The place in both signs is Galilee. There is also a reference to the "third" day and the

"third" time. Wine is provided in the one case, and food in the other. In the first sign we

read, "They have no wine", in the last they had "caught nothing" and had "no meat".

In the first we have six water pots, in the eighth 153 fishes. In both there is a

command, "Fill the water pots", "Cast the net", which is obeyed. The verb "to bring"

or "to bear" (pherõ) occurs in both signs: "And they bear it", "Bring of the fish". The

verb "to manifest" (phaneroõ) also occurs in both signs.  In the first his glory is

manifested, in the last Himself. The value of such details is that they emphasize for us

the important part of the sign, and indicate what part of the incident constitutes the "sign"

and what the accidental setting.

The title of Christ which immediately precedes the record of the first sign is "The Son

of man". Nathaniel had confessed Him "The Son of God". The Lord Himself refers to

Himself as the "Son of man". This title carries with it the idea of rule and dominion

forfeited by the first man. The title occurs twelve times in the Gospel which is suggestive

of its association with Israel.

If we read the narrative of this sign without reference to the preceding chapter we shall

begin talking about the "third" day and its type, resurrection. If, however, we pause to

ask what the primary meaning of the words of 2: 1 may be, light will be thrown upon its

true typical character.  The words, "And the third day", indicate a continuance of

reckoning. In chapter 1: we read of four successive days, which link up the waning

ministry of John the Baptist with the opening ministry of the Lord.

"The day following" (1: 43); "The next day" (1: 35); "The next day" (1: 29). Now, as

1: 29 says, "The next day", 1: 19-28 must indicate the day previous. This gives us four

days in all. The first day is the day of John's confession, when he took no honour to

himself but ascribed greatness to the coming Messiah. The second day John sees Jesus

and says, "Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world", and also

contrasts his baptism with that of the Lord's. He concludes this second day's testimony

with the words, "I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God". The third day John

again says of Christ, "Behold the Lamb of God". This results in two of his disciples

following the Lord. One of these proves to be Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, who first

found his own brother Simon and said, "We have found the Messiah, that is, the Christ".

The fourth day the Lord goes into Galilee and calls Philip: and Philip find Nathaniel, and

Nathaniel confesses that Jesus is the Son of God and King of Israel.

The marriage in Cana was therefore the SEVENTH day of this record. This is typical.

Here the opening scene is a Marriage just as Rev. xix introduces Rev. 20: With the

"Marriage supper of the Lamb." As the Lamb of God he had already been heralded,

though for the time His glory must be veiled. Some of the disciples of Christ who were

invited with Him had been disciples of John the Baptist. It would be necessary to teach

them that a dispensational change was indicated by the personal ministry of the Messiah.

Weddings and wine are quite foreign to the witness of John the Baptist. They harmonize