John 2:12

John 2:12. After this he went down to Capernaum. Nazareth, not Cana, would appear to be the place from which Jesus ‘went down' (from the hill-country of Galilee, comp. chap. John 4:47; John 4:49; John 4:51) to Capernaum, for His brethren, who are not said to have been with Him in Cana, are now of the company. All that can be said with certainty as to the position of Capernaum is, that it was situated on the western coast of the Lake of Gennesaret, not far from the northern end of the lake; whether the present Tell Hum or (less probably) Khan Minyeh be the site, we cannot here inquire (see note on Matthew 4:13). We have here the earliest appearance of this busy and thriving Galilean town in the history of our Lord's life. The visit related in Matthew 4:13 and Luke 4:31 belongs to a later period than this, a period subsequent to the imprisonment of John the Baptist (see chap. John 3:22). Luke's narrative, however (chap. John 4:23), contains an allusion to earlier miracles in Capernaum. Whether reference is made to this particular visit (which, through the nearness of the passover, was of short duration) or not, it is interesting to note that the two Evangelists agree in recording a residence of Jesus in this town earlier than that brought into prominence in Matthew 4:13. In the Fourth Gospel Capernaum occupies a very subordinate place; the centre of the Judean ministry was Jerusalem.

He, and his mother and brethren, and his disciples. In his usual manner John divides the company into three groups, naming separately Jesus, His relations by natural kindred, His disciples. The brethren of Jesus were James, Joses (or Joseph), Simon, and Judas (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). In what sense they are called ‘brethren,' whether as the sons of Joseph and Mary, as sons of Joseph by an earlier marriage, or as sons of Mary's sister (‘brother' taking the meaning of near kinsman), has been a subject of controversy from the third century to the present day. It is impossible to discuss the question within our limits, though something further must be said when we come to later Chapter s (7, 19). Here we can only express a very decided conviction that the last mentioned of the three opinions is without foundation, and that the ‘brethren' were sons of Joseph, their mother being either Mary herself or, more probably, an earlier wife of Joseph (comp. note on Matthew 13:58). This verse alone might suggest that the brethren were not disciples, and from chap. John 7:5 we know that they were not.