministry. Secondly, in the Messianic Kingdom, Zech 14.21 says that every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy and all who come to sacrifice will use them. It also says that no Canaanite will be in the house of the Lord. The word Canaanite means “traffickers, merchants or tradesmen” so he is fulfilling this at this time also)
v 17… His talmidim remembered that it was written (on record already), “Zeal for thy house will consume me (Psa 69.9).”
v 18… The Jews (the rulers in the temple that saw this from Beit Shammai) therefore answered and said to him, “What sign (to confirm) do you show to us, seeing that you do these things?”
v 19… Yeshua answered and said to them (in a “dark” saying), “Destroy this temple (meaning his body), and in three days I will raise it up (at his last Passover).”
v 20… The Jews (the rulers from Shammai) therefore said, “It took forty-six years to build this Temple, and you will raise it up in three days? (and it wasn’t even completed yet. This was not a new Temple, but they were adding on to Zerubbabel’s temple, making improvements).”
v 21… But he was speaking of the temple of is body.
v 22… When therefore he was raised from the dead, his talmidim remembered that he said this; and they believed the Scripture (Hos 6.2; Psa 16.10; Luke 24.6-8), and the word which Yeshua had spoken (concerning his rising from the dead on the third day).
v 23… Now when he was in Jerusalem at Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name (had heard from John and others that he was a prophet, or “the” prophet of Deut 18.18, or even the Messiah), beholding his signs which he was doing (that week in Jerusalem; there are many not mentioned-John 20.30).
v 24… But Yeshua, on his part, was not entrusting himself to them (he did not trust himself to these people, take them into his associations, he was not intimate with them), for he knew all men (he knew they were following him due to the signs, not because they had a true profession of faith. He did not want to be set up as a temporal king. They would be pleased for awhile, but desert him later if it got hard, not really committed),
v 25… and because he did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man (he needed no testimony about man’s human nature and character, his motivations. He did not need others to say who was good or evil) for he himself knew what was in man (which none but God could know-Matt 9.4; Heb 4.12. He knew the heart was wicked and all its evil intents and secrets).
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