John 2:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim.

NIV: Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.

NASB: Jesus *said to them, 'Fill the waterpots with water.' So they filled them up to the brim.

CSB: "Fill the jars with water," Jesus told them. So they filled them to the brim.

NLT: Jesus told the servants, 'Fill the jars with water.' When the jars had been filled,

KJV: Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

NKJV: Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.

Six stone jars (John 2:6) would have held between 120 and 150 gallons of water, or between 450 and 560 liters. That's not an incredible amount of water. But Jesus is acting in response to a married couple's need (John 2:3). He's in the process of transforming this into quite a bit of wine (John 2:8–10).

It's no accident that Jesus involves the servants in His miraculous work. Jesus frequently asks people to play some part in His miracles. The power is entirely His, but God wants us to express faith and obedience. In the Greek of John's gospel, the action-word for "faithfulness" is used nearly one hundred times, but the noun for "faith" isn't used at all. True faith in Christ is living, active, and in motion.

Also, the gospel is about changing us as people, not re-creating us from scratch. Rather than just conjuring wine into existence, Jesus asks servants to supply water, so that He can change it into wine. And, as He often does, He expects us to take advantage of everything He offers: the servants filled the jars "to the brim."

John 2:1–12 describes Jesus' first miracle, which is turning water into wine at a wedding. This miracle was discreet and known only to a few people. Changing water meant for purification into wine, symbolic of blood, is a reference to Jesus' role as Messiah. Instead of rituals, we are purified by the miraculous blood of Christ. John specifically uses the Greek word sēmeion, or "sign," for these miracles, since they are meant to prove that Jesus is God. This is the first of seven such signs in the gospel of John.

Jesus attends a wedding where He performs His first miracle: turning water into wine. This symbolizes a transformation of human rituals into divine sacrifice. Few people are even aware that a miracle has occurred. Jesus then drives crooked businessmen out of the temple, scolding them for turning a sacred area into a crass marketplace.

Chapter 2 begins to show Jesus' "signs," or miracles, which will prove that He is the Savior. The miracles will become more spectacular over time, but they start quietly. Contrast is an important part of the gospel of John. The quiet, joyful miracle at the wedding is starkly different from the loud public spectacle of clearing the temple. Jesus' first miracle symbolizes His mission. During the temple clearing, He also predicts His death and resurrection. This sets the stage for Jesus' private discussion with Nicodemus, a respected and influential man.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.

Accessed 12/4/2024 3:45:37 AM