John 2
Notes
Transcript
Handout
A Ministry Begins
A Ministry Begins
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1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each.
7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim.
8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him.
9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom,
10 and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.”
11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.
The third day probably refers to the third from the time Jesus called Nathanael to follow Him. And, likely, Mary was invited to the wedding and brought Jesus and His disciples along.
Facts about first century weddings:
they could last up to a week
there was a lot of pressure on the bridegroom to not make any social faux pas
running out of wine would have been a huge faux pas and may have lower the public view of the bridegroom
The best wine was always served first because after the party goers senses were lowered they may not notice the quality decreasing
An odd exchange between Jesus and Mary:
She tells Him the wine has run out implying maybe Jesus could fix the problem. She has likely spent the last 30 years with skeptics questioning her claim to have a son that is the Son of God and a stigma of being pregnant out of wedlock so it stands to reason that she would won’t people to see Him perform miraculous signs publically. Also, you’d have to think that a woman God hand picked to raise His Son on earth would have to be kind hearted and she probably did not want to see her friends shamed for running out of wine.
Jesus calls His mother “Woman!!” He does this at the cross as well. This was probably informal and akin to us saying ma’am.
He ask what it has to do with them. Probably, Jesus making a point that the relationship is transforming and He will be the one showing His Father’s glory not He and Mary.
He says His hour has not yet come but He performs the miracle any way. It seems He was gearing up for the start of His ministry so He may have literally meant His “hour” had not yet come and He needed another 60 minutes before He was to reveal His divinity.
His mother testified to the servants to do what He says and they were obedient.
Are we bold in telling others to listen to Jesus like Mary was?
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ”
16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
19 This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
25 They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
Notice the phrase, six stone water jars … each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. These containers held a total of at least 120 gallons. The servants were told to fill them with water, and they did so—to the brim. Such washing pots were used in religious ceremonies, but they were about to enter a new phase of operation. Tenney clarifies the magnitude of the liquid refreshment created on this occasion: “The combined capacity of the water pots was about 150 gallons. Reckoning a half-pint to a glass, these vessels would contain about 2,400 servings of wine—certainly enough to supply a large number of people for several days. In quality and quantity the new-made wine more than satisfied the needs and taste of those who attended the feast” (Tenney, EBC, p. 83).
Gangel, K. O. (2000). John (Vol. 4, p. 30). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
In verse 8 the servants are told to draw some out and take it to the headwaiter. There is no mention of a taste test or a discussion behind closed doors; the servant simply takes the liquid on faith to allow it to be publically tested by the bossman!
Verses 9-10
Just as this wedding ran out of wine, humankind ran out of fellowship with God in the Garden of Eden. When sin entered the world, the celebration ceased—but Jesus came to restore our reason to celebrate. Wine is even used sometimes in Scripture as a picture of joy: “Wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart” ().
Just as the banquet master said that most people brought out the best wine first and the cheap wine once senses were dulled, in the same way the world throws its best pictures of sin at us to trick us, then the cheap stuff comes along. Eventually the joy and pleasure the world offers through sin runs out. But God’s joy lasts forever and he saves his best blessings for last. As Christians we always have more to look forward to because heaven reminds us that God saves the best wine for the end of the party.
13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;
16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”
17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house will consume me.”
18 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?”
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”
21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.
24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,
25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.
Gangel, K. O. (2000). John (Vol. 4, p. 31). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Take aways from
Jesus had a good relationship with His mother
Jesus did not shy away from social settings that may be a little rowdy but He did keep a clear head
Jesus supports marriage
