For the third time (cf. 5:1; 6:1) a narrative begins vaguely with the words after this. The remark that Jesus went around in Galilee (v. 1) is probably intended as a summary or a general characterization of his ministry, acknowledging the truth of the synoptic witness that Galilee was indeed the location of most of Jesus’ teaching and healing activities. The narrator probably assumes that Jesus lived in Capernaum with his mother, brothers, and disciples (2:12; cf. 6:59), using that town as the base for his Galilean travels.

Yet, ironically, Jesus is never in Galilee again from verse 10 of this chapter until after his resurrection (chap. 21). John’s Gospel is less interested in where Jesus traveled and lived most of his life than in his visits to Jerusalem. These visits are always occasion…