2:1-11 ~ Water changed into wine - the first sign

In all four *gospels, there are many *miracles. In the first three, the *miracles are about Jesus power. They are acts of power emphasising the rule of Jesus. They also emphasise the defeat of the rule of *Satan. John always describes Jesus *miracles as signs. John wants to emphasise the meaning of the *miracle rather than how wonderful it is. Each shows a truth that God wants people to know. So these signs point us to Jesus character and who he is. They ask us to give an answer to the question that they asked Jesus, Who are you? (8:25). In this the first sign, Jesus changes water into wine. Both this *miracle and the next (4:54) happened in Cana of Galilee. This was about three days journey from where John *baptised people. John writes about the things that happened in the first week of Jesus work. A *Jewish wedding happened late in the evening after a big meal. The bride and bridegroom were special people, like kings and queens. They stayed at home for the first week of their marriage and met with all their friends. They had fun and parties. At a *Jewish meal, it was important that there should be plenty of wine. The *Jewish teachers said that without wine there was no joy. If there were no wine, it would spoil the wedding. The bride and bridegroom would be sad. We see in this story that Jesus does everything he can to make them happy. Jesus is present at this wedding. Mary, his mother, tells him that there is no wine left. She is anxious about what will happen now. She expects him to do something about the problem (5). It seems that Jesus does not see why he should. His reply is that his time (or hour) has not yet come. Jesus words to his mother seem a little hard. He is looking beyond that moment in time. He is thinking about the purpose of his coming to the earth (7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1). Jesus knows that something special will happen later in his life. The way that we see time and the way that God sees it are different. Jesus makes clear that no one can tell him what to do. He does only what his Father asks him to do (5:30; 8:29). Sometimes Jesus does not perform a *miracle until a person has special *faith (John 4:49-50; Matthew 8:13; 9:22, 29-30; Mark 2:5). Mary now has *faith to ask the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them. The large jars each held about 20 gallons of water. The *Jews used the water for *religious reasons. When people entered a house, they had to wash their feet. Then they had to wash their hands before and during a meal. They had to do this. Otherwise, the *Jewish teachers would say that they were not clean enough. Jesus asks the servants to fill the jars with water. They fill all the jars right to the top. Then Jesus tells the servants to take the water to the person responsible for the organisation of the wedding meal (*steward). Some time after they had filled the jars, the water became wine. The *steward did not know that first it was water. He is surprised because the wine is the best he has tasted that evening. There was a lot of wine in the six jars. It could have been 120 gallons. This would be far more than they needed at this meal. This shows us the greatness of Gods *grace. He has more to give us than we could ever need. This story shows us that Jesus changes ordinary things into much better things. It is at an ordinary *Jewish wedding. But there Jesus shows his *glory and his *disciples believe in him.

Part 3 ~ Meetings with people in Jerusalem, Samaria and Galilee (2:12-4:54)

2:12-25 ~ Jesus clears the *Temple
After this, Jesus goes to Capernaum with his family and *disciples. Jesus lived at Capernaum when he was in Galilee (Matthew 4:13). Capernaum was a town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was about 20 *miles (32 kilometres) from Cana. This time Jesus stays only a few days. Jesus goes to Jerusalem just before the *Jewish *festival called *Passover (13). This holiday happened each year. It was usually in the middle of April. At this time, the *Jews remembered that their *ancestors had been slaves in Egypt. See Exodus chapters 12-13 for the story of how God rescued them. The law in Jesus time was that every adult *Jew should be at the *Passover. If they lived less than 15 *miles (24 kilometres) from Jerusalem, they had to go to the *Temple for this. *Jews from other countries would try to go to the *Passover in Jerusalem. They would go at least once in their lives. Many people were in Jerusalem that year. It is possible that there were two million. Every adult *Jew had to pay the *Temple tax. The money paid for the cost of the *Temple services. The tax was a half *shekel, about two days pay for a working man. For daily payments, they used coins from different countries, *Rome, Greece, Tyre, Sidon and Palestine itself. But in the *Temple, the people had to use only *Jewish coins. The rulers did not allow foreign coins. People who were not *holy had touched the coins. That was the reason for this rule. So only *holy coins could be used to pay a gift to God. The people who changed the foreign money for *Jewish money worked in the *Temple. There was nothing wrong with this job. They could ask for a payment for this service. What was wrong was that they charged each person much more than the correct amount. They seemed to think that their religion permitted this. In order to *worship God, the *Jews had to provide animals for *sacrifice in the *Temple. It was a gift to God. So the animal had to be perfect. So someone had to examine these animals very carefully. They had to make sure that they were perfect. Most people brought their own animal or bird for *sacrifice. The people who examined the animals often said that these were not perfect. Then the owners would have to buy another animal or bird. There were business people in the *Temple. They sold animals and birds. These were expensive. So the people had to pay much more for the animals. The *Temple had become a place for thieves. Moreover, they seemed to think that their religion permitted this. Jesus is very angry. He makes a whip from pieces of *rope. He chases all the people and the animals from the *Temple. He pushes the money tables and the coins on to the floor (15). The four *gospels give different reasons for Jesus anger (Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46 and John 2:16). We see at least four reasons why Jesus is angry. Jesus sees that the business people are robbing poor people of their money. And they think that their religion permits this. The *Temple has become a market place. We *worship a *holy God. We should therefore come before him with honour and fear. Gods *Temple (or house) should be a place of *prayer. For Jesus, the honour and *glory of his Father is of great importance.

The noise of buying and selling is not helpful to the true *worship of God. Jesus has a great desire for the honour and *glory of his Father. It is like a fire that burns inside him. It is important for us too that we have this great desire for God. God made everyone in his own image and for his own *glory (Genesis 1:26-27). God made us to *worship and respect him. There are so many who do not know him. They do not know what God requires of them. They have *false ideas of who God is. The writer of *Psalm 119 knew about this. He said, Rivers of tears flow from my eyes, for people do not obey your law (*Psalm 119:136). The honour of Gods name among the nations should be of first importance to us. We too should be sad about people who do not honour God. We see here an angry Jesus fighting against *evil. But he did not fight with the *weapons of war. He fought by showing a way of love and *forgiveness. He is not afraid to enter the war against *evil and, in the end, men killed him. There is another reason for Jesus anger. It is that the peoples *worship does not please God. The worshippers have wrong attitudes (See Isaiah 1:1-17). They think that if they give *sacrifices to God they can continue *sinning. The *prophets had been telling the *Jewish people this for a long time. God wants a right heart attitude. He wants true *repentance for *sin. He does not want just the life of animals (see *Psalm 51:16-17). Mark in his *gospel adds another reason for Jesus anger. My house shall be called the house of *prayer for all the nations. There were separate parts (courts) to the *Temple. The first court was for the *gentiles. The next court was as far as the women could go. The next court was for the *Jewish men. The inner court was for the priests only, the *Holy of Holies (the especially *holy place). The *gentiles could enter only one part. But that was full of animals and people who bought and sold things. The *gentiles could not pray and *worship with all that noise? What do the *disciples think about it? They remember the words of *Psalm 69:9 (17). It says, His love for Gods *Temple burned in him like a fire. T he *disciples see that this *psalm is about the coming *Messiah. So the *disciples begin to believe that Jesus is the *Messiah. The *prophet Malachi had also spoken about this event. He said there would be a time when a man would come straight into the *Temple. He would be like a fire that makes silver genuine. No one would be able to stand before him. He would make people clean so that they would bring right gifts to him (Malachi 3:1-3). What do the *Jews think about Jesus actions? They do not like what Jesus has done. What right has he to act in this way? People expected the *Messiah to do wonderful *miracles when he came. So they ask him to prove that he is the *Messiah by giving them a sign (doing a *miracle). Jesus says that if they destroy this *Temple he will build it again. It will take only three days. The *Jews think that Jesus is talking about the *Temple (building). The *Jews do not believe him. The *Temple has already taken 46 years to build. It is still not complete. The *Jews used Jesus words against him at his *trial (Matthew 26:61; Mark 14:58; 15:29). See also Acts 6:14. What does Jesus mean by destroying this *Temple and rebuilding it in three days? John tells us that Jesus is talking about his own body. It is possible that Jesus actually points to himself as he speaks these words. The *disciples realised what Jesus meant. This was after the rulers *crucified him. He was in the *tomb for three days. Then God raised him from the dead. Also the *disciples may have remembered *Psalm 16:10 (Acts 2:31; 13:35). Many of the *Jews believed in Jesus at this time in Jerusalem because of the *miracles (23). Why does he not tell the people then that he is the *Messiah? Jesus understands people. He knows what they are like. They believe when they see the *miracles. They will follow him while he does *miracles for them. The *Jews are looking for a *Messiah who will send the *Romans out of *Israel. But later they will turn away from him. This will be when they realise that he has come to die for their *sins. Jesus does not put his trust in them yet (24-25).

Jesus does not want people to believe only when they see *miracles. We bring *evil into Gods *Temple (see Mark 7:20). We do not *worship him as we should; he cannot therefore trust us. He wants believers who will understand his message. They will be true *disciples. The *miracles are signs of how much God loves his people.