Church Fathers Commentary John 2:12-13

"After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and [his] brethren, and his disciples; and there they abode not many days. And the passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem." — John 2:12-13 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: Since our Lord was about to go up to Jerusalem shortly, He went to Capernaum so that He would not have to take His mother and brothers everywhere with Him. The Gospel says, After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.

St. Augustine of Hippo: The Lord our God is He: high, that He might create us; low, that He might create us anew; walking among men, suffering what was human, and hiding what was divine. So He has a mother, brothers, and disciples. Where He has a mother, there He also has brothers.

Scripture frequently gives the name "brothers" not only to those born of the same womb or the same father, but also to relatives of the same generation, such as cousins on the father's or mother's side. Those who are unacquainted with this way of speaking ask, "From where does our Lord have brothers? Did Mary give birth again?" That could not be; with her, the dignity of the virgin state began. Abraham was Lot's uncle, and Jacob was the nephew of Laban the Syrian, yet Abraham and Lot are called brothers, and likewise Jacob and Laban.

Alcuin of York: Our Lord’s brothers are the relatives of Mary and Joseph, not their sons. For not only the blessed Virgin, but also Joseph, the witness of her chastity, abstained from all marital relations.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Regarding His disciples, it is uncertain whether Peter, Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee were among them at this time. For Matthew first relates that our Lord came and lived at Capernaum, and afterwards that He called those disciples from their boats as they were fishing. Is Matthew perhaps supplying what he had previously omitted? For without mentioning that it was at a later time, he says, Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren. Or is it better to suppose that these were other disciples? For the writings of the Evangelists and Apostles call not only the twelve "disciples," but all who believed in God and were prepared for the kingdom of heaven by our Lord’s teaching.

Furthermore, how is it that our Lord’s journey to Galilee is placed here before John the Baptist’s imprisonment, when Matthew says, Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee, and Mark says the same? Luke, too, though he says nothing of John’s imprisonment, still places Christ’s visit to Galilee after His temptation and baptism, as the first two do. We should understand, then, that the three Evangelists are not contradicting John, but are passing over our Lord’s first coming into Galilee after His baptism—the time when He turned the water into wine.

Eusebius of Caesarea: When copies of the three Gospels came to the Evangelist John, he is reported to have confirmed their faithfulness and correctness, while also noticing some omissions, especially concerning the beginning of our Lord’s ministry. It is certain that the first three Gospels seem to contain only the events of the year in which John the Baptist was imprisoned and put to death. Therefore, it is said, John was asked to write down those acts of our Savior before the arrest of the Baptist, which the earlier Evangelists had passed over. Anyone, then, who pays attention will find that the Gospels do not disagree, but that John is relating events from a different period than the others.

St. John Chrysostom: He did not perform any miracles in Capernaum, whose inhabitants were in a very corrupt state and not well-disposed toward Him. He went there, however, and stayed for some time out of respect for His mother.

The Venerable Bede: He did not stay there many days because of the Passover, which was approaching: And the Jews' passover was at hand.

Origen of Alexandria: But what need was there to say, "of the Jews," when no other nation had the rite of the Passover? Perhaps it is because there are two kinds of Passover: one is human, which is celebrated in a way very different from the design of Scripture; the other is the true and Divine Passover, which is kept in spirit and in truth. To distinguish it from the Divine, then, the text says, "of the Jews."

Alcuin of York: And he went up to Jerusalem. The Gospels mention two journeys of our Lord to Jerusalem: one in the first year of His preaching, before John was sent to prison, which is the journey now being discussed; and the other in the year of His Passion. Our Lord has set an example for us here of careful obedience to the divine commands. For if the Son of God fulfilled the requirements of His own law by keeping the festivals like everyone else, with what holy zeal should we, His servants, prepare for and celebrate them?

Origen of Alexandria: In a mystical sense, it was fitting that after the marriage in Cana of Galilee, with its banquet and wine, our Lord should take His mother, brothers, and disciples to the "land of consolation" (as Capernaum signifies). There He would console those who received His teaching and the mind that had conceived Him by the Holy Spirit, offering the fruits that were to spring up and an abundance of fields to those who were to be helped there. For there are some who bear fruit, to whom our Lord Himself comes down with the ministers of His word and His disciples, helping them while His mother is present.

Those who are called to Capernaum, however, do not seem capable of His presence for long. That is, a land that admits only a lower level of consolation cannot absorb the enlightenment of many doctrines, being capable of receiving only a few.

Alcuin of York: Alternatively, we may interpret Capernaum as "a most beautiful village," and so it signifies the world, to which the Word of the Father came down.

The Venerable Bede: But He remained there only a few days, because He lived among men in this world for only a short time.

Origen of Alexandria: Jerusalem, as our Savior Himself said, is the city of the great King, into which none of those who remain on earth ascend or enter. Only the soul that has a certain natural loftiness and a clear insight into things invisible is an inhabitant of that city. Jesus alone goes up there.

But His disciples seem to have been present afterwards. He says, The zeal of your house has eaten me up. It is as though in every one of the disciples who went up, it was Jesus who went up.