John 2 - NIV First Century Study Bible

2:6 Stone water jars. According to the Torah, ritually impure clay vessels were to be smashed instead of washed (see Lev 11:33). Stone, however, was not considered porous by the rabbis and priests and could be washed instead of destroyed. A huge quarry was found outside of Jerusalem that was used for the sole purpose of manufacturing these types of jars.

2:11 The first of the signs. It’s possible John organized his Gospel around seven signs, though the exact number is debated. If John had seven in mind, this may have hinted at a kind of “new creation” story, which is also a part of the opening lines of his gospel.

2:13–16 Clearing the temple courts. John’s Gospel puts Jesus in Jerusalem during two separate Passovers (see 2:13; 11:55). John’s account of the cleansing of the temple reads like the accounts in the Synoptic Gospels; however, John’s Gospel places the event at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry instead of during the final week of Jesus’ ministry. In the Synoptic Gospels, the disturbance at the temple is presented as one of the major factors in the plot to arrest Jesus. It’s possible Jesus cleared the temple twice, but this seems unlikely. John may have reordered the events for a theological reason, which was not out of character for authors of ancient literature. Perhaps he wanted to set the stage for the conflict between Jesus and the religious-political establishment early in his Gospel.

2:20 Forty-six years. Herod the Great started renovating the temple in 20 bc, which puts this scene in the late 20s ad. The work was actually completely by Herod’s grandson Agrippa II just before the temple was destroyed by the Romans in ad 70.