Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 2:4
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
4. Woman, what have I to do with thee? ] S. John alone of all the Evangelists never gives the Virgin’s name. Here, as so often, he assumes that his readers know the main points in the Gospel narrative: or it may be part of the reserve which he exhibits with regard to all that nearly concerns himself. Christ’s Mother had become his mother (Joh 19:26-27). He nowhere mentions his brother James.
Treatises have been written to shew that these words do not contain a rebuke; for if Christ here rebukes His Mother, it cannot be maintained that she is immaculate. ‘Woman’ of course implies no rebuke; the Greek might more fairly be rendered ‘Lady’ (comp. Joh 19:26), At the same time it marks a difference between the Divine Son and the earthly parent: He does not say, ‘Mother.’ But ‘what have I to do with thee?’ does imply rebuke, as is evident from the other passages where the phrase occurs, Jdg 11:12 ; 1Ki 17:18; 2Ki 3:13; Mat 8:29; Mar 1:24; Luk 8:28. Only in one passage does the meaning seem to vary: in 2Ch 35:21 the question seems to mean ‘why need we quarrel?’ rather than ‘what have we in common?’ But such a meaning, if possible there, would be quite inappropriate here. The further question has been asked, what was she rebuked for? Chrysostom thinks for vanity; she wished to glorify herself through her Son. More probably for interference: He will help, but in His own way, and in His own time. Comp. Luk 2:51.
mine hour ] The meaning of ‘My hour’ and ‘His hour’ in this Gospel depends in each case on the context. There cannot here be any reference to His death; rather it means His hour for ‘manifesting forth His glory’ ( Joh 2:11) as the Messiah by working miracles. The exact moment was still in the future. Comp. Joh 7:8, where He for the moment refuses what He soon after does; and Joh 12:23, Joh 17:1, which confirm the meaning here given to ‘hour.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Woman – This term, as used here, seems to imply reproof, as if she was interfering in that which did not properly concern her; but it is evident that no such reproof or disrespect was intended by the use of the term woman instead of mother. It is the same term by which he tenderly addressed Mary Magdalene after his resurrection Joh 20:15, and his mother when he was on the cross, Joh 19:26. Compare also Mat 15:28; Joh 4:21; 1Co 7:16.
What have I to do with thee? – See the notes at Mat 8:29. This expression is sometimes used to denote indignation or contempt. See Jdg 11:12; 2Sa 16:10; 1Ki 17:18. But it is not probable that it denoted either in this place; if it did, it was a mild reproof of Mary for attempting to control or direct him in his power of working miracles. Most of the ancients supposed this to be the intention of Jesus. The words sound to us harsh, but they might have been spoken in a tender manner, and not have been intended as a reproof. It is clear that he did not intend to refuse to provide wine, but only to delay it a little; and the design was, therefore, to compose the anxiety of Mary, and to prevent her being solicitous about it. It may, then, be thus expressed: My mother, be not anxious. To you and to me this should not be a matter of solicitude. The proper time of my interfering has not yet come. When that is come I will furnish a supply, and in the meantime neither you nor I should be solicitous. Thus understood, it is so far from being a harsh reproof, that it was a mild exhortation for her to dismiss her fears and to put proper trust in him.
Mine hour … – My time. The proper time for my interposing. Perhaps the wine was not yet entirely exhausted. The wine had begun to fail, but he would not work a miracle until it was entirely gone, that the miracle might be free-from all possibility of suspicion. It does not mean that the proper time for his working a miracle, or entering. on his public work had not come, but that the proper time for his interposing there had not arrived.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 4. Woman, what have I to do with thee?] : O, woman, what is this to thee and me? This is an abrupt denial, as if he had said: “WE are not employed to provide the necessaries for this feast: this matter belongs to others, who should have made a proper and sufficient provision for the persons they had invited.” The words seem to convey a reproof to the virgin, for meddling with that which did not particularly concern her. The holiest persons are always liable to errors of judgment: and should ever conduct themselves with modesty and humility, especially in those things in which the providence of God is particularly concerned. But here indeed there appears to be no blame. It is very likely the bride or bridegroom’s family were relatives of the blessed virgin; and she would naturally suppose that our Lord would feel interested for the honour and comfort of the family, and, knowing that he possessed extraordinary power, made this application to him to come forward to their assistance. Our Lord’s answer to his mother, if properly translated, is far from being disrespectful. He addresses the virgin as he did the Syrophoenician woman, Mt 15:28; as he did the Samaritan woman, Joh 4:21, as he addressed his disconsolate mother when he hung upon the cross, Joh 19:26; as he did his most affectionate friend Mary Magdalene, Joh 20:15, and as the angels had addressed her before, Joh 20:13; and as St. Paul does the believing Christian woman, 1Co 7:16; in all which places the same term, which occurs in this verse, is used; and where certainly no kind of disrespect is intended, but, on the contrary, complaisance, affability, tenderness, and concern and in this sense it is used in the best Greek writers.
Mine hour is not yet come.] Or, my time, for in this sense the word is often taken. My time for working a miracle is not yet fully come. What I do, I do when necessary, and not before. Nature is unsteady-full of haste; and ever blundering, in consequence. It is the folly and sin of men that they are ever finding fault with the Divine providence. According to them, God never does any thing in due time-he is too early or too late: whereas it is utterly impossible for the Divine wisdom to forestall itself; or for the Divine goodness to delay what is necessary.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That it was ordinary with the Jews, speaking to women, to call them by the name of their sex, is plain from Mat 15:28; Luk 13:12; Luk 22:57; Joh 4:21. But that, speaking to their relations, they were wont to own their relation in their compellation, sometimes is also evident, from 1Ki 2:20, Ask on, my mother. So as our Saviours here calling the blessed virgin, Woman, not mother, is agreed by most to signify to her, that in this thing he did not own her as his mother, and so clothed with an authority to command him. And indeed so much the next words (what have I to do with thee?) signify, which is a form of speech that both signifies some displeasure for her unseasonable interrupting him, and also that she had no right nor authority upon him in this thing. See the use of the same phrase, Jdg 11:12; 2Sa 16:10; Ezr 4:3; Mat 8:29; 27:19. None was more obedient and respective to his parents than our Saviour, Luk 2:51, therein fulfilling the will of God, Jer 35:13,14; but in the business of his calling he regarded them not, Mat 12:48; Luk 2:49; and hath hereby taught us our duty, to prefer our obedience to our heavenly Father before our obedience to any earthly relation, Mat 5:37; Luk 14:26. He hath also hereby taught us, that the blessed virgin is not to be preferred before her Son (as the papists do). Besides this, our Lord giveth another reason for his not present hearkening to his mother,
mine hour is not yet come; either, because the time was not yet come to work miracles publicly; or to show her, that she was not to prescribe the time to him when he should work miraculously; thereby also showing us, that for things in this life we are to submit our desires to the Divine will, and to wait Gods leisure; yet by this expression he also gives her some hopes that he would in his own time supply this want.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4, 5. Womanno term ofdisrespect in the language of that day (Joh19:26).
what . . . to do withtheethat is, “In my Father’s business I have to do withHim only.” It was a gentle rebuke for officious interference,entering a region from which all creatures were excluded (compareAct 4:19; Act 4:20).
mine hour, c.hintingthat He would do something, but at His own time and so sheunderstood it (Joh 2:5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Jesus saith unto her, woman,…. Calling her “woman”, as it was no ways contrary to her being a virgin, Ga 4:4, so it was no mark of disrespect; it being an usual way of speaking with the Jews, when they showed the greatest respect to the person spoken to; and was used by our Lord when he addressed his mother with the greatest tenderness, and strongest affection, Joh 19:26. The Jews frequently object this passage to us Christians: one of their writers his objection in this manner p:
“they (the Christians) say, the mother of Jesus is never called a woman their law; but here her son himself calls her a man.”
Another puts it thus q:
“it is their (the Christians) belief, that Mary, even after she brought forth Jesus, was a virgin; but if she was, as they say, why does not her son call her by the name of virgin? but he calls her a woman, which signifies one known by man, as appears from Joh 2:4.”
To which may be replied, that the mother of Jesus is never called a woman in the New Testament, is not said by us Christians: it is certain she is so called, both here, and elsewhere; but then this is no contradiction to her being a virgin; one, and the same person, may be a virgin, and a woman: the Abraham’s servant was sent to take for wife for his son Isaac, is called a woman, though a virgin that had never known any man, Ge 24:5. Besides, we do not think ourselves obliged to maintain the perpetual virginity of Mary, the mother of our Lord; it is enough that she was a virgin when she conceived, and when she brought forth her firstborn: and as the Jews endeavour to take an advantage of this against the character of Mary, the Papists are very solicitous about the manner in which these words are said, lest they should be thought to contain a reproof, which they cannot bear she should be judged worthy of; or suggest any thing to her dishonour, whom they magnify as equal to her son: but certain it is, that the following words,
what have I to do with thee? show resentment and reproof. Some render the words, “what is it to thee and me?” and give this as the sense; what concern is this of ours? what business have we with it? let them look to it, who are the principal in the feast, and have the management of it. The Jew r objects to this sense of the words, but gives a very weak reason for it:
“but I say, (says he,) who should be concerned but the master of the feast? and he was the master of the feast:”
whereas it is a clear case that he was one of the guests, one that was invited, Joh 2:2, and that there was a governor or ruler of the feast, who might be more properly called the master of it than Jesus, Joh 2:8. However, since Christ afterwards did concern himself in it, it looks as if this was not his meaning. Others render it to the sense we do, “what have I with thee?” as the Ethiopic version; or “what business hast thou with me?” as the Persic version; and is the same with, , “what have I to do with thee?” used in 1Ki 17:18, where the Septuagint use the same phrase as here; and such a way of speaking is common with Jewish writers s: hereby signifying, that though, as man, and a son of hers, he had been subject to her, in which he had set an example of obedience to parents; yet, as God, he had a Father in heaven, whose business he came to do; and in that, and in his office, as Mediator, she had nothing to do with him; nor was he to be directed by her in that work; or to be told, or the least hint given when a miracle should be wrought, by him in confirmation of his mission and doctrine. Moreover, he adds,
mine hour is not yet come: meaning not the hour of his sufferings and death, in which sense he sometimes uses this phrase; as if the hint was, that it was not proper for him to work miracles as yet, lest it should provoke his enemies to seek his life before his time; but rather the time of his public ministry and miracles, which were to go together, and the one to be a proof of the other; though it seems to have a particular regard to the following miracle, the time of doing that was not yet come; the proper juncture, when all fit circumstances meeting together, it would be both the more useful, and the more illustrious: or his meaning is, that his time of doing miracles in public was not yet; and therefore, though he was willing to do this miracle, yet he chose to do it in the most private manner; so that only a few, and not the principal persons at the feast should know it: wherefore the reproof was not so much on the account of the motion itself, as the unseasonableness of it; and so his mother took it.
p Vet. Nizzachon, p. 222. q R. Isaac Chizzuk Emuna, par. 2. c. 42. p. 433. r Vet. Nizzachon, p. 223. s Vid. Kimchi in Psal. ii. 12. Bechinat Olam, p. 70.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Woman (). Vocative case of , and with no idea of censure as is plain from its use by Jesus in 19:26. But the use of instead of (Mother) does show her she can no longer exercise maternal authority and not at all in his Messianic work. That is always a difficult lesson for mothers and fathers to learn, when to let go.
What have I to do with thee? ( ;). There are a number of examples of this ethical dative in the LXX (Judg 11:12; 2Sam 16:10; 1Kgs 17:18; 2Kgs 3:13; 2Chr 35:21) and in the N.T. (Mark 1:24; Mark 5:7; Matt 8:29; Matt 27:19; Luke 8:28). Some divergence of thought is usually indicated. Literally the phrase means, “What is it to me and to thee?” In this instance F.C. Burkitt (Journal of Theol. Studies, July, 1912) interprets it to mean, “What is it to us?” That is certainly possible and suits the next clause also.
Mine hour is not yet come ( ). This phrase marks a crisis whenever it occurs, especially of his death (John 7:30; John 8:20; John 12:23; John 13:1; John 17:1). Here apparently it means the hour for public manifestation of the Messiahship, though a narrower sense would be for Christ’s intervention about the failure of the wine. The Fourth Gospel is written on the plane of eternity (W. M. Ramsay) and that standpoint exists here in this first sign of the Messiah.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Woman. Implying no severity nor disrespect. Compare Joh 20:13, 15. It was a highly respectful and affectionate mode of address.
What have I to do with thee [ ] . Literally, what is there to me and to thee. See on Mr 5:7, and compare Mt 8:29; Mt 27:19; Mr 1:24; Luk 8:28. It occurs often in the Old Testament, 2Sa 16:10; 1Ki 17:18, etc. Though in a gentle and affectionate manner, Jesus rejects her interference, intending to supply the demand in His own way. Compare Joh 6:6. Wyc., What to me and to thee, thou woman ?
Mine hour is not yet come. Compare Joh 8:20; Joh 12:23; Joh 13:1. In every case the coming of the hour indicates some crisis in the personal life of the Lord, more commonly His passion. Here the hour of His Messianic manifestation (ver. 11).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Jesus saith unto her,” (kai legei aute ho lesous) “And Jesus said to her,” directly, firmly, even apparently chiding her for something she had pressed upon Him, about revealing His power as the Messiah. His hour of miracle working had not come, but was now approaching.
2) “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” (ti emoi kai soi gunai) “Woman, what (business is it) to you and to me?” He spoke firmly but with respect, intimating that as a mature man (legally) a public teacher and speaker, above 30 years of age, a requirement of age for both Jewish and Roman teachers and leaders, He now had a higher rule of conduct to follow than the wish of His mother, that He go out and help find the needed wine, see Num 4:3; Num 4:23; Num 4:40; Num 4:35; Num 4:39; Num 4:43; Num 4:47.
3) “Mine hour is not yet come.” (oupo hekei he hora mou) “My hour not yet is or exists.” This seems to indicate that Jesus and His mother Mary had conferred regarding His being the Son of God, with creative powers, things it appears that Mary had long held in her heart, Luk 2:49. But the time for His beginning this demonstration of His power and glory was to be one of His own choice, not that of His mother’s natural wish, as a woman no longer making His decisions, see Joh 19:26; Joh 20:13-15. How long it was, before He did this miracle thereafter, is not known.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
4. Woman, what have I to do with thee? Why does Christ repel her so rashly? I reply, though she was not moved by ambition, nor by any carnal affection, still she did wrong in going beyond her proper bounds. Her anxiety about the inconvenience endured by others, and her desire to have it in some way mitigated, proceeded from humanity, and ought to be regarded as a virtue; but still, by putting herself forward, she might obscure the glory of Christ. Though it ought also to be observed, that what Christ spoke was not so much for her sake as for the sake of others. Her modesty and piety were too great, to need so severe a chastisement. Besides, she did not knowingly and willingly offend; but Christ only meets the danger, that no improper use may be made of what his mother had said, as if it were in obedience to her command that he afterwards performed the miracle.
The Greek words ( Τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοὶ) literally mean, What to me and to thee ? But the Greek phraseology is of the same import with the Latin — Quid tibi mecum ? ( what hast thou to do with me ?) The old translator led many people into a mistake, by supposing Christ to have asserted, that it was no concern of his, or of his mother’s, if the wine fell short. But from the second clause we may easily conclude how far removed this is from Christ’s meaning; for he takes upon himself this concern, and declares that it belongs to him to do so, when he adds, my hour is not yet come. Both ought to be joined together — that Christ understands what it is necessary for him to do, and yet that he will not act in this matter at his mother’s suggestion.
It is a remarkable passage certainly; for why does he absolutely refuse to his mother what he freely granted afterwards, on so many occasions, to all sorts of persons? Again, why is he not satisfied with a bare refusal? and why does he reduce her to the ordinary rank of women, and not even deign to call her mother ? This saying of Christ openly and manifestly warns men to beware lest, by too superstitiously elevating the honor of the name of mother in the Virgin Mary, (45) they transfer to her what belongs exclusively to God. Christ, therefore, addresses his mother in this manner, in order to lay down a perpetual and general instruction to all ages, that his divine glory must not be obscured by excessive honor paid to his mother.
How necessary this warning became, in consequence of the gross and disgraceful superstitions which followed afterwards, is too well known. For Mary has been constituted the Queen of Heaven, the Hope, the Life, and the Salvation of the world; and, in short, their fury and madness proceeded so far that they stripped Christ of his spoils, and left him almost naked. And when we condemn those horrid blasphemies against the Son of God, the Papists call us malignant and envious; and — what is worse — they maliciously slander us as deadly foes to the honor of the holy Virgin. As if she had not all the honor that is due to her, unless she were made a Goddess; or as if it were treating her with respect, to adorn her with blasphemous titles, and to substitute her in the room of Christ. The Papists, therefore, offer a grievous insult to Mary when, in order to disfigure her by false praises, they take from God what belongs to Him.
My hour is not yet come. He means that he has not hitherto delayed through carelessness or indolence, but at the same time he states indirectly that he will attend to the matter, when the proper time for it shall arrive. As he reproves his mother for unseasonable haste, so, on the other hand, he gives reason to expect a miracle. The holy Virgin acknowledges both, for she abstains from addressing him any farther; and when she advises the servants to do whatever he commands, she shows that she expects something now. But the instruction conveyed here is still more extensive that whenever the Lord holds us in suspense, and delays his aid, he is not therefore asleep, but, on the contrary, regulates all His works in such a manner that he does nothing but at the proper time. Those who have applied this passage to prove that the time of events is appointed by Fate, are too ridiculous to require a single word to be said for refuting them. The hour of Christ sometimes denotes the hour which had been appointed to him by the Father; and by his time he will afterwards designate what he found to be convenient and suitable for executing the commands of his Father; but in this place he claims the right to take and choose the time for working and for displaying his Divine power. (46)
(45) “ En la vierge Marie.”
(46) “ De bosongner et desployer sa virtue Divine.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) Woman, what have I to do with thee?This is an old battle-ground between Protestant and Romanist expositors. The former have found in each clause of the sentence a condemnation of Mariolatry; the latter have sought explanations not inconsistent with their faith and practice. It may be hoped that the day is now past, when anything other than thoughts of reverence and honour is to be connected with the title Woman, least of all in the words of One who claimed as His own highest dignity Sonship of, identity with, humanity; and who was here addressing the mother to whom He had been subject, and from whom His own humanity had been derived. Were proof needed of the tenderness which underlies the word as used by Him, it would be found in the other instances which the Gospels supply. . It is spoken only to the Syro-Phnician whose faith is great (Mat. 15:28); to the daughter of Abraham loosed from her infirmity (Luk. 13:12); and, in this Gospel, to the Samaritan embracing the higher faith (Joh. 4:21); perhaps to the sinner whom He does not condemn (Joh. 8:10); to the same mother from the cross (Joh. 19:26); and to Mary Magdalene in tears (Joh. 20:13; Joh. 20:15).
Still the second part of the sentence declares beyond all doubt that the two regarded His life-work from stand-points so different that there is nothing common between them. It is literally, What is that to me and to thee? The parallels for the form of the question are Jos. 22:24; Jdg. 11:12; 2Sa. 16:10; 1Ki. 17:18; 2Ki. 3:13; and the thrice-recorded question of the demoniac (Mat. 8:29; Mar. 1:24; Luk. 8:28). The real parallel is in this Gospel in Joh. 7:6. Mother and brethren alike regarded life in its events; for Him it is an unchanging principle. For them, action is determined by the outer stimulus; for Him, by the eternal will of the Father. Their hour is always ready; His is the development of a law. His answer is another form of that question kept in her heart: Wist ye not that I must be about My Fathers business? but they understood not the saying which He spake unto them (Luk. 2:49).
Mine hour is not yet comei.e., the hour for My being openly manifested as the Messiah. (Comp. especially Joh. 2:16; Joh. 8:20; Joh. 12:23; Joh. 17:1.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Woman The fact that our Lord on the cross (Joh 19:26) addressed his mother by the same term woman, at the most tender moment of his earthly life, shows that the word is as respectful as the term lady, and scarcely less affectionate than the term mother. See Mat 15:28; Luk 13:12; Joh 4:21; Joh 20:13. The question, What have I to do with thee? reads literally, What to me and to thee? The phrase occurs repeatedly in Scripture. Jos 22:24; Jdg 11:12; Mar 1:24. It clearly intimates that a matter is started upon which there could be no argument or discussion. The Protestant Church rightly interprets the language as informing the mother, that over the exercise of his official functions neither the authority of his human parent, nor the influence of his blood relations or private friends, have any right of control or interference. As in the temptation Jesus had established the principle that miracles must not be performed (for his own low self-interest, so, now, he declares that no fleshly relationship must expect to derive profit of a worldly nature from its connection with him.
Mine hour is not yet come By his hour or time, we understand some divinely-appointed crisis, or some transition-point in his history, opening some new stage, or initiating some new event. He did not go to be baptized by John until his hour arrived. He was led of the Spirit, (Mat 4:1,) at the proper point or hour, to his temptation. He uttered no self-testimony until the Baptist had attested him. Thus his every instant was obediently regulated by the Divine order. His every movement, being connected with the clock-work of God’s oversight, was timed by the pointing of the minute or second hand to its dot. The witness of the Father’s spirit with his own spirit announces to him the instant when his hour is come. In the present case his hour is the point of time when his era of miracles should commence. Jesus had now a request for miracle from his human mother; but no signal from his divine Father. So (Joh 7:30) his hour was not yet come to surrender to his murderers; until (Joh 17:1) he ejaculates, Father, the hour IS come! namely, of his glorification through death. Also (Joh 7:8) my time is not yet fully come; namely, of going up to the Feast of Tabernacles. Compare Joh 7:30; Joh 8:30; Joh 12:23; Joh 12:27; Joh 13:1; Joh 16:21.
But how happens it that his hour did come so soon? For, probably, upon the same day it was that the miracle was performed. We reply that his hour probably came immediately upon uttering this last sentence. As soon as all fleshly claim to hold control over, or gain emolument by, his Messianic power was rejected as soon as his mother retired to her proper position then was the last obstacle removed; his area of action immediately opened, and the hour to manifest forth by miracle his glory had arrived.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And Jesus says to her, ‘Woman, what is there to you and to me, my hour is not yet come.’
That Mary’s words are not just a quiet remark to her son comes out in the reply He made. It makes clear that He knew that she hoped that He would be able to do something remarkable, revealing some of the powers she now suspected that He had. On the other hand she knows that she cannot tell Him what to do. She can only draw His attention to the situation. Then the decision will lie with Him. It is probable that Joseph was already dead and that she had become used to leaning on her eldest son.
But the coming of the Messiah was often described in connection with a Messianic Feast (compare Isa 25:6) and it is quite possible she saw this as an opportunity for Him to reveal Himself. Like most of the others she saw the Messiah as someone who would bring peace and plenty and as His mother she could not wait for Him to be a success. Perhaps, she possibly thought, now was the time for Him to begin His greater ministry (compare Joh 7:3-4). She would have heard of what He had already done in Judea.
Jesus’ reply is fairly stern, but not as stern as it might appear. “Woman” is difficult to put into English because we do not have a word that means the equivalent. In Yorkshire it could be translated ‘lass’, (in Scotland ‘lassie’), which can be an affectionate term in the same way as this. It probably contains the sense of gentle chiding, but no more. It was, however, unusual for a Jew to address his mother in this way. We must therefore see in it a slight distancing of Himself, indicating that His ministry must not be interfered with.
What He says literally is, “What is there to you and to me?”. The phrase can be used (1) When one person is unjustly bothering another. The injured party may then say “What to me and to you?” meaning, “What have I done to you that you should do this to me?” (See Jdg 11:12; 2Ch 35:21; 1Ki 17:18). Alternately, (2) it may be used when someone is asked to get involved in a matter he feels is no business of his, he may say to the one asking him, “What to me and to you?” meaning, “That is your business, how am I involved?” (See 2Ki 3:13; Hos 14:8).
Here then this probably means, ‘we have different concerns, lass’, rather than the harsher ‘what have we in common?’ or ‘why do you do this to me?’ It was not yet the time when He wished to reveal Himself, as He makes crystal clear when He says ‘my hour has not yet come’. Even Jesus must await the hour God has appointed for Him, the hour which will finally result in His death and glorification (Joh 7:30; Joh 8:20; Joh 12:23; Joh 12:27; Joh 13:1; Joh 17:1). Would Mary have been so precipitate if she had known what was involved? It is hardly likely. How much more important is it for us then, not to rush into things before God and we are ready.
Jesus’ words are significant. As we have already seen, in John’s Gospel ‘His hour’ is regularly linked with His death. So Jesus may well already be feeling aware of what His hour will bring (compare Mar 2:20) and not be desirous of bringing it about too quickly. It was not an easy path He would be called on to tread, and He was fully aware of the consequences. Furthermore it indicates that even the preparation for that path was determined by His Father. He must not begin His revelation of Himself without His Father’s agreement. That fact having been made clear He apparently accepted that that particular hour had now come, the hour for showing His first sign of Who He Was.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 2:4. Woman, what have I to do with thee? The compellation with which Jesus addressed his mother, sounds harsh in our language, because with us it is never used, where respect is meant to be shewn. Nevertheless, woman anciently was a term of honour, being used in speaking to persons of the first quality, as wefind in the politest writers of antiquity. Besides, it was that by which our Lord addressed her at a time when his respect and tenderness for her cannot be called in question,ch. Joh 19:26. The clause which in our translation runs, What have I to do with thee, might be rendered so as to have a milder aspect. What hast thou to do with me? For the original words , are evidently used in this sense, 2Sa 19:22. Mar 5:7. What hast thou to do with me? Mine hour is not yet come. “The season of my public ministry in this country is not yet come. Before I work miracles in Galilee, I must go into Judea and preach, where the Baptist, my forerunner, has been preparing my way.” Some translate the latter clause interrogatively, Is not mine hour come? “The season of my public ministry, at which period your authority over me ceases?” Upon the whole, our Lord’s answer to his mother, though perhaps intended as a slight rebuke, was not in the least disrespectful; as is evident likewise from the temper with which she received it, and from her desiring the servants to do whatever he ordered them. The generality of writers upon this subject have observed, with great justice I have no doubt, that this rebuke was intended by our Lord, in his prophetic spirit, as a standing testimony against that idolatry, which he foresaw after-ages would superstitiously bestow upon his mother, even to the robbing him of the right and honour of his alone Mediatorship and intercession.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 2:4 . Jesus understands His mother’s wish, but He has in His mind a method of help altogether different from what she meant. He therefore repels her interference, in the consciousness of the call which here is given Him to begin His Messianic ministry of miracles, and holds out the prospect of rendering help at a later period.
;] a rejection of fellowship ( , Jos 22:24 ; Jdg 11:12 , al.; Mat 8:29 ; Mat 27:19 ; Mar 1:24 ; Luk 8:28 ; also in the classics; see Bernhardy, p. 98), here with reference to the help to be rendered, which He Himself, without His mother’s assistance, and independently of her, would accomplish, according to His own divinely determined call and will, and in a miraculous manner. Godet well says: “Sa devise sera dsormais: mon pre et moi.” Comp. Dorner, Jesu sndlose Vollkommenh. p. 11. The appellation added to the
(which Hofmann thinks should be joined to what follows; but why?) does not contain anything unfriendly (“duriter respondet,” Melancthon), as is clear already from Joh 19:21 ; see also Wetstein. Comp. Joh 20:15 . But His not saying followed involuntarily from the consciousness of His higher wonder-working capacity and will, by virtue of which, as an , He rejected any, interference proceeding from feminine weakness, even such as, was presented here before Him in His mother. The remark of Euthymius Zigabenus is not happy (comp. Augustine): “He spoke thus as God;” while that of Epiphanius, Beza, Calvin, and many others, is singular: “His aim was to oppose that future Mariolatry which He foresaw.” Still, the passage tells against that worship. Schenkel says erroneously, quoting Mar 3:21 , “He was at variance with the members of His family.”
] can only mean, the moment when it will he for me to help. [135] So also Hengstenberg, in keeping with the context. Jesus, conscious of His close communion with the Father, sees clearly that this His first manifestation of Himself as Messiah in the working of miracles stands, even with reference to the time when it is to begin, in close connection with the divine appointment; and He feels that the moment ( = , as in Joh 16:21 , and often in the N. T. and the classics) for this first Messianio display of power is not yet present when His mother refers to the want of wine. How He was conscious of the exact horas et moras for working, cannot be more precisely determined. Euthymius Zigabenus is substantially right: ; and Ewald: “the hour of full Messianic sense of power.” Strangely attributing to Mary thoughts of that kind, Baumgarten Crusius remarks, “the moment of my public appearance as Messiah;” and Godet: “l’heure de l’avnement royal .” Anticipating Joh 2:11 , Lcke, Tholuck, Brckner, Maier, Baur, Baumgarten render: “the moment of the revelation of my glory .” Comp. Luthardt: “This miracle, as the figurative prolepsis of Christ’s subsequent full revelation of Himself before the eyes of men, was of significance only for that narrow circle, and was intended to lead Jesus on from it into public life,” of which, however, the text contains no hint either in Joh 2 :or elsewhere.
[135] It is an error to suppose that in John always signifies the hour of Christ’s death . Its reference depends entirely upon the context , as in Joh 7:30 , Joh 8:20 , where it means the hour of Christ’s seizure; and Joh 13:1 , where the more precise definition is expressly given. Already in Chrysostom, Ebrard, and many, take it here as meaning the hour of Christ’s death. Hilgenfeld understands it of the hour of the glorification of Jesus, the culminating point of which was certainly the crucifixion; and that Jesus, according to John, gives expression to the full consciousness of the Logos, and its superhuman independence of all human counsel.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
Ver. 4. What have I to do with thee? &c. ] Is it fit to prescribe to the only wise God? to send for the king by a post? The Chinese whip their gods if they come not at a call.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
4. ] The answer of our Lord is beyond question one of reproof , and disclaimer of participation in the grounds on which the request was made . See instances, besides reff., in Jos 22:24 ; Mar 1:24 . And so all the early expositors understood it. Irenus (iii. 16. 6, p. 206) says, “Dominus repellens ejus intempestivam festinationem, dixit,” &c.; and Chrysostom, . , and therefore He . Hom. xxi. in Joh., vol. viii. p. 122. The Romanist expositors mostly endeavour to divest the answer of any aspect of rebuke, and maintain that it was so uttered for our sakes alone, to teach us that He did not perform His miracles from regard to human affinity, but solely from love and His object of manifesting His glory. So Maldonatus. And this is true: but first among those to be taught this, was she herself, who had tempted Him to work a miracle from that regard .
It has perhaps not been enough noticed, that in this answer the Lord declares His period of subjection to her as His earthly parent to be at an end. Henceforth His thoughts are not her thoughts. At twelve years of age, see Luk 2:49 , He answers ‘thy father and I,’ by ‘My Father:’ now, He is to be no longer before the world as Mary’s son , but as sanctified by the Father and sent into the world: compare Mat 12:48-50 , and Luk 11:27-28 , and see Stier’s admirable remarks, R. J. i. 39, edn. 2, also Olshausen’s, ii. 81.
] There is no reproach in this term: but rather respect. The Lord henceforth uses it towards her, not calling her ‘mother,’ even on the Cross (see ch. Joh 19:26 ), doubtless for the reason alleged above.
. ] This expression is generally used in John of the time of the Death of Christ: see reff. But it is only so used because His death is in those passages the subject naturally underlying the narrative. It is, any fixed or appointed time; and therefore here, the appointed time of His self-manifestation by miracles. This time was not yet come, but was close at hand. Some have supposed that the wine was not yet wholly exhausted, and that our Lord would wait till the miracle should be undoubted (so Trench, p. 192): but Stier well remarks that the known depth of all His early sayings forbids us from attaching only this meaning to it; and he sees in it a reference to the great marriage-feast and the new fruit of the vine in the Kingdom of God (i. 41, edn. 2). If this be so, it can be only in the background; the words must have had a present meaning, and I believe it to be, ‘ My time, the time at which, from the Father’s appointment and my own concurring will, I am to begin miraculous working, is not yet arrived: forestall it not .’ Very similarly He speaks, ch. Joh 7:6 , to His brethren, and yet afterwards goes up to the feast. The notion that refers to the hour of our Lord’s human infirmity on the Cross when (ch. Joh 19:27 ) He “acknowledged her as His mother,” Wordsw., seems wholly unfounded. Where do we find any such special acknowledgment there? And why should we go out of our way for a fanciful sense of words which bear an excellent meaning as referring to circumstances then present?
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 2:4 . His complete reply is, , ; . is a term of respect, not equivalent to our “woman”. See chap. Joh 19:26 , Joh 20:13 , Luk 13:12 . In the Greek tragedians it is constantly used in addressing queens and persons of distinction. Augustus addresses Cleopatra as (Dio, quoted by Wetstein). Calvin goes too far when he says that this term of address was used to correct the superstitious adoration of the Virgin which was to arise. But while there is neither harshness nor disrespect, there is distance in the expression. Wetstein hits the point when he says: “Non poterat dicere: quid mihi tecum est, mater?” represents the Hebrew (Jdg 11:12 ), and means: What have we in common? Trench gives the sense: “Let me alone; what is there common to thee and me; we stand in this matter on altogether different grounds”. Or, as Holtzmann gives it, Our point of view an interests are wholly diverse; why do you mingle them? . not as Bengel, “discedendi hora,” but, mine hour for bringing relief. This implies that He too had observed the failure of the wine and was waiting a fitting opportunity to interfere. That the same formula is more than once used by Jesus of His death (see chap. Joh 7:30 , Joh 8:20 ) merely indicates that it could be used of any critical time. Euthymius says it here means “the hour of miracle working”. Wetstein quotes from R. Sira “non quavis hora fit miraculum”. Especially true is this of the first miracle-of the Messiah, which would commit Him to a life of publicity ending in an ignominious death. That Mary found hope in the is obvious from Joh 2:5 . She did not find His reply wholly refusal. She therefore says to the servants (Joh 2:5 ), . The , or servants waiting at table, might not otherwise have obeyed an unimportant guest. His orders might perhaps be of an unusual kind.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Woman. Quite a respectful form of address. Not as in Eng. In Greek authors = Madam. what, &c. A Hebraism (2Sa 16:10).
Mine hour, &c. Marking a crisis, which is noted in Joh 2:11. A characteristic expression in this Gospel. See note on Joh 7:6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
4.] The answer of our Lord is beyond question one of reproof, and disclaimer of participation in the grounds on which the request was made. See instances, besides reff., in Jos 22:24; Mar 1:24. And so all the early expositors understood it. Irenus (iii. 16. 6, p. 206) says, Dominus repellens ejus intempestivam festinationem, dixit, &c.;-and Chrysostom, . , and therefore He . Hom. xxi. in Joh., vol. viii. p. 122. The Romanist expositors mostly endeavour to divest the answer of any aspect of rebuke, and maintain that it was so uttered for our sakes alone, to teach us that He did not perform His miracles from regard to human affinity, but solely from love and His object of manifesting His glory. So Maldonatus. And this is true:-but first among those to be taught this, was she herself, who had tempted Him to work a miracle from that regard.
It has perhaps not been enough noticed, that in this answer the Lord declares His period of subjection to her as His earthly parent to be at an end. Henceforth His thoughts are not her thoughts. At twelve years of age, see Luk 2:49, He answers thy father and I, by My Father:-now, He is to be no longer before the world as Marys son, but as sanctified by the Father and sent into the world:-compare Mat 12:48-50, and Luk 11:27-28, and see Stiers admirable remarks, R. J. i. 39, edn. 2, also Olshausens, ii. 81.
] There is no reproach in this term: but rather respect. The Lord henceforth uses it towards her, not calling her mother, even on the Cross (see ch. Joh 19:26), doubtless for the reason alleged above.
. ] This expression is generally used in John of the time of the Death of Christ: see reff. But it is only so used because His death is in those passages the subject naturally underlying the narrative. It is, any fixed or appointed time;-and therefore here, the appointed time of His self-manifestation by miracles. This time was not yet come, but was close at hand. Some have supposed that the wine was not yet wholly exhausted, and that our Lord would wait till the miracle should be undoubted (so Trench, p. 192): but Stier well remarks that the known depth of all His early sayings forbids us from attaching only this meaning to it;-and he sees in it a reference to the great marriage-feast and the new fruit of the vine in the Kingdom of God (i. 41, edn. 2). If this be so, it can be only in the background; the words must have had a present meaning, and I believe it to be, My time, the time at which, from the Fathers appointment and my own concurring will, I am to begin miraculous working, is not yet arrived: forestall it not. Very similarly He speaks, ch. Joh 7:6, to His brethren, and yet afterwards goes up to the feast. The notion that refers to the hour of our Lords human infirmity on the Cross when (ch. Joh 19:27) He acknowledged her as His mother, Wordsw., seems wholly unfounded. Where do we find any such special acknowledgment there? And why should we go out of our way for a fanciful sense of words which bear an excellent meaning as referring to circumstances then present?
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 2:4. ; what is there[common] to Me and thee?) Thy thoughts are one thing, saith He, mine another. Similarly the disciples are disciplined, ch. Joh 6:6, Jesus saith to Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? and this He said to prove him; ch. Joh 13:7, [Jesus to Peter, when about to wash his feet] What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.-) He does not say, Mary, nor mother; but woman; which appellation held a middle place, and was especially becoming for the Lord to use: ch. Joh 19:26, Woman, behold thy son; perhaps, also, it was peculiar [in its use] to Him. The Lord had regard to the Father above all things; not even did He know His mother, according to the flesh. 2Co 5:16, Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Comp. note on Joh 20:13. Especially was the appellation of mother unsuitable to this formula, What is there to Me and thee? However, the Greek , having no synonym in our language, has a more respectful sound than Woman [ch. Joh 19:26 shows it betrays no want of tender respect], mulier, [Germ.] Weib, as contradistinguished from [female, lady] femina, [Germ.] Frau: and woman is used for mother, Isa 45:10, Woe unto him, that saith-to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?- ) is not yet come. The same word [occurs], ch. Joh 4:47, Joh 8:42.-, hour) of doing what you hint to Me, i.e. of withdrawing. Certainly his hour of assisting them was come.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 2:4
Joh 2:4
And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee?-His response to his mother sounds to us harsh and lacking in respect, but the style of address depends on the customs of the times and place and we cannot judge by this. The response rather shows depths of feeling and earnestness in him. It was the customary style of address. Our customs differ is all.
mine hour is not yet come.-It is generally considered that he means that his hour for manifesting his power had not come. If so, it soon did come.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Woman: Joh 19:26, Joh 19:27, Joh 20:13, Joh 20:15, Mat 15:28
what: Deu 33:9, 2Sa 16:10, 2Sa 19:22, Luk 2:49, 2Co 5:16, Gal 2:5, Gal 2:6
mine: Joh 7:6, Joh 7:30, Joh 8:20, Joh 12:23, Joh 13:1, Ecc 3:1
Reciprocal: 1Ki 2:20 – I desire 1Ki 17:18 – What have I 2Ki 3:13 – What 2Ch 35:21 – What Mat 8:29 – What Mat 12:48 – Who is Mar 3:33 – Who Luk 4:23 – do
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
4
Such an appeal indicated that she expected Jesus to perform some kind of a miracle, since the occasion was too far advanced to go to a market. But Jesus had not intended launching upon his public miraculous works in full scale degree yet. Moffatt renders the question Jesus asked, “What have you to do with me?” It was a mild protest against her attempt to press Him into his work before he was ready.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 2:4. And Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? The English words convey an impression of disrespect and harshness which is absent from the original. This use of the Greek word for woman is consistent with the utmost respect. In Homer, for example (Iliad, xxiv. 300), Priam thus addresses Hecuba, his queen, and other examples of the same kind might easily be given. This Gospel itself shows that the word is not out of place where the deepest love and compassion are expressed: see chap. Joh 19:26, Joh 20:13; Joh 20:15. Yet the contrast of woman and mother must strike every one who reads with attention. The relation of mother, however precious in its own sphere, cannot be allowed to enter into that in which Jesus now stands. John does not relate the incident recorded in Mat 12:46-50; Mar 3:31-35; Luk 8:19-21; but the same thought is present here. Still more distinctly is this lesson taught in the words that follow, What have I to do with thee? The rendering defended by some Roman Catholic writers (though not found in the Vulgate, or in the Rhemish Testament of 1582), What is that to thee and me?that is, Why should we concern ourselves with this failure of the wine?is altogether impossible. The phrase is a common one, occurring in Jdg 11:12; 2Sa 16:10; 2Sa 19:22; 1Ki 17:18; 2Ki 3:13; 2Ch 35:21; Mat 8:29; Mar 1:24; Mar 5:7; Luk 4:34; Luk 8:28 : comp. also Jos 22:24; 2Ki 9:18; Ezr 4:3; Mat 27:19. These passages show beyond doubt the meaning of the words: whoever makes use of the phrase rejects the interference of another, declines association with him on the matter spoken of. Hence the words reprove,though mildly. They do more; in them Jesus warns even His mother against attempting henceforth to prescribe or suggest what He is to do. Thus understood, the words are an irresistible argument against the Mariolatry of Rome.
Mine hour is not yet come. In two other places in this Gospel Jesus refers to the coming of the hour (Joh 12:23, Joh 17:1); and three times John speaks of His hour as not yet come (Joh 7:30, Joh 8:20) or as now come (Joh 13:1). The other passages throw light on this, showing the peculiar solemnity which belongs to the words before us. In every instance the hour is fraught with momentous issues:the hour when the restraint put upon His foes shall continue no longer; when He shall pass away from the world to His Father; when He shall be glorified. So here the hour is that of the manifestation of His glory. The language used in chap. Joh 13:1; Joh 13:1, together with the general teaching of the Gospel, shows that the hour is not self-chosen, but is that appointed by the Father. He came to do the will of Him that sent Him, the appointed work at the appointed time. That time none may hasten or delay by a single instant. If, then, the miracle quickly followed upon these words, which would seem to have been the case, this can present no difficulty; the Son waited for the very moment chosen by the Fathers will.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Ver. 4. Jesus saith to her: What is there between me and thee, woman? My hour is not yet come.
Jesus makes Mary sensible of her incompetency in the region into which she intrudes. The career on which He has just entered, is that in which He depends only on His Father; His motto henceforth is: My Father and I. Mary must learn to know in her son theservant of Jehovah, of Jehovah only. The expression What is there between me and thee? is a frequent one in the Old Testament. Comp. Jdg 11:12; 2Sa 16:10; 1Ki 17:18; 2Ki 3:13. We even meet it, sometimes, in profane Greek; thus the reply of a Stoic to a jester is quoted, who asked him, at the moment when their vessel was about to sink, whether shipwreck was an evil or not: What is there between us and thee, O man? We perish, and thou permittest thyself to jest! This formula signifies, that the community of feeling to which one of the interlocutors appeals is rejected by the other, at least in the particular point which is in question. Mary had, no doubt, well understood that a great change was being wrought in the life of her son; but, as often happens with our religious knowledge, she had not drawn from this grave fact the practical consequence which concerned her personally. And thus, as Baumlein says, Jesus finds Himself in a position to reject the influence which she presumes still to exercise over Him. The address , woman, is thereby explained. In the language in which Jesus spoke, as well as in the Greek language, this term involves nothing contrary to respect and affection. In Dio Cassius, a queen is accosted by Augustus with this expression. Jesus Himself uses it in addressing His mother at a moment of inexpressible tenderness, when, from His elevation on the cross, He speaks to her for the last time, Joh 19:26. Here this expression, entirely respectful though it may be, gives Mary to understand, that, in the sphere on which Jesus has just entered, her title of mother has no longer any part to play.
Here for Mary, as Luthardt well observes, is the beginning of a painful education. The middle point of this education will be marked by the question of Jesus, Who is my mother, and who are my brethren? (Luk 8:19 f.) The end will be that second address: Woman (Joh 19:26), which will definitely break the earthly relation between the mother and the son. Mary feels at this moment, for the first time, the point of the sword which, at the foot of the cross, shall pierce through her heart. After having made her sensible of her incompetency, Jesus gives the ground of His refusal.
The words: My hour is not yet come have been understood by Euthymius, Meyer, Hengstenberg, Lange and Riggenbach (Leben des Herru Jesu, p. 374), in a very restricted sense: the hour for performing the desired miracle. The following words of Mary to the servants, according to this view, would imply two things: the first, that Jesus received a little later from His Father an inward sign which permitted Him to comply with His mother’s wish; and the second, that by a gesture or a word, He made known to her this new circumstance. This is to add much to the text. Besides, how could Jesus, before having received any indication of His Father’s will, have said: not yet, a word which would necessarily mean that the permission will be granted Him later. Finally, this weakened sense which is here given to the expression my hour does not correspond with the solemn meaning which is attached to this term throughout our whole Gospel. If it were desired to hold to this weakened meaning, it would be still better to give to this clause, with Gregory of Nazianzum, an interrogative turn: Is not the hour (of my emancipation, of my autonomy) come?
Let us remark that the expression my hour is here connected with the verb is come, as in all the passages in John where it is taken in its weightiest sense: His hour was not yet come (Joh 7:30; Joh 8:20, comp. Joh 13:1); The hour is come (Joh 12:23; Joh 17:1). His hour, in all these passages, is that of His Messianic manifestation, especially through His death and through the glorification which should follow it. The analogous expression my time, Joh 7:6, is also applied to His Messianic manifestation, but through the royal entry into Jerusalem. This is the meaning which seems to me to prevail here. Jesus makes known to Mary, impatient to see Him mount the steps of His throne, that the hour of the inauguration of His Messianic royalty has not yet struck. It is in His capital, Jerusalem, in His palace, the Temple, and not in the centre of His family, that His solemn manifestation as Messiah must take place (Mal 3:1 : And then He shall enter into His temple).
This sense of the expression my hour could not be strange to the mind of Mary. How many times, in her conversations with Jesus, she had doubtless herself used this expression when asking Him: Will thine hour come at last? That hour was the one towards which all her desire as an Israelite and a mother moved forward. Jesus rejects Mary’s request, but only so far as it has something of ambition. How often in His conversations, He replies less to the question which is addressed to Him than to the spirit in which it is put (comp. Joh 2:19; Joh 3:3; Joh 6:26). He thus lays hold of the person of His interlocutor even in his inmost self. Mary desires a brilliant miracle, as a public sign of His coming. Jesus penetrates this ambitious thought and traces a boundary for Mary’s desires which she should no more attempt to cross. But this does not prevent His understanding that along with this, there is something to be done in view of the present difficulty.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Verse 4
Woman. According to the usage of those times, this was a respectful and proper mode of address.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
2:4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine {b} hour is not yet come.
(b) My appointed time.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Westerners would consider anyone addressing his mother as "woman" to be disrespectful, but this was an acceptable word to use in Jesus’ culture (Gr. gunai, cf. Joh 19:26; Joh 20:15). It did not have negative connotations. [Note: Derrett, pp. 89-90.]
"That Jesus calls Mary ’Woman’ and not ’Mother’ probably indicates that there is a new relationship between them as he enters his public ministry." [Note: Morris, p. 158.]
Similarly the words "What do I have to do with you?" (NASB) sound arrogant, but they were only a gentle rebuke. They constituted an idiom that is hard to translate (cf. Jdg 11:12; 2Sa 16:10; Mat 8:29; Mar 1:24; Mar 5:7; Luk 4:34; Luk 8:28). "What do we have in common?" meaning "Your concern and mine are not the same" [Note: Tasker, p. 60.] or "Madam, that concerns you, not me" [Note: The New Scofield Reference Bible, p. 1125.] captures the spirit of the question. Jesus was not dishonoring His mother. He was explaining to her that He would handle the situation, but in His own time and way. Jesus’ obedience to His heavenly Father was more important than His obedience to His earthly mother.
Jesus elsewhere always spoke of His "hour" (Gr. hora) as the time of His passion and its consequences (cf. Joh 5:28-29; Joh 7:30; Joh 8:20; Joh 12:23; Joh 12:27; Joh 13:1; Joh 17:1).
"It refers to the special time in Jesus’ earthly life when He was to leave this world and return to the Father (Joh 13:1), the hour when the Son of man was to be glorified (Joh 17:1). This was accomplished through His suffering, death, resurrection (and ascension, though this was not emphasized by John)." [Note: Harris, p. 196.]
When Jesus’ hour finally did come, He met the need of the entire human race by dying on the cross. Mary was requesting that He meet a need immediately. Perhaps Jesus referred to His hour not yet being present to help Mary realize that the meeting of needs was something He needed to control. Just as it was not yet time for Him to die, so it was not yet time for Him to meet this pressing need for wine. Probably He meant, The time for me to meet this need has not yet arrived. Throughout this Gospel, John made it clear that Jesus was on a divine schedule that His Father controlled.