John 4 Known, Part 2

this was an expensive wine, much ner than our friends might have ever purchased. So there we sat under the stars enjoying our simple home-cooked meal paired with one of the nest wines we’d ever enjoyed. Feeling grateful, we made a special toast to one another and the unexpected gi .

As we embark on our journey through the Gospel of John, we begin with a similar story, a story about Jesus’s rst miracle on earth. On this day, Jesus, His family, and His disciples attended a wedding feast where the wine ran out before the celebration ended. When Jesus’s mother made Him aware of this problem, He told the servants to ll six stone jars—used for the Jewish rites of puri cation—with water. He then told them to draw some out and take it to the master of the feast. e master, who had no idea Jesus was involved, immediately commented on the high quality of the wine. Jesus had not only turned water into wine but had also turned it into the nest of wine. We read that this sign, this unexpected gi , this rst miracle, “manifested his glory” (v. 11).

It would not be long before the people would realize that Jesus o en turned religious customs upside down. Here we see Jesus lling plain water jars with ne wine. Maybe Jesus wanted to make the point that a person’s outer appearance is not always indicative of what’s inside. Maybe He wanted to encourage us to focus on our hearts and minds rst, rather than our actions. We sometimes try to perform for or impress others with charitable or religious activities, but maybe He is saying, “Just come and be with Me and enjoy all that I have to o er.” Isaiah 55:1 says, “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

Following the miracle at the wedding, there is a second, quite di erent story and picture of Jesus. Passover was at hand, and Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate. Upon His arrival, He found the people had set up a market inside the temple, where animals were being traded and sold. While in the temple, His zeal rose to the surface. With great passion, energy, and probably anger, He turned over the tables, sending coins ying in every direction and animals running loose. His motivation? To keep the temple—His Father’s house—from being turned into a market. As Jesus said in Matthew 10:34, “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

Sometimes, the purposes for which God sent His Son to earth brought division. e religious leaders inquired of Him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” (v. 18). His reply? “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (v. 19). “Impossible,” they said. Of course, they didn’t understand this foreshadowing. ey didn’t understand that the reference to the destruction of the temple represented His death and resurrection. And they didn’t understand that it wouldn’t be long before these sacri cial animals would no longer be needed. e ultimate sacri ce was forthcoming. To them, moving away from religious rituals toward a personal relationship with God was counterintuitive. ey could not fathom what was about to happen. e power of God was exhibited through the miracle at the wedding and the zeal of Jesus at the temple. In both instances, His powerful presence surely was felt by those around Him. His actions spoke loudly. Jesus was preparing the people. He was about to take their sin and turn it into holiness. He was about to metaphorically clean house. He would take their uncleanliness and turn it into holiness as a result of His sacri ce on the cross.