John 2 - I Will Raise
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Who was John?
A fisherman from Galilee
One of Jesus’ inner circle
Son of Thunder, Apostle of Love
A writer! John, epistles, Revelation
Non-synoptic
1. Glory Shown
1. Glory Shown
1 On the third day a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’s mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding as well. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’s mother told him, “They don’t have any wine.” 4 “What has this concern of yours to do with me, woman?” Jesus asked. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 “Do whatever he tells you,” his mother told the servants. 6 Now six stone water jars had been set there for Jewish purification. Each contained twenty or thirty gallons. 7 “Fill the jars with water,” Jesus told them. So they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the headwaiter.” And they did. 9 When the headwaiter tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom 10 and told him, “Everyone sets out the fine wine first, then, after people are drunk, the inferior. But you have kept the fine wine until now.” 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. 12 After this, he went down to Capernaum, together with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples, and they stayed there only a few days.
v. 1 - A wedding story, which we all can relate to
Customs differ:
Michigan - sit down meal
South - cake reception
Israel
a feast which could last up to a week
Groom’s family was responsible
Wine was an important part of the celebration
Wine itself (alcoholic content) - not much changed
Wine was diluted to be between 1/3 and 1/10 of its fermented strength
Undiluted wine was viewed as “strong drink”
It was a pleasure that people looked forward to
v. 3 Jesus’ mother - “They don’t have any wine”
Background speculation:
Joseph was no longer on the scene
Jesus had helped to support the family in Joseph’s absence, so it was natural for Mary to look to him for help.
Matt 13:55 “55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?”
Mark 6:3 “3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” So they were offended by him.”
v. 4 “woman” - a hard translation. “ma’am”?
“What do you and I have in common (so far as the matter at hand is concerned)?
“My hour”
Often refers to the time of his death
The coming kingdom is also associated with wine: Jer 31:12 “12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant with joy because of the Lord’s goodness, because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil, and because of the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like an irrigated garden, and they will no longer grow weak from hunger.”
v.5 “Do whatever he tells you” - demonstrates Mary’s faith
Matt 15:21 A Canaanite woman asks Jesus for healing for her demon-possessed daughter; Jesus initially refuses but then later says, “your faith is great”
v.11 “the first of his signs”
It is often said that there are seven signs in John:
1. The turning of water into wine (John 2:1–12)
2. The healing of the nobleman’s son (John 4:46–54)
3. The healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1–47)
4. The feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1–4)
5. Jesus’ walking on water (John 6:16–21)
6. The healing of the blind man (John 9:1–41)
7. The raising of Lazarus (John 11:1–57
“he revealed his Glory” - “His glory would be revealed in greatest measure in his cross, resurrection and exaltation, but every step along the course of his ministry was an adumbration (foreshadowing) of that glory” (Carson)
“his disciples believed in him” - a growing faith. (They were already Jesus’ disciples)
2. Worship Expected
2. Worship Expected
13 The Jewish Passover was near, and so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and he also found the money changers sitting there. 15 After making a whip out of cords, he drove everyone out of the temple with their sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables. 16 He told those who were selling doves, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” 17 And his disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal for your house will consume me.
v. 13 “Passover” - “The festival of Passover was celebrated on the 14th day of the lunar month Nisan (full moon at the end of March or beginning of April). It commemorated the night when the angel of death ‘passed over’ the homes daubed with blood in the prescribed manner, killing the firstborn in all other homes. In the consternation and revulsion that followed, the Jews escaped from Egypt (Ex. 12). Passover was immediately followed by the seven-day Festival of Unleavened Bread (15–22 Nisan)” (Carson)
Which Passover?
“doublets” - examples
David’s accounts with Saul - one where he cuts off part of his garment and one where he takes a jar of water and Saul’s spear
feeding of the 4,000 and 5,000
cleansing the temple
v. 14 “In the temple” (show diagram)
Outer court (court of the gentiles)
Court of women - main entrance to the temple
Court of Israel (men)
Court of the priests (directly in front of the temple)
Huge alter
Laver (hand washing and foot washing)
The slaughtering places for sacrifices, with six rows of four rings in which the heads of the animals were placed
“people selling” animals, and the moneychangers
For people traveling a long way it was inconvenient to bring their sacrifice with them, resulting in a “business opportunity”
“the temple tax, to be paid by every conscientious Jewish male of twenty years of age or over, had to be deposited in Tyrian coinage (because of the high purity of its silver). This annual half-shekel (to use the language of the Old Testament) was equal to half a Tyrian stater or tetradrachm (coin of 4 drachmas), and so two Jews often joined together to pay the tax in one coin” (Carson)
The complaint was not primarily against the business arrangement, but rather the location!
v. 17 “Zeal for your house will consume me” - Psalm 69:9 “9 because zeal for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”
3. Sign Remembered
3. Sign Remembered
18 So the Jews replied to him, “What sign will you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days.” 20 Therefore the Jews said, “This temple took forty-six years to build, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 So when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made. 23 While he was in Jerusalem during the Passover Festival, many believed in his name when they saw the signs he was doing.
v.18 “What sign will you show” - Often the question of the Jews. Who gave you this authority - the priests? The ruling political parties of the day - Pharisees or Sadducees?
They were more concerned about “precedent and authority” than they were about pure worship and the right approach to God
v. 19 What greater sign could be given than a prediction of Jesus’ resurrection?
Jesus hides his meaning from them
They will attempt to use his words against him later when he is arrested and they seek for cause to charge him
v. 22 “his disciples remembered” - this aided in their belief (Did Jesus really rise from the dead?)
v. 23 “many believed in his name when they saw the signs”
The Gospel according to John 4. Inadequate Faith (2:23–25)
Although miracles cannot command faith (10:32), it is better to believe on the ground of miracles than not at all
Conclusion - what is the theme of our lesson?
Belief
Disciples believed when they saw the water turned to wine
Disciples believed when they remembered Jesus’ claim for a sign
Many “believed” when they saw the signs that Jesus worked
Come to Jesus in faith
What should pure worship look like today? What distractions should be removed?