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

John 2:2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

John 2:3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

John 2:4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

John 2:5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

John 2:6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

John 2:7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

John 2:8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

John 2:9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

John 2:10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

John 2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

“The third day” I assume is numbering the days his followers have been with him. Anyway, there is a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus and his mother and his disciples were all invited guests at the wedding. When they ran out of wine, Mary prodded her Son—“They have no wine.” Evidently, Mary was well aware of her Son’s supernatural powers. Knowing a mom, she really probably wanted to “show him off.” After all, Mary wasn’t divine! She was human with a sin nature just like mine. Jesus let her know that He really didn’t want a big to do—the time wasn’t right. Even though Jesus’ answer appeared to be negative; His mother understood that He was going to help. Question: Why did Jesus go ahead and fulfill His mom’s request if “his hour had not yet come”?

Pastor Bob: Wine is often associated with joy.

You could be fined for running out of wine. Some scholars deduce that Mary could have been one of the hosts at this wedding as “Aunt Mary.”

“Woman” is a respectful term.

He quietly accommodated her. The servants were told to follow His instructions. Jesus pointed out six 20-30 gallon stone jars and told the servants to fill them with water; and they did—to the brim. Then they were told to draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. They did. The banquet master had no idea where it came from (but all the servants knew) and went to the groom and pulled him aside. He commented on how he had saved the best wine to the last. Of course, man could never make wine or anything else as choice or perfect as anything made by God!

Pastor Bob: We are earthen vessels. (2 Cor 4:7, For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Point being – Jesus wants to fill us up with His Spirit just as full as He did these water pots with the best wine.

Then we are told that this was Jesus’ first “public” miracle, His first revelation of His glory/power. The disciples “believed on Him.” I just noticed that John doesn’t tell us about the call of the other disciples. Maybe these were his best friends. After a quick review, it appears that we are only told of their calls sporadically through the gospels. Evidently, these were among the first since they connected with Jesus on successive days.

(6/07) Verse 5 states a very important truth that should characterize the life commitment of every believer—“Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.” How did Mary know He was going to use the servants? Why not her or His disciples? These servants didn’t question or complain or hesitate in their obedience. We would do well to follow their example.

John 2:12 After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.

John 2:13 And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,

John 2:14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

Next Jesus heads to Capernaum with His mother, brothers and disciples for a few days. It is interesting to me that His family was traveling with Him. Was this just because of the wedding?

Next we are told that it was almost time for Passover, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. In the temple courts people were selling animals for sacrifice; there were also special people there to change money into temple currency.

John 2:15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables;

John 2:16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.

John 2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

Jesus made a whip out of cords (which shows thoughtful, deliberate intent) and drove all of them out of the temple along with their animals. He also turned over all the tables of the moneychangers and scattered their coins everywhere. He yelled at them and told them to Get Out! “Make not My Father’s house an house of merchandise.” This was a declaration of God as His Father, since the temple represented God’s dwelling place on earth. The disciples watched and remembered that the scriptures said, “Zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” They knew their scripture well in one sense and yet didn’t seem to understand it at all at other times.

Psa. 69:9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

(4/06) “make not…merchandise” – These men were initially there for the benefit of the people in making it easier for them to get acceptable sacrifices. It would seem that the temptation was too great, and the primary focus at this time was simply to make money. If the practice had been acceptable with pure motives, I don’t think the Lord would have reacted in this manner. I think this should give the leaders of churches today great pause as they choose to establish places of business on the same location as the church proper. The men that Jesus drove out of the temple were in the outer court, the court of the Gentiles, not the temple proper. The enemy will take advantage of every opportunity to corrupt true ministry.

(6/07) It’s easy to start out with pure motives, but end up falling to the temptation of “good business practices” to turn a profit and pay for the expenses involved in providing the service. Somehow—no matter the original intention—the purpose can quickly be turned to justification for profit over and above expenses rather than promoting worship and the spiritual welfare of its members. Jesus was quite clear—God’s house is not to be a place of business. It is to be a house of prayer.

Is. 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

Mark 11:17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.

I think it is good to remember when we are reading John that his purpose is to present Jesus as the Son of God. The things he chooses to tell us will all point to Jesus’ deity.

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

John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

John 2:20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

John 2:21 But he spake of the temple of his body.

John 2:22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

The Jews (Jewish leaders) demanded a sign of His authority to do this. He answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews knew it had taken 46 years to build the temple. They didn’t believe Him. Then John tells us specifically that Jesus was talking about His body. (The earthly visible physical presence of the eternal God.) The disciples remembered these words after Jesus was raised from the dead, and it strengthened their belief of the scriptures and the truth of all that Jesus had taught them.

It’s encouraging to note that the disciples didn’t understand everything Jesus said and did immediately. It took time and retrospection to understand some things. I believe that is true for us as well. We don’t always understand Jesus’ actions in our lives until enough time goes by for retrospection that leads to understanding—and some of that understanding may not come until we get to heaven.

John 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.

Jesus evidently stayed in Jerusalem and performed miracles. Many people witnessed these miracles and believed Him to be the Messiah.

John doesn’t take the time to record the miracles being referenced in this verse. You have to go to the other gospels for further enlightenment.

John 2:24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,

John 2:25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

The Greek word for commit indicates “belief, entrust, have faith in.” It indicates a willingness to trust with responsibility for a specific duty or taking care of something. This verse says He didn’t commit Himself to them. Why? “Because He knew all men.” He was The Creator. He was completely aware of man’s sin nature, fickleness, selfishness, etc. They could be your friend one day and your enemy the next—depending on the perceived benefit to themselves. You can’t trust what men say about themselves or each other. And boy does life experience give that a big exclamation point!

Since Jesus didn’t “commit” Himself to these “believers,” it tells me that their belief was head knowledge and not heart relationship.