And So It Begins ... (John 2)

And so it begins …

That is what we see firsthand as we turn our attention to John 2.

Jesus launches into His earthly ministry with a bang!

After being introduced to Jesus as God’s Word, who has been with Him since the beginning, and “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn. 1:23), our attention shifts to the first of His seven “signs” the Gospel of John introduces us to. Here in this crucial chapter, we see Jesus, at a seemingly normal wedding of someone His mother Mary must have known, do something spectacular. He turns water into wine!

But the moment does not pass us by without a few more surprises along the way. The first is that Mary takes what seems like a minor ordeal about running out of wine and presents it to Jesus in the first place.

Why? For as Jesus also points out, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come (Jn. 2:4, ESV).” And yet, it indeed had come.

Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.’ So they took it. (Jn. 2:7-8, ESV)

What appeared to be an unfortunate turn of events at the wedding, turns into something else entirely.

“When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now (Jn. 2:9-10, ESV).’”

A miracle has taken place, and the only explanation for such a joyous occasion was God. Jesus had “manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him (Jn. 2:11, ESV).”

Do you?

Because if Jesus’ first sign was not enough to pique your interest, perhaps His temple eruption will be in John 2:13-22. For even the Jews who witnessed Jesus’ “zeal” for His Father’s House needed “signs” to show them His reasons for doing these things (Jn. 2:17-18), and Jesus was happy to acquiesce their request.

Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (Jn. 2:19, ESV).’

And it is on us as well to respond.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER AS YOU STUDY:

What is the significance of this first “sign” about Jesus being the Messiah?
Why would Mary have brought such a problem to her son Jesus?
What sort of connection do you see between this first “sign” and the cleansing of the Temple?
What should Jesus’ “Father’s House” look like both for Harvest, and in everyday life?
What can we glean about Jesus from this chapter?