The Gospel According to John.

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18.) Jesus is the Answer

John 2:1
And the third day a marriage happened in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there,

Here begins the official start of Christ’s earthly ministry. This wedding has echoes of another wedding that will take place one day. Jesus inaugurated His ministry at a wedding and He will also inaugurate a new day with the wedding feast of the Lamb.

It is thought by many commentators that Mary was here because the wedding was of Mary’s sister Salome, who was John’s mother. That would make John, Jesus’ cousin after the flesh. Mary, Jesus mother was John’s aunt.

John2:2
and also Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage;

Inviting Jesus to the party seems like a smart move. When we have something going on in our life it’s a good thing to invite Jesus. A Jewish wedding is a real joyous fest, I’ve been to several Jewish celebrations, and there is a real sense of joyous celebration about them.

Jesus was a man of sorrows, yet He is also a man of great joy. The joy that the world gives will one day run dry, yet the joy that He gives will last forever. Yes, He will be with us in our times of sorrow, but He will also be with us in out time of joy.


John2:3
and wine having failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him,
'Wine they have not;

Notice Mary’s response, she turns to Jesus for a solution. More so than any other person, Mary knew who He was and that He was the answer.

Wine in the Bible is a type of joy. Yet, without Jesus all joy will eventually fade.

For the wine to fail at a wedding was more than just a minor social embarrassment, but actually a terrible humiliation for the bride and groom on the day of their wedding. Not a good way to start off a wedding.

Some liken this giving out of wine at the wedding as a suggestion Israel had departed so far from God that what was left were mere empty cisterns of ritual and ceremony void of God’s Spirit. Christ came to remedy the wineless situation. Jesus is the answer to empty religious cisterns.

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19.) What Ever He May Say


John 2:4
' Jesus saith to her, 'What -- to me and to thee, woman? not yet is mine hour come.'

Jesus was always cognizant of His mission and He often spoke of His “hour”. Here He says His hour has not yet come, other times it states that the people in the temple could not lay hands on Him because His” hour was not yet come. Then when He was facing the crucifixion, it says that he knew His hour was come. Christ had a mission and a purpose and kept that mission and purpose always before Him.

Some people are surprised with what they seem the hard word He gave to His mother, but it only comes across that way in some English translations, in the language and culture of the times it was a perfectly respectful way to address a parent.

I think that Mary was looking out for her sister, and turned to Jesus because she knew that He was the answer. She was right.


John2:5
His mother saith to the ministrants, 'Whatever he may say to you -- do.'

The servants came to Mary with the problem. Salome, the groom’s mother and Mary’s sister had other things going on and was not yet wise to who He was, although Salome would later be with Mary at the foot of the Cross.

Notice that Mary instinctively turns the servants requests over to her son. In other words, Mary draws the focus away from herself, and turns the focus on Christ.
What good advice Mary gives to the servants. John'Whatever he may say to you -- do.'

Notice the absolute faith and trust that Mary has in Jesus, although she may not understand it completely yet, and she did not know what Jesus was going to do, she was certain that he would do the right thing.

Doing what Christ asks is where the blessings lie. We need to get it into our heart that we will do as Mary recommends and do whatever He may say.

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20.) Jars of Stone

John 2:6
And there were there six water-jugs of stone, placed according to the purifying of the Jews, holding each two or three measures.

It has always struck me that this is a lot of wine. These were large jars. Depending on how we measure, these jars could hold between 108 and 180 gallons of wine. That’s between 500-750 bottles of wine. When was the last time you were at a celebration, drank all the wine and then went and got another 700 bottles?

Notice that these jugs were for the Jewish purification rituals, yet they were empty. This speaks of the emptiness of the old rituals at the time of His coming.

John 2:7
Jesus saith to them, 'Fill the water-jugs with water;' and they filled them -- unto the brim;

To the brim, Jesus was going to get every bit of wine. He could have said, half-way. This also leaves out the possibility that something else could be added in. Jesus wants us to be filled to overflowing, without any outside added ingredient.

Christ and Christ alone can meet our every need. When Jesus comes into a person’s heart there is always more than enough joy and grace to spare.



Philippians 4:19
My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

It does not say, God can supply all our needs. It says that He will supply all our needs. He provides not based upon our ability or riches, but rather according to His riches. He fills up our empty jars to overflowing.

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21.) Water into Wine

John 2:8
and he saith to them, 'Draw out, now, and bear to the director of the apartment;' and they bare.

The miracle happened as the servants faithfully obeyed the Word that He spoke to them. God blesses us as we get into action and DO His Word. It is not so much in the hearing of the Word that the blessing and miraculous occurs. It is in the doing of the Word, when the amazing takes place. We need to hear Him, and then do what He says.

John2:9
And as the director of the apartment tasted the water become wine, and knew not whence it is, (but the ministrants knew, who have drawn the water,) the director of the feast doth call the bridegroom,

The water turned into wine speaks of a certain quality of change that comes into a person’s life when Christ comes in. What was once plain water, now has a real zest to it. It is intoxicating, yet in a good way. Can a person ever get enough of God? No, yet at the same time He satisfies completely.

Often people are blessed of God, as the director of the fest was here, yet they are completely ignorant as to who it is who is blessing them. They often take for granted the good things in life that have come to them, blind to the fact that it is God that is being good to them.

John2:10
and saith to him, 'Every man, at first, the good wine doth set forth; and when they may have drunk freely, then the inferior; thou didst keep the good wine till now.

God keeps the best for last. We haven’t seen anything yet. There is more to come. When a person gives themselves completely to Christ, it only keeps getting better. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t challenges along the way. But His Spirit, produces joy unspeakable and full of glory. Jesus has plenty of the wine of joy.

John2:11
' This beginning of the signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him; (YLT)

A sign, is a symbol of a reality greater than itself. The sign always points to something greater. The sign here points to the glory and power of the producer of the sign. The wine was excellent, yet the glory is not in the wine, but in the wine maker.

[Jed]

Jesus also said in John 14(15) "if you love me keep my Commandments"...and John 14(6) "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me", and of course John 3(16) "God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, and whosoever believes on Him will not perish but have eternal life"...John spelled out the groundwork for Salvation!

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22.) Cleansing the Temple



John 2:14
And He found in the Temple the dealers in cattle and sheep and in pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there.

Sometimes people will treat the things of God as just so much commercial venture. At times like this we need to sound the alarm.

The trading at or near the temple most likely started off as an innocent attempt to accommodate the pilgrims coming from distant lands for the Jewish fests. But, by the time of Christ it had degenerated into service to mammon rather that service to God. The money and livestock dealers were more interested in lining their pockets than serving God.

These people had commercialized the things of God. Unfortunately, that seems to be a common problem with a lot of ministries today.

John 2:15
So He plaited a whip of rushes, and drove all--both sheep and bullocks--out of the Temple.

Rushes were commonly used to make mats at the time. Jesus probably took some of the strands of nearby mats and then wove then together, making a good whip for smacking man and beast.
Not really deadly, but when swung with authority can sure leave a good smarting welt.

Jesus can at times be pretty rough. Many have this picture of Jesus always meek and mild, and He is, just do not get Him real upset. That’s when He gets fire in the eyes and starts plaiting whips.

John 2:16
The small coin of the brokers He upset on the ground and overturned their tables. And to the pigeon-dealers He said, "Take these things away. Do not turn my Father's house into a market."

Christ has authority in His Father’s house. They didn’t realize it, but the very Lord that they were supposed to be worshipping was the one that was driving them out of the temple. They thought that they were worshipping God, instead they ended up being driven from the temple.

The same is going to happen when Christ returns. Many groups think they are serving God, even the God of the Bible, yet, they will be driven from the “temple”.

Many groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Unitarians, Christian Scientists, etc. think that they serving the God of the Bible, yet they teach against the divinity of Christ. They deny His deity and unless they repent they will end up whipped and driven from the “temple”.

On the day, that Christ entered into the temple the prophecy that Malachi spoke was fulfilled.

John Malachi 3:1
The Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to His temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he cometh, saith the LORD of hosts. (JPS)

It seems that no prophecy is ever fully understood until it’s past.

Here again we have an affirmation of His deity. The Lord whom they were seeking came suddenly to the temple and they didn’t recognize Him.

Even today, many real Christians, in spite of the fact that they are born-again fail to recognize the moving of God’s Spirit. God has a work to do in this last hour, yet in order for us to get in on what God is doing prior to His return, we need to get in pray and learn how to discern His Spirit.

As suddenly as His first advent was so shall also His second advent be. Let’s prepare, and watch and pray.

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23.) Christ Victorious

John 2:18Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

The Jews throughout repeatedly asked Him for a sign and then when He did give the greatest sign of all, His resurrection, they rejected it.

People always seem to want to see something rather than to believe the Word. Often I hear people want “proof” of God. Or when I recount some wonderful thing that God has done for me, they ask for documentation.

I found that those who believe; believe based upon the Word and what it says, and those who always cry for a sign, don’t believe even when a sign is given.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone give their life to Christ based on a good argument. That is to say apologetics can be fun, but I don’t see a lot of people getting saved through it.

Rather, it takes the preaching of the Word and conviction of the Spirit that draws men to Christ.

John2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

Christ was of course referring to the temple of His body, and the resurrection from the dead. The temple was a type of Christ’s body, when the body of Christ was broken on the cross, the type also lost it’s very purpose.

Jesus body was the real temple of God. The breaking of Christ’s body on the cross signaled the end for the temple type.

Notice here, that the raising from the dead is attributed to each member of the triune God-head.

Here Jesus says, “I will raise it up”

Here we see that Jesus, the Son raises up His body at the resurrection. Yet, in numerous verses in the New Testament, we are told that the Father raised Him up.

Galatians 1:1
God the Father, who did raise him out of the dead -- (YLT)

Here we see that God the Father raised up Christ from the dead.

Romans 8:11
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (KJV)

Here we are told that the Holy Spirit raised up Christ.

In this we see that all three persons of the triune Godhead played a key role in the resurrection. This also shows and affirms for us the deity of Christ. In that only God can raise the dead, and Christ clearly said, “I will raise it up”

[Jed]

1st John 2.4 "those that say they know Him and keep not His commandments are liars and the truth is not in them"
John 14.6 "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me"

Two wonderful quotes from Apostle John and earlier Disciple John...