John 2 - Weddings, Wine, and Unholy Temples
January 21, 2024
This Gospel was written much later than the other three and contains fewer parables and fewer miracles.
This Gospel is intensely personal and says more about the person and divinity of Jesus than any other Gospel.
At the wedding in Cana, he spares the wedding host a great embarrassment by turning common water into extraordinary wine.
John 2:5-10 NIV
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
The Wedding and the Wine. What should we learn from this story?
Jesus thought weddings were sacred and so should we.
A culture that honors and respects marriage normally flourishes.
There are times we should be merry and rejoice.
Ephesians 5:18-20 NIV
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s possible to be both merry and wise.
John 2:13-16 NIV
When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”
Why was Jesus so angry?
In the second story, Jesus flashes righteous anger and re-orients the temple back to its holy design.
The temple was meant for both Jews and outsiders.
The leaders were creating unnecessary burdens for people.
They were profiting when they should have been serving.
