Читать книгу THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS, THE CHRIST AND THE SON OF GOD, ACCORDING TO JOHN - Manfred Diefenbach - Страница 12

2.2.1 The Marriage at Cana “on the Third Day” (vv. 1–12)

- The Setting (vv. 1–2)

Who: Jesus, His mother (vv. 1, 12), His disciples (vv. 2, 12), the servants/waiters (vv. 5, 9), the master of the banquet/head waiter (vv. 8–10), the bridegroom (v. 9), guests (v. 10 including His brothers in v. 12)

Where: “Cana in Galilee” (vv. 1a, 11)

When: during a “wedding” – “the third day” (v. 1a)

v. 1: The scene is introduced as a village “wedding”¹³⁷ feast/banquet¹³⁸ at “Cana”¹³⁹ in the north” of “Galilee”¹⁴⁰ (vv. 1a, 11a₂) on the “third day”¹⁴¹ (cf. Luke 18:33; 1 Corinthians 15:4) – according to the Jewish calendar, it has to be a Tuesday but according to the Christian calendar it is a Wednesday or is it the “seventh day” (cf. Exodus 19:16; 24:16) respectively the “Sabbath”¹⁴² because of the dating in John 1:29a, 35a, 43a? According to the Jewish law, the wedding of a virgin should take place on a Wednesday. The wedding festivities lasted far more than one day. A newly married couple did not go away for their honeymoon and they stayed at home. For a week, they kept open house for their guests and dressed in their bridal robes. They were treated like a king and a queen. “Jesus”, His “mother”¹⁴³ (v. 1b) and

v. 2: His “disciples”¹⁴⁴ followed an invitation to a (week-long festival of) wedding feast at Cana and shared the festivity and joy.

- The Dialogue between Jesus and His Mother (vv. 3–5)

After the opening scene in Cana, the dialogue between Jesus and His mother suggests the inner meaning of “(My) [hour] has not yet come [ ] ( )” (v. 4c) and prepares His “first sign” (in Greek “semeῖon” in v. 11a).

v. 3: Wine¹⁴⁵ was essential for a Jewish feast. During the feast (cf. Psalm 104:15; Sirach 31:27) – without “wine”¹⁴⁶ (vv. 3a – note the genitivus absolutus –, c, 9a, 10b, d and John 4:46) – the catastrophe/the crisis/the so-called “M(aximum) C(redible) A(ccident)” of the Jewish wedding feast happened. In this situation, Mary¹⁴⁷, His mother, informed/requested Him about the fact: “( ) [ ] They have [no] more (wine)”.

v. 4: He answered her with a query without (!) overtones of sharp refusal or angry unwillingness, but as a gentle disagreement: “(Woman/Madam¹⁴⁸), what /is between/ me and you¹⁴⁹ ( )”? – in the sense: “What do you want from me, Madam?” (cf. Mark 1:24; 5:7; Matthew 8:29; Luke 4:34; 8:28 and, for example, Judges 11:12; 2 Samuel 16:10; 19:23; 1 Kings 17:18; 2 Kings 3:13; 2 Chronicles 35:21). He explained it: “(My) [hour] has not yet come [ ] ( )”. He was simply telling her to leave things to Him, that He will have His own way of dealing with the situation. His “hour”¹⁵⁰ (cf., for example, John 7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; 17:1; 19:14) is a Johannine Christological/soteriological expression for His Suffering/Death/Crucifixion on “Good Friday” and His Resurrection/Glorification on Easter Sunday in Jerusalem when He is glorified (cf. 7:38; 12:23; 13:31–32; 17:1, 5), and has not yet come during the wedding at Cana.

v. 5: Mary gave the “servants”¹⁵¹/“waiters” (in Greek “dɩákonoɩ” in vv. 5a, 9c) a piece of advice: “(Do) whatever he tells you ( )” (cf. Genesis 41:55) – note the imperative.

- The Command of the Evangelist (v. 6)

“Water”¹⁵² was required for the cleansing of the feet on entry to the house (cf. John 13:5–6) and for the washing of the (unclean) hands (cf. Mark 7:2–5/Matthew 15:2; Acts 10:14–15) according to Leviticus 15:11 and Psalm 26:6. For the Jewish purifying ceremonies (cf. John 3:25) of the Jews – note the syntagma “tòn katharɩsmòn tõn ’Ioudaíon” –, there were “six” (cf. 12:1; 19:14) “water jars/pots”¹⁵³ which could hold about 120–180 gallons or about 468/480–702/720¹⁵⁴ liters altogether.

- Jesus and the Servants/Waiters (vv. 7–8)

v. 7: Jesus gave the servants (cf. vv. 5a, 9c) the order: “Fill¹⁵⁵ the water jars with water”. They did so – under Mary’s recommendation (cf. v. 5).

v. 8: His second and third imperatives – first imperative: fill in verse 7b – are “draw out”¹⁵⁶ (cf. vv. 8b, 9 and John 4:7, 15) and “take”/“bear” (in Greek “phéro” in v. 8b, c). In this way, the servants bought the wine to the “head waiter”¹⁵⁷/“steward”/“master of the banquet/feast/ceremony”, the authorized and responsible organizer of the wedding feast.

- Jesus and the Head Waiter/Steward (vv. 9–10)

v. 9: The “head waiter” tasted the drink which should be water but it was wine. How is it possible? He did not ask the servant “where¹⁵⁸ it had come from”: but he rebuked the wine service of the “bridegroom”¹⁵⁹ (cf. 3:29) with an antithetic logic of the normal rule for serving wine:

v. 10: “Each person/everyone ( ) [serves] the good/best wine (first) [ ]

and when /guests/ are drunken¹⁶⁰ /from/ the lower /quality wine/.

/But/ you” – the bridegroom – “have saved¹⁶¹ the good/best wine until now”¹⁶² (cf., for example, Plinus, Naturalis historia XIV 91).

The answer is: The best wine came from a divine source, from Jesus, the “Son of God” (1:34b, 49b).

- The Command of the Evangelist (v. 11)

Changing water into wine at Cana was the “first sign¹⁶³” of “His glory”¹⁶⁴ (cf. 1:14; 11:4, 40) which He “revealed”¹⁶⁵/performed. The Fourth Evangelist emphasizes that Jesus’ disciples “believed in Him” (cf. 1:50d).

The quintessence of John 2:1–11 is that the guests had to drink the lower quality wine first and after Jesus’ first “sign”, the servants/waiters served them the “good/best” one (cf. v. 10e). The lack of wine was the reason for the wealth of wine though Jesus’ change of water into “good/best wine” (v. 10e) during the marriage at Cana in Galilee.

- The “Transitional” Verse (v. 12)

The Fourth Evangelist connects the narrative story of the marriage at Cana (cf. vv. 1–11) and Jesus’ cleansing of the Jerusalem Temple (cf. vv. 14–22) with a transitional verse in the form of a note of Jesus’ journey – “Itinerar”/“Reisenotiz”¹⁶⁶ – with the help of his typical phrase “after this” (in Greek “metà toũto” in v. 12a and 3:22; 5:1; 6:1; 7:1; 19:28, 38; 21:1): So Jesus,

“(His) mother ( )” (cf. vv. 1b, 3b, 5a and John 3:4, 6:42; 19:25–27; Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55 or Sure 3:45 – note also 1:45),

“(His) brothers ( )” – in the sense of “siblings”¹⁶⁷ (cf., for example, John 7:3, 5; Mark 3:21; 6:3; 1 Corinthians 9:5; Galatians 1:19) – and

“(His) disciples ( )” (vv. 2a, 11c, 17a, 22b) “went down” (cf. John 1:51e) from “Cana” (vv. 1a, 11a – about 300 metres above sea-level) to the wealthy Jewish town of “Capernaum”¹⁶⁸ (Hebrew: “village of Nahum”) near the northwest corner of the “Sea of Galilee/Tiberias”. They “stayed” only a few “days” – a short time – there.

2.2.2 Jesus’ Cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem (vv. 13–22¹⁶⁹)

- The Setting (vv. 13–14a)

Who: Jesus, the merchants (v. 14a), His disciples (vv. 17, 22), the Jewish authority/leadership of the Jerusalem Temple (vv. 18, 20)

Where: the Temple (v. 14a) in Jerusalem (v. 13b)

When: near the “Passover of the Jews” (v. 13a)

After the wedding in Cana (cf. vv. 1–11) and His stop in Capernaum (cf. v. 12) in Galilee, Jesus “went up” (cf. 1:51) to “Jerusalem”¹⁷⁰ in Judea which is between 606 and 826 metres above sea-level. The meaning of the Hebrew name “Jerusalem” is “Holy City”. It was both the political and the religious seat of the theocratic Palestine with the Temple as the Jewish centre for worship and praise of God, the “Sanhedrim”¹⁷¹ as an administrative authority and the “National Bank”¹⁷². The Temple¹⁷³ in Jerusalem was on a hill overlooking the city. Many Jewish families from all over the world would travel every year to Jerusalem during the key feasts¹⁷⁴ (cf. Exodus 23:14–17; 34:18–24; Deuteronomy 16:16–17). The temple area was always crowded during the Jewish feast¹⁷⁵ of “Passover” (one day on the 14^th Nisan) and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (seven days – cf. Exodus 23:15; 34:18; Leviticus 23:4–8; Deuteronomy 16:1–8) with thousands of out-of-town visitors. The week-long festival commemorated the freeing of the Jews from slavery in Egypt (cf. Exodus 6:6–8; 12:1–13:16).

- Jesus’ Action: The Temple Purification/Cleansing by Him (vv. 14–16)

v. 14: In the context of the first action of Jesus in Jerusalem’s “Temple”¹⁷⁶, the Evangelist describes the bustle in the temple area because of the daily offering of animals in sacrifice to God like the “oxen”¹⁷⁷, “sheep”¹⁷⁸, or “doves”¹⁷⁹ (cf. v. 14) by the pilgrims. The pilgrims from other cities and countries required a faultless animal (cf. Leviticus 1:1–17; 3:1–17) for their offering, which they had to buy on the spot in the outer Temple’s court of the Gentiles because many could not bring their own sacrificial animals on their long journey. In the temple area the foreign pilgrims had to use the local money, the “Syrian” currency, so that they had to change their own money there because their coins pictured other gods and emperors, not the God YHWH. That is the reason that merchants and money-changers with the work-permission of the authority of the Temple were around the Temple. In this way, the Temple’s courtyard was like a commercial bazaar, a marketplace (cf. v. 16c), or a profane¹⁸⁰ “centre of business” (cf. v. 16) and no longer a place of worship. He protested against the secularization of the Temple. This is the starting point of the cleansing of the Temple by Jesus in verses 15–16.

v. 15: The non-verbal action of Jesus was as follows: First He “made a whip¹⁸¹ out of cords¹⁸²”, then He “drove … all”¹⁸³ animals (cf. v. 14) “out¹⁸⁴ of the temple” area (cf. Mark 11:15–16; Matthew 21:12; Luke 19:45) and was against the money-making and less against the “money changers”¹⁸⁵ (and merchants) as persons. Afterwards He “scattered¹⁸⁶ the coins¹⁸⁷” and “overturned”¹⁸⁸ the “tables”¹⁸⁹ of the money-changers.

v. 16: Jesus explained His action with the help of the quotation by the prophet Zechariah 14:21. It means that “God’s house” (cf., for example, Mark 2:26; Matthew 12:4; Luke 6:4 – Genesis 28:17, 19; Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11) is seen as a “house of prayer” (cf. Mark 11:17; Matthew 21:13; Luke 19:46) for all people(s), including the Gentiles (cf. Isaiah 56:6–7; Jeremiah 7:11).

- First Comment by the Evangelist (v. 17)

The words “the house of (my) Father ( )” in verse 16c are the catchword for the quotation of the “Hebrew Bible”¹⁹⁰, in verse 17 especially Psalm 69:9/10. Instead of the Fourth Evangelist (and maybe the “beloved disciple” John), the disciples of Jesus are interpreters of their Master’s action. In this way, Jesus is the fulfiller of the Hebrew Bible, our so-called “Old Testament”.

- Jesus’ Hearing by the Jewish “Police” of the Temple in the Form of a Dialogue (vv. 18–20)

v. 18: In the pilgrimage time, the “Temple guards” (cf. John 7:32, 45–46) as the Temple “police” or some other Jewish authority – note the general phrase “the Jews” – in Greek “hoɩ ’Ioudaῖoɩ” in verses 18a, 20a – had to interview Jesus about the permission, authority, legitimation of his agitation in the Temple’s courtyard (cf. vv. 18, 20) as it was done for John the Baptist in John 1:19–28. In this context they demanded a “sign”¹⁹¹ (cf. John 4:48; 6:30; 7:31; 9:16; 11:47 and Mark 8:11–12/Matthew 12:38–39; Luke 23:8; 1 Corinthians 1:22) from Him; they wanted to see. With His prophetical action against the money-changers and merchants around the Temple (cf. vv. 14–16) Jesus attacked the lifeblood of the aristocracy in Jerusalem and He called their business into question. This business was their means of existence and the financial basis of the authority of the Jerusalem Temple. Whoever was against the Temple had all the people of Jerusalem against him. In this way, Jesus was not only a theological rebel but He was also a political and economic revolutionary because of His political provocation and economic boycott¹⁹².

v. 19: Jesus quickly answered their question with the help of a comparison: on the one hand the “Temple”¹⁹³ (vv. 20b, 21) in Jerusalem, a building “of stone” and on the other hand Jesus as Christ’s temple “of flesh” (cf. Ezekiel 36:26) by His Risen body¹⁹⁴ (cf. Mark 14:58; 15:29; Matthew 26:61; 27:40) as a “new Temple”¹⁹⁵ – note also the contrast¹⁹⁶ of the verbs “lúo” (= to destroy) in verse 19b and “egeíro” (= to raise up) in verse 19c. For the Jewish people and for the Christians this was an important and existential (eschatological, soteriological) question after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in the year 70 A.D. After this date, the Pharisees and the synagogues had a special standing in Jewish religious life, however for the Church of Jerusalem and also the Johannine Christian community Jesus, the Crucified and Resurrected Christ, was/is their centre in the light of the Easter event. That was one reason for the antagonism between Jews and Christians. The literary style progresses from ambiguity to misunderstanding and finally to comprehension.

v. 20: The Jewish authorities rejected His mysterious comparison. Their query in verse 20 has the same structure as Jesus’ answer in verse 19, so that the structure and same words of verses 19b–c and 20b–c are the same: In this way, they contrasted the long building-time (46 years) in the first part of the question (cf. v. 20b) with the short time (“three days”) of Jesus’ comparison in the second part (cf. vv. 19c, 20c) in an antithetic¹⁹⁷ way. Jesus only used the first person Singular for His answer in the second part in verse 19c (“… and in three days I will raise it up”) in contrast to the question of the “Temple guards” the second person Singular in verse 20c (“… and ( ) in three days (you) will raise it up”) for Jesus. Their misunderstanding was that they proceeded from the rebuilding of King Herod the Great who had enlarged the Temple in Jerusalem since 20/19 B.C. as a physical action. The additional “46 years” would date to about 26/27 respectively 27/28 A.D. (cf. Luke 3:23) but in fact the rebuilding was finished in 63/64¹⁹⁸ A.D. (cf. Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XX 219). Or is the number 46 the symbol for “ADAM” (1 + 4 + 1 + 40) according to the church father Origen¹⁹⁹?

- Second Comment by the Evangelist (vv. 21–22)

v. 21: The explanation of the Fourth Evangelist is in the light of Easter that the Risen “body” (in Greek “sõma”) of Jesus Christ is the new (spiritual) “Temple” (vv. 19b, 20b) where the Holy Spirit dwells fully (cf. John 1:32; 4:23–24; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19).

v. 22: The Evangelist’s comment suggests at the beginning of his Gospel that the passion of Jesus is also the glory of Jesus Christ because of His Resurrection at Easter in the acceptance of the Hebrew Bible (in Greek “graphé” – Scripture/s). Similar to verse 17a, His disciples – including the so-called “beloved disciple” in John 13:23; 18:15–16; 20:2–10; 21:7, 20–24 – “remembered” (in Greek “mɩmnéskomaɩ” in vv. 17a, 22b and in 14:26) all and reread the Hebrew Bible with a different interpretation (cf. 12:16; 20:9). In this way, like their Master Jesus, they were the “first Christian exegetical interpreters” of the Hebrew Bible²⁰⁰, the Jewish “Holy Scripture(s)” and our so-called “Old/First Testament” (= OT), with its three parts, in Hebrew called “TaNaK”: the Torah, the prophets (nebiim), the writings (ketubim). Their task was to tell this “Good News” to everyone and everywhere. On this point His disciples had – and all people still – have to decide about “believing” (cf. 1:50) in Jesus of Nazareth in “word” and deed and in His Resurrection for our Resurrection of the bodies, saying YES or NO to this foundation of our Christian creed as a great mystery (cf. 20:30–31).

The essence of the verses 13/14–22 is summarized with the words of the German poet Friedrich Hölderlin 1770–1843 A.D.), Brod und Wein/Bread and Wine, written in the 1804 version:

“… er kam dann selbst und nahm des Menschen Gestalt an

ein Aergerniß aber ist Tempel und Bild” –

“he would come himself and take on human appearance

a vexation is temple and image”.

2.2.3 Third Comment by the Evangelist (vv. 23–25)

v. 23: The Fourth Evangelist states that Jesus often went to Jerusalem as a pilgrim for the Jewish feasts (cf., for example, 5:1; 6:4; 7:2; 11:55; 12:1; 13:1). Because of Exodus 23:14–17; 34:18–24; Deuteronomy 16:16–17 three feasts required all Jewish males to come to Jerusalem:

- The Feast of Passover (Pessah/Pascha) and Unleavened Bread in John 2:13; 6:4; 11:55; 12:1; 13:1

- The Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) – maybe in 5:1

- The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) in 7:2, 8, 10, 14, 37

- The Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem in 10:22.

Some Jews “believed/trusted in” Jesus – note the phrase “believed in (His) name ( )” in v. 23b and in 1:12; 20:31 – because of His “signs”²⁰¹ (in Greek “semeῖa” in v. 23c and in 6:2, 14; 7:31; 10:41; 12:18 or 16:30) during His first presence during the Passover feast.

vv. 24–25: However, “Jesus” did “not entrust himself /to/ them” because He “knew” (in Greek “gɩnósko” in vv. 24b, 25c) the mind of human beings (cf. Matthew 9:4 and Zechariah 8:17 ) so that the initial faith of some followers who simply see the “signs” was superficial. In John 19:6, 15 some of them will cry: “Crucify Him!”