December 31, 2017
Morning Service

John wasted no time in chapter 1 declaring that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Son of God.  He has always existed and actually was the Creator of our universe as we know it.  John took us to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry with the coming of “the voice crying in the wilderness,” belonging to John the Baptist.  He prepared the way for the coming Messiah and also baptized Him, not for the remission of His sins, but as an example of righteousness for us to follow.  The chapter ended with Jesus calling of His first disciples.  I love this part in verse 35-37.

John 1:35-37 Again, the next day afterward, John stood with two of his disciples.  (36)  And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he says, “Behold the Lamb of God!”  (37)  And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

·        John’s purpose for writing is that that the reader might hear that Jesus is the Lamb of God.  In hearing one would believe and decide to follow Him, just as it is depicted here of John’s own conversion experience.  John the Baptist pointed him to Jesus and he believed upon Him and followed Him for the rest of His life.  The message remains the same two thousand years later for us to share as well.  We need to point people to Jesus the Lamb of God and let the Spirit take over from there hoping they too will believe and choose to follow Him as well.

·        As we begin chapter 2, we will see Jesus’ first miracle and His passion for God’s house.

 

John 2:1-5 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee. And the mother of Jesus was there.  (2)  And Jesus and His disciples were both invited to the marriage.  (3)  And when they lacked wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”  (4)  Jesus said to her, “Woman, what do I have to do with you? My hour has not yet come.”  (5)  His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

·        Weddings in this day were week-long festivals where the whole town would have been invited.  Banquets would be prepared for the many guests to celebrate the new life of the married couple.  Careful planning was needed to pull this off and running out of wine would have been a huge embarrassment for the hosts.  It is not clear if Mary was asking her Son for a miracle or simply to help find a solution to a problem.  Since Joseph is not mentioned we assume him to have passed away and Mary would have relied often on Jesus to help her in time of need.

·        Notice Mary’s faith in saying; “Whatever He says do it.”  God’s way of doing things is often different than ours.  We too must trust Jesus at His word and obey in faith.

John 2:6-12  And there were six stone water pots there, according to the purification of the Jews, each containing two or three measures.  (7)  Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.  (8)  And He said to them, “Now draw out and carry it to the master of the feast.” And they carried it.  (9)  When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water which was made wine (and did not know where it was from, but the servants who drew the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  (10)  And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets forth good wine, and when men have drunk well, then that which is worse. You have kept the good wine until now.”  (11)  This beginning of miracles Jesus did in Cana of Galilee. And it revealed His glory. And His disciples believed on Him.  (12)  After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples. And they did not stay there many days.

·        The stone water pots were for ceremonial washing and held between 20-30 gallons.  He not only turned the water to wine, but it was the best wine served at the celebration.  God always gives us more than we deserve.  Many of us are like that wedding party trying to enjoy lifestyles that the world offers, then they have a taste of what God offers and realize there is nothing better out there.

 

 

What do we learn about Jesus? 

·        He did attend social events and had a good time there celebrating with His friends.

·        He did honor the wishes of His mother and helped out a friend in need.

·        He built the faith of His disciples by small miracles as well as large ones.

 

John 2:13-17 And the Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  (14)  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money-changers sitting.  (15)  And when He had made a scourge of small cords, He drove them all out of the temple, also the sheep and the oxen. And He poured out the money-changers' money and overthrew the tables.  (16)  And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away from here. Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise.”  (17)  And His disciples remembered that it was written, "The zeal of Your house has eaten Me up."

·        The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread combined for a week-long Jewish holiday celebrating the exodus from Egypt.  Merchants in the outer court of the temple would exchange currencies and sell these travelers the animals they needed for the required sacrifices.  This seems like a good thing, but they were often dishonest seeking to take advantage of those coming to worship.  The temple had become a marketplace more than a place of worship.  This made our Lord angry as He viewed it as sacrilege to exploit the poor for profit especially in a place built for worship.  His cleansing of the temple is something that no ordinary Jewish man would ever do, but Jesus was no ordinary man.  This quickly brought Him to the attention of the Jewish leaders for the first time.

John 2:18-25 Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do you show us, since you do these things?”  (19)  Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” (20)  Then the Jews said, “This temple was forty-six years building, and will you rear it up in three days?”  (21)  But He spoke of the temple of His body.  (22)  Therefore when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them, and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.  (23)  And as He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, at the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the miracles which He did.  (24)  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all (25) and did not need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

·        Bible scholars believe that this was the first of two times that Jesus cleansed the temple.  The other gospels record the second time during the last week of His earthly ministry.  In Jesus referring to His own body now as the Temple of God, He is replacing the divine presence that dwelt in the OT temple.  The presence of God now dwells with Him and through the Holy Spirit in us not in building made by man.

What do we learn about Jesus?

·        It is okay to get angry, if it is righteous anger.  He was passionate about any flagrant disrespect for the things of God.  “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.”  Prov. 8:13

·        His public ministry begins with a very passionate act prophesied in part in 3 OT books.

·        He is the presence of God upon earth replacing the Jewish temple.

·        The disciples would later remember His words and fully understand their meaning after His DBR.

 

How are we stacking up? (I Cor. 11:1)

·        Do we have faith like Mary to act even when we don’t understand?

·        Do we look for opportunities to help others in time of need?

·        Are we passionate about the things of God (transformed or conformed)?

·        Do we really believe that Jesus is who He said He was?  Do our actions display our faith or lack of it?

 

Lord, thank You for sending Jesus unto us to live a life of perfection and to die a death leading to our salvation.  Please help us to imitate Him in all we do.