Read John 2
Jesus Changes Water Into Wine
1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
Jesus Clears the Temple Courts
13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.
Go Deeper
Jesus’ first recorded sign (or miracle pointing to Him being the Messiah) takes place in John 2 when Jesus turns water into wine. At a wedding in Canaan, the Son of God turns gallons of plain old water into incredible tasting wine! He didn’t add grapes or mix in food coloring. Rather, He changed the composition of the water into wine. At a typical wedding, the best wine is brought out first and then the cheaper wine is brought out later. Jesus flipped it around by creating the better wine. In this first recorded miracle, Jesus does something no human being can do. And just as the wine He created was to drink as a celebration at the wedding, so we celebrate the arrival of Jesus onto the scene.
As a result of this first sign, He started to grow His following. His disciples who were with Him at the wedding believed in Him (see 2:11). At this point, His followers knew nothing about His death and resurrection, but they were witnesses to His power. A few verses later Jesus talks about how His body will soon be resurrected after three days. His followers would later recall this statement and they too would trust in Him and believe. Once again, a few verses after that, while in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many saw the signs He performed and they also believed in Him.
At the end of the book, In John 20:30-31, John writes about the other signs Jesus performed that aren’t even recorded. Whether in print or not, the recorded miracles in this Gospel are written so that we might believe. Thousands of years later, we benefit from the recorded words of the Apostle John and the accomplished miracles of Jesus. We believe in Jesus and have life in His name. The words in the Gospel of John are recorded in part so that you and I may know about Jesus—who He is and what He accomplished. Through these written words we may believe in His name, and when we do, everything changes.
Questions
- Why did Jesus clear the temple courts in John 2:13-16?
- Why do you think Jesus chose to perform His first sign at a wedding?
- Since we don’t have Jesus in front of us performing signs and miracles, what did it take for you to believe in Him? Take a moment and thank God for your conversion from death to life through believing in what He did on our behalf.
Did You Know?
Some may be put off or confused by Jesus directly calling his mother, “Woman” in John 2:4. The same word is used in John 19:26 when Jesus asks John to take care of and look after His mother. It’s intended as a courteous expression, not the way we might interpret the word as used in modern day.
3 thoughts on “John 2”
When the Word, Jesus, became flesh and came to us, he didn’t distance himself from us but met us in the daily activities of life. We read of his presence at a joyful occasion-a wedding-where he performs his first miracle and saves the wedding host embarrassment by turning water into wine. Verse 11 uses the word “sign” as a term to describe Jesus’ miracle as more than an act of power, it points to his PRESENCE! After believing and receiving Christ as a 10 year old girl, I still as an adult can hardly take it in that holy God would concern himself with saving sinful man. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.” Thank you, Jesus!
Jesus saved the best wine till last. So too with the greatest signs of all, his substitutionary death and resurrection from the dead. And for us as believers the best is yet to come (1 Corinthians 2:9):
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
the things God has prepared for those who love him
In chap 1 we see the Holy Spirit witness or testify to Jesus. In other gospels it is recorded that the Father spoke and approves the Son. We see John the Baptist, Andrew, Phillip & Nathanael testify Jesus to be the Son of God and/or the Annointed One, the Messiah.
In chap 2 Jesus performs signs, miracles that affirm and bear witness to the truth of who He is. John does so well in making these points clear to us so early on in his gospel.
Thank You Lord for the clarity and proof of The Word of God, Jesus in John’s gospel. Thank You for breathing Your truth into those men You chose to use, those who obediently wrote the words of life that You imparted to them through The Holy Spirit.