John 2 Bible study

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John 2:1–25 Jesus’s First Miracle: At the Cana Wedding 2:1–2 Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus was getting ready to go back to Galilee. That journey took two days, and this being the third day, they had arrived Nathaniel's home town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus most probably went there to attend the marriage, for he had been invited, together with his mother and his disciples; yet he had a greater purpose in mind.

God had chosen this wedding as the place and time for Christ's miraculous ministry to begin. Mary, Jesus mother, was already there when Jesus arrived. She may have been related to either the bride or groom. It has often been said, and it is true, that by attending the wedding Christ was sanctifying not only that marriage, but all marriage. Marriage is holy (Heb 13:4). The union of a man and woman was ordained by God in the beginning (Gen 2:23–24). Marriage may be going out of fashion in many Western countries, but it is never out of fashion with God. 2:3 When the wine ran out, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no wine left.

The opportunity for a miracle arose when the wedding party ran out of wine and there was nothing left to drink. Mary brought the problem to Jesus. It is not clear that she expected him to do a miracle, but she obviously thought that he would help.

2:4 Jesus replied, "Woman, why are you saying this to me? My time has not yet come."

Jesus addressed his mother politely, but reminded her that he had come into the world for a purpose. His ‘time’ refers to the time when he will give himself as an offering and sacrifice for sin. He would not be moved from God's purpose, or directed by men, though he will respond to their faith. He would show his divine power for the glory of God, not to satisfy his mother, just as in the wilderness he had shown how he would not use this power for selfish ends, but only for God's glory (Matt 4:3-4). He wanted Mary to realize that there was a higher purpose in the miracle he was about to perform; it was not just to meet their need of a thirsty wedding party.

2:5 His mother told the servants, "Whatever he tells you, do it."

Mary remained confident that Jesus would do something about the problem and not turn away those who came to him for help (John 6:37). She instructed the servants to ‘do whatever he tells you.’

2:6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.

Jesus used ordinary everyday objects to perform this miracle. A common sight in Jewish homes, there were six large waterpots made of stone, holding about 20 gallons each. The water in these pots was not used for drinking but ceremonial washing, a religious bondage the Jews had gotten into (Mark 7:4).

2:7–8 Jesus told the servants, "Fill the water jars with water." So they filled them up to the very top.

Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the head steward," and they did.

Jesus instructed the servants to fill the waterpots with water, which they did. They left the situation in his hands. They may not have expected what was to come, but they had enough confidence in Jesus to draw out the water and give it to the man in charge of the feast. If he complained at having a drink of water, the servants could always tell him that it was Jesus who told them to do it.

2:9–10 When the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper wine when the guests are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!"

We are not told when the water turned into wine, but it did. The governor knew nothing about it, but the servants did and so did Jesus’s disciples. The governor called it ‘the good wine’ or ‘the best wine’. Jesus only ever gives the best. He has nothing to give but the best.

Wine is sometimes thought to be a picture of the Holy Spirit, which is the good gift Jesus gives to his people (Luke 11:11–13). We should not hold back, or be afraid to ask, for what God gives is good.

The words ‘when men have well drunk’ does not mean that the guests were drunk, but that they had had enough to drink, a very different thing. I do not believe that the Lord Jesus Christ sanctions binge drinking! Wine in some Mediterranean countries is boiled slowly to preserve it, a process which removes much of the alcohol. Read what God says about the danger of consuming too much alcohol (Prov 20:1 and Prov 23:31–35).

2:11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, in Cana of Galilee. In this way he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

The disciples witnessed this miracle, the first that Jesus ever performed, and it caused them to put their faith in him. They had already begun to follow him, but now they were seeing evidence that he was the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. This was no magic trick. Only a man who was God in the flesh could create something from nothing, which is what Jesus did here. The disciples were to see many more demonstrations of Christ's power in the future, only some of which are recorded in John's gospel. This is the reason why John wrote his gospel, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you might have life in his name (John 20:30–31).

2:12–13 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days. Now the Jewish feast of Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

It was about this time that Jesus made his home in Capernaum (Matt 4:13). The reason he and his disciples did not stay there many days was that the Passover was near, and the law required all Jewish males to attend.

Fulfilling the Scripture 2:14–16. He found in the temple courts those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at tables. So he made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple courts, with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold the doves he said, "Take these things away from here! Do not make my Father's house a marketplace!"

When Jesus arrived at the temple, he was angered to find it desecrated by those who made a trade of the temple sacrifices, rather than using them for devotion and worship.

Commentators generally regard this incident as taking place, as John records here, at the commencement of Christ's ministry, and therefore it is referred to as the first cleansing of the temple. The other gospel writers place its timing after the triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

Either John has moved the incident or possibly there was a second cleansing. As Robertson observes, ‘the cessation was only temporary in both instances.’ Using a very small scourge of leather thongs, Jesus drove all the traders and their animals out of the temple and overturned the table of the money changers. Gill remarks ‘note the miraculous power of Christ in driving such a number of men before him, with so small and insignificant a weapon.’ Christ taught the people that the temple of God had been set apart for worship, not for buying and selling. Today, let us recall that even modern church buildings are intended as places of worship, not markets.

2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will devour me."

The disciples realized that Jesus was fulfilling what the prophets had written about the Messiah in the scripture. This gave them another reason to put their faith in Christ (Ps 69:9).

Rising from the Dead 2:18–22 So then the Jewish leaders responded, "What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?" Jesus replied, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again." Then the Jewish leaders said to him, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and are you going to raise it up in three days?" But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the saying that Jesus had spoken.

But this was not sufficient evidence for the religious leaders, who made money out of what was sold in the temple. They came challenging Christ's authority. In the other gospels, Christ asks them a question about John the Baptist. But here he refers to his own death.

‘Destroy this temple,’ he said. And they did. For he was speaking of the temple of his body.

‘And in three days I will raise it again.’ The Jews thought that he meant the temple building which they were standing in, which had taken 46 years to build. Jesus of course was talking about his own death and resurrection. The disciples did not realize this at the time, but later after Jesus rose from the dead they remembered his words and put their trust in him as the one who fulfilled the scriptures (Luke 24:44–46). The resurrection of Christ from the dead is the basis of the Christian faith. Believing that Christ is alive from the dead and surrendering our lives to him as Lord is how we are saved (Rom 10:9).

2:23 Now while Jesus was in Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover, many people believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing.

Jesus did many miracles during his stay in Jerusalem on this occasion, as he did every time he went there. John says it was because of the miracles, not the teaching, that the people believed in Jesus.

2:24–25 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people. He did not need anyone to testify about man, for he knew what was in man.

But to believe superficially is not enough. Some had already believed that Jesus was sent by God, as Nicodemus did (John 3:2), but they had yet to believe in him as Saviour and obey him as Lord of their lives. Belief which does not result in personal commitment to Christ is not the kind of faith which God requires. Jesus did not commit himself to these people. He knew what was in the heart of every man. He knew their belief in him did not inspire heartfelt commitment, as later events proved. After all the miracles he had performed in front of them, they challenged and rejected his teaching and wanted to stone him to death.

Whilst they rejoiced to see the miraculous, they rejected the will of God for their lives. To have a Messiah doing miracles of healing is one thing, but to have a Messiah who wants you to leave your sin and give 100% allegiance to him is another matter. Christ only commits himself to the true believers, and he knows those who are true (2 Tim. 2:19; John 6:64).

There is an interesting incident in the Acts that sheds light on this subject. Simon the sorcerer believed the message brought by Philip the evangelist when he saw the great miracles which he did in Jesus name. Philip was obviously taken in by this man, for he had apparently baptized him and allowed him in some way to be his assistant—at least he stayed very near Philip. But when Peter and John came to Samaria, they found the man out for what he was, for he tried to buy from them the power to impart the Holy Spirit. It wasn't theirs to give and it wasn't to be bought with money either. So Peter said, ‘Your money perish with you…. You have no part in this matter for you heart is not right before God.’ He had believed, superficially, but he was not saved. Many people today follow the same mistake. Don't just believe in you mind and live as you like; believe with all your heart and commit your life to obey Jesus Christ as Lord. ©

Mathew

Bartlett

&

Derek

www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk

Williams

2017.

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