John 2: Days 3-4

—John Chapter 2—
(click this to watch chapter 2)

Memory Verse:

This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and
manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.

(John 2:11)

John doesn’t tell about Jesus’s birth or childhood. He doesn’t retell many events the other gospel writers have told and he tells many which they have not told. He tells of signs (miracles); he tells of a Man full of confidence to take on the religious system; he tells of a Messiah who breaks traditions that need to be broken, yet showing honor to His heavenly Father and His earthly mother.

Chapter 2 is going to make you rethink what you have heard about water turning into wine, cleansing the temple, signs and wonders, and what your motivation is in serving God and everything you do.  You will also think about putting your trust in Christ and why Christ did not entrust Himself to others.

As you read this chapter, ask yourself, “Why have I trusted Christ as my Savior?” Prepare to trust Jesus in obedience, to have a zeal for the Lord, and to put your faith into action.

 
Day 3: Morning

Submission: Go To God With Everything

(Read John 2:1–5)

When was the first time you really felt like “an adult”? Was it buying a car, getting a job, getting married or even having a baby? How do you feel when you go back home to your parents? Today, we see Jesus in His home environment, Nazareth, and with His mother.

Sometimes we forget that Jesus was a real human who ate, drank, got sleepy, and even went to parties such as this wedding. It is, to say the least, interesting to see Jesus, at 30 years of age, interacting with His mother. She knew her Son better than anyone else. She knew for certain He was divinely conceived (Luke 1:35). And she knew she could go to Jesus with a problem of running out of wine.

There is nothing too big for God to handle, but there is also nothing too small. You may be tempted to say, “God, I’ll call on you if there is something too big I can’t handle.” But the Bible says for us to go to God in everything. “Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Phil. 4:6, HCSB).

Submission is difficult because we don’t want anyone telling us what to do. When we go to God with everything, we are submitting everything to His care and control. The response of Jesus to his mother at first seems harsh. Sometimes our prayers may seem like they are getting the same cool response from God. Despite her Son’s response, Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus said. When we go to God in prayer, we should fully expect Him to answer and we should be willing to do whatever He says.

If we want God to help us in the everyday problems of life, we must go to Him in everything like Mary did. We should also follow Mary’s instructions: “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Pray this prayer to God: “Our Father in Heaven. I come today with my daily needs, my dreams, and my wishes. Thank You that I can pray about everything big or small. In Your Name I pray. Amen.”

Day 3: Evening

When Water Turns Into Wine: The Best Is Yet To Come

(Read John 2:1–11)

The Lord’s glory was revealed in this miracle and led the disciples to believe in Him (2:11). This miracle had several purposes.

1) The water pots were used for religious purification. Turning the water into wine showed Christ’s superiority over ritual (2:6). Elsewhere, wine symbolizes Christ’s blood (Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; and 1 Cor. 10:16). When we partake of Communion (“the Lord’s Supper”), we remember Christ’s sacrifice. We contemplate our “common union” with Christ and our fellow Christians. We are encouraged to look forward to Christ’s coming again (1 Cor. 10:16–1711:25–28; Matt. 26:29)

2) The master of the feast said the world offers its best first and later brings out the lesser. With Christianity, suffering occurs in this world, but in the next world, the best is yet to come. One preacher said, “Let us pour away all the vinegar of this world, for the best wine is coming.”

3) The master of the wedding also did not know where the wine came from. The thought in those days was that no one would know where the Christ would come from. The wine’s secret origin is like Jesus being hidden from the world but part of God’s plan from the beginning. There are other references about not knowing where Christ comes from:

The Wind: “you do not know where it comes from”(3:8)

The Water: “from where will you get the living water?” (4:11)

Christ: “when Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.” (7:27)

The Witness: “My witness is true for I know where I came from…but you do not know where I come from.” (8:14)

The blind man’s sight: “…as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.” (9:29–30)

The Christ: “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. (19:9)

Pray this prayer to God: “Thank You Jesus that You are greater than religion. Thank you that the best is yet to come. Help me to show others where You came from so they can know where they can go. Amen.”

Day 4: Morning

What Does The First Miracle Affirm?

(Read John 2:1–11)

In the Greek language (the language the New Testament was originally written in), there are no separate words for “grape juice” and “wine.” In other words, wine did not always mean an alcoholic drink.

The head master said the wine was superior to anything he had tasted. One Biblical scholar, Albert Barnes, cites three ancient Greek sources which said that “good wine” in those days meant not fermented. Jesus also made it in abundance, as much as 135 gallons. By creating so much, and making it so succulent, those who drank it likely drank plenty of it!

Eph. 5:18 says, “Don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit” (HCSB). Since it is wrong to get drunk, it is hard to imagine Jesus making so much of the beverage fermented (especially when it tasted so good) and still expect people not to get drunk.

This was the first of seven miraculous signs which John recorded. Other lessons from this include the following:

Christ affirms marriage: Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding. God’s first commandment in Genesis 2 implies marriage. The joining of a man and a woman in marriage is seen as the last symbolic image of Christ and the church in Revelation. Christ affirms marriage.

Christ affirms motherhood: Jesus solved His mother’s problem as a dutiful Son, just as He was to His Heavenly Father (see Luke 2:51). It was not rude to call His mother woman, as He even did so at the tender moment of His death (John 19:26).

Christ affirms merriment: Jesus was invited to this wedding and did not shun joyful gatherings. Wine was given by God to give joy (Ps. 104:15; Ecc. 9:7) and the miracle affirms our abundant life (John 10:10).

Christ affirms the miraculous: Jesus’s first miracle revealed God’s glory (2:11) and gave a basis for the faith in His disciples.

Pray this prayer to God: “Thank You, Jesus, for joy, for families and for companionship with other believers, and for affirming marriage and families. In Your holy name I pray. Amen.”

Day 4: Evening

What Is Your Motivation?

(Read John 2:12–25)

The cleansing of the Temple actually occurs twice and both around Passover. Here, it is at the beginning of His ministry, but the other gospels record a second cleansing just prior to Jesus’s crucifixion.

Jesus saw people using God and His temple for their own profit and showed what we call “righteous indignation.” Being angry for the right things is not a sin!

John’s Gospel was the last to be written. Yet he leaves out many of the other miracles which Jesus performed. This is the opposite of legends and folklore, which tend to exaggerate as time goes on. John however wrote more about the teachings of Jesus  rather than the miracles of Jesus.

Jesus did not entrust Himself (or “commit” Himself, NKJV) to those who followed Him because of His miracles--He knew what was in their hearts (2:24–25). But our true motive of our faith in Christ should be the resurrection (see John 2:19–22)

Examine your motives for following Christ. Are you following Him because of miracles or His message (eternal life and victory over sin)?

If Jesus did not commit Himself (make Himself vulnerable by putting blind trust in) the people, we should not just blindly trust people even if they call themselves believers. Just as in this lesson, the world and sadly even some in the church have less than pure motives. The Apostle John later wrote, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). All believers need to be in a church but never to blindly follow fallible leaders. It must be a Bible-teaching church with Bible-believing members and leaders.

Pray this prayer to God: “Dear God, You know my heart. Test me today to see if I am serving You with the right motives. Examine my words and works, even if they may appear outwardly religious and good. Use your Holy Spirit to help me inspect the things I watch, listen to, read, and test even the spiritual leaders around me. If anything is not of You, help me to discern what is right and wrong. Amen.”