The RISV Version, with updates as new information is learned
Chapter 2 "Jesus Calls Disciples"
1 On the next day, John was again standing with two of his disciples. And as he gazed upon Jesus walking by, he says “Behold. The Lamb of God!” And the two disciples heard him speaking and followed Jesus.
2 Then when Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them “What is it you seek?”
3 And they replied to him, “Rabbi” which is translated to Master “where are you staying?”
4 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So, they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained that day with him. It was about the 10th hour.
5 One of the two that heard John and followed him was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. He finds his own brother Simon first, and he says to him “We have found the Messiah.” which is translated to Christ. He brought him to Jesus.
6 As he gazed upon him, Jesus said “You are Simon, the son of John. You will be called Cephas.” which means Peter.
7 On the next day, he resolved to go into Galilee and finds Philip. And Jesus says to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, from the city of Andrew and Peter.
8 Philip finds Nathanael and says to him, “We have found whom Moses wrote of in the Law, also the prophets. Jesus, son of Joseph, of Nazareth.”
9 And Nathanael said to him, “Is anything good able to come out of Nazareth?”
10 Philip says to him, “Come and see.”
11 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and he says about him, “Behold. A true Israelite. In whom there is no trickery.”
12 Nathanael says to him, “How do you know me?”
13 Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip cried out to you, while under the fig tree, I saw you.”
14 Nathanael responded to him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel.”
15 Jesus responded and said to him, “You believe because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see more of these things.”
16 And he says to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending (abiding) on the Son of Man.
17 And on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus was therefore also invited, and his disciples, to the wedding.
18 And lacking enough wine, the mother of Jesus says to him, “They don’t have wine.”
19 And Jesus says to her, “Woman, what do your concerns have to do with me? My time has not yet come.”
20 His mother says to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
21 Now there were six stone water jars there, set there in accordance to the ritual cleansing of the Judeans, having space for 2 or 3 metretae.
22 Jesus says to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he says to them, “Now pour some and carry it to the architriplinian.” And they carried it.
23 Then when the architriplinian had tasted it, the water had become wine, and he didn’t know where it came from. However, the servants knew, having poured the water.
24 The architriplinian calls the groom and says to him, “Every man sets out the good wine first, and the inferior when it has been drunk. You have kept the good wine until now.”
25 Jesus did this, the first of the signs, in Cana of Galilee. And he revealed his glory and his disciples believed in him.
My Thoughts
The first of the two disciples of John that heard him call Jesus the Lamb of God is identified as Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Andrew and the other follow Jesus and ask him where he’s been staying. They follow him to this place and stay with him a few hours, from about the 10th hour until the 12th as it states that they stayed with him “that” day. The day ended at sunset and thus Andrew then goes to tell his brother Simon about Jesus.
Andrew was the first of the two to find another person and bring them to Jesus the Messiah. Jesus calls Simon by the name Cephas, which is Peter.
The second disciple to hear John is identified as Philip. When Jesus desires to go to Galilee, likely because he is invited to a wedding where his mother and brothers are, he finds Philip and tells him to follow. Philip goes and finds Nathanael who Jesus calls, saying that he saw him under the fig tree before Philip ever called out to him.
Nathanael makes a bold claim, more than just a Messiah, Jesus is the Son of God and King. Jesus tells him that he will see more things like his ability to know people. Nathanael will see the sky opened and then we get the “ascending and descending” phrase. This phrase is linked to the nature of how the Spirit abides in Jesus. It is like a bridge between Jesus and God in heaven that is always connected.
The wedding is in Cana but this is not the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. This will be directly addressed by Jesus saying “It is not yet my time.” Because Jesus brings his new disciples, there is not enough wine for everyone. Jesus’ mother brings this to his attention but he responds with a dismissive statement as if to say “Why bring this to me?” But fixes the problem anyway.
The wine is first poured out as water from the jars and given to the “master of the feast” who is the event organizer, the person in charge of the food and wine. They assume that the groom has brought this wine of which they were unaware and is very good.
John calls this as the first of Jesus’ signs. This is very interesting. John calls it a sign but not a sign of what. Thinking back to Genesis 1:14, Psalm 19:1, Isaiah 7, and many other verses that talk about the stars and signs, I wonder if John was connecting the act of Jesus as fulfilling something that they believed that God told them in the stars. If this happened around the month of Shevat, that could help explain this too as not long after, the first Passover in John will occur in Nisan.
Shevat corresponds with Aquarius, the Water-Bearer. The sign could be about the old, ordinary life (water) being transformed into the new, abundant life (wine) in Christ. Aquarius pours out the life giving water that symbolizes spiritual knowledge and sustenance. Jesus is God giving people the divine nectar at a wedding. Doing this at a wedding also connects the sign to Jesus’ death and the body of believers being the bridge that becomes his through his blood.
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