John 2 NIV

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Jesus Changes Water Into Wine

1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 

2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 

3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Woman, why do you involve me?”Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.

8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

They did so, 

9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 

10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

Jesus Clears the Temple Courts

13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 

14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 

15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 

16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”

17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 

21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 

22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 

24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 

25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

John 2 begins with Jesus attending a wedding in Cana of Galilee with His disciples and His mother, Mary. During the celebration, the wine runs out, which would have brought embarrassment to the family hosting the wedding. Mary informs Jesus of the situation, trusting Him even before His public ministry had fully begun. Jesus tells the servants to fill six large stone water jars with water, and He miraculously turns the water into wine. When the master of the banquet tastes it, he is surprised because the best wine has been saved for last. This became the first recorded sign of Jesus, revealing His divine glory and causing His disciples to believe in Him more deeply. The miracle symbolized transformation, abundance, and the new grace that Jesus came to bring into the world.

The chapter then shifts to Jerusalem during the Passover festival. Jesus enters the temple courts and finds merchants selling animals and money changers conducting business inside the place meant for worship. Filled with righteous zeal for God’s house, Jesus drives them out, overturns the tables, and declares that His Father’s house must not become a marketplace. The Jewish leaders demand a sign of His authority, and Jesus responds by saying, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days,” speaking prophetically about His death and resurrection. Many people began believing in Him after seeing His miraculous signs, but Jesus knew the hearts and true intentions of people completely. John 2 presents Jesus as the Son of God who brings both grace and purification—transforming lives while calling people back to true worship and faith in God.

At the wedding in Cana, Jesus’ mother told Him that the wine had run out. Jesus replied,
🌿 “Woman, why do you involve Me? My hour has not yet come.”

In this verse, Jesus was not speaking disrespectfully to His mother.
The term “Woman” in that cultural context was a respectful form of address.

Jesus was pointing to God’s timing and His divine mission.
Everything in His ministry would unfold according to the Father’s plan.

The phrase:
🌿“My hour”
often refers in the Gospel of John to the time of Jesus’ suffering, death, resurrection, and glorification.

Even though His full mission had not yet reached that moment, Jesus still showed compassion and performed the miracle of turning water into wine.

This passage teaches that God works according to perfect timing, wisdom, and purpose beyond human expectation.

John 2:4 reminds us that Jesus lived according to the Father’s will and timing, revealing both divine purpose and compassionate grace.

Jesus said to the servants,
🌿 “Fill the jars with water.”
So they filled them to the brim.

Then He told them,
🌿 “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

The servants obeyed Jesus before they saw any miracle happen.
The jars were filled with ordinary water, yet through Jesus, the water was transformed into wine.

This passage teaches that faith often begins with obedience.
Sometimes God asks people to trust Him before they fully understand His purpose.

The servants did not argue or question Jesus. 

They simply followed His words faithfully, and through that obedience they witnessed His power.

The jars being filled “to the brim” also reflects fullness and completeness. God’s work through Jesus was not partial or lacking.

In daily life, ordinary things placed into the hands of God can become part of something greater through His grace and purpose.

John 2:7–8 reminds us that trusting and obeying Jesus can open the way to witnessing God’s work in our lives.

Jesus answered them,
🌿 “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

The people thought Jesus was speaking about the physical temple in Jerusalem, but He was speaking about His own body.

Jesus was pointing forward to His death and resurrection.
After being crucified, He would rise again on the third day.

In the Old Testament, the temple was the place where people came to worship God and experience His presence. 

Through Jesus, God’s presence came directly to humanity.

Jesus became the true and living temple—the meeting place between God and people.

This verse also reveals the authority and power of Jesus over death. 

His resurrection would become a sign confirming His identity and mission.

The disciples understood the full meaning of His words more clearly after He rose from the dead.

John 2:19 reminds us that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God brought new life, hope, and restored relationship with Himself.