Reading: John 2:1-12<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. We begin three day since Philip and Nathaniel began following Jesus.<\/p>\n A. Jesus had traveled from the area near the Jordan and attended a wedding feast in\nCana, which is just north of the town where Jesus grew up.\n B. With him were his new disciples (students): John, Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel;\nas well as his mother, Mary\n
C. Wedding feasts were big affairs in those days, often lasting a week. <\/p>\n
1. Sometime during this feast, the host ran out of wine.<\/p>\n a. We must understand that the Greek word used here is the generic\nword for any product made from the juice of grapes. The word, by\nitself, does not indicate the amount of alcohol in the drink. That\ndetermination must be made from the context.\n
2. Mary tells Jesus the situation<\/p>\n a. This is odd because they are guests at the feast. Guests are not\nnormally concerned with provisions.\n b. This lends the idea that it was a close friend of Mary and Jesus,\nperhaps even a relative of theirs, with Mary given charge to help\nwith the feast.\n
3. In English, Jesus’ response sounds rude, but it is not so in Greek<\/p>\n a. “Woman”: In America we would say “Madam” or “Lady”. It is a\nformal term of address.\n b. “What do I have to do with you?” is more literally translated\n“What is it to me and you?” In other words, Jesus is saying it is not\ntheir wedding feast, so Mary should not be concerned.\n c. By saying “My hour has not come,” Jesus is referring to the hour of\nhis death. (John 7:8; 8:20).\n (1) Perhaps he is saying he is able to help since it is not yet\ntime for him to leave this earth.\n (2) Perhaps he is saying that he doesn’t want to have public\nnotice yet.\n 4. Mary understood that Jesus had agreed to help because she directs the\nservants to do whatever Jesus said.\n a. Too many assume Mary had asked Jesus to perform a miracle, but\nsuch is not in this verse. She only asked Jesus to solve a problem.\n b. That Jesus chose to solve the problem with a miracle was his\nchoice. \n c. Since verse 11 indicates this is the first miracle of Jesus, there is no\nreason to assume that Mary knew what Jesus would do in response\nto her request. For all we know, she might have thought that Jesus\nwould go to the local merchant and he would need servants to help\ncarry the wine back.\n
II. Jesus directs the servants to fill six stone water pots.<\/p>\n
A. The pots were there for the guests to wash their hands – Mark 7:3<\/p>\n B. Each pot held about 20 to 30 gallons of water, for a total quantity of 120 to 180\ngallons.\n C. After they are filled to the brim, he directs the servants to bring a cup of the water\nfrom the pots to the governor of the feast.\n 1. The governor of the feast would be equivalent to a butler or a head caterer.\nHe is charged with seeing the food and drink is distributed, that the Jewish\nlaws and customs were maintained (i.e. proper mixing of water to wine, no\none drinking too much, etc).\n 2. He is surprised by the quality of the drink. The feast has been going on for\nseveral days. Usually the best is laid out at the beginning and the regular\nitems are served after everyone there had had their fill.\n 3. Obviously a lot of drinking has been going on as the wine bought in\nadvance had already run out. \n 4. Too often people assume that by “best” the governor is saying the wine is\nmore potent (alcoholic) than the common wines.\n
a. This is not a necessary conclusion.<\/p>\n b. In an arid country that does not have refrigeration, freshness is\nprized. Grape juice does not keep well in hot weather.\n c. Think about it, Jesus made wonderful, possibly fresh, grape juice\n(or wine) from 6 pots of water used to wash hands!\n
D. Notice how unassuming Jesus’ role was in this event.<\/p>\n 1. He directed the servants to fill the pots, but it appears he did not touch\nthem.\n 2. The servant brought the cup to the governor, so Jesus again was\nuninvolved and he could not have switched the liquid.\n
3. The governor was unaware of what was going on behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
III. Did Jesus approve of drinking alcoholic beverages<\/p>\n
A. It cannot be proven from this passage.<\/p>\n
B. The word wine can refer to anything from juice to an alcoholic beverage.<\/p>\n C. Jesus made 120 to 180 gallons of this drink after the wedding guests had already\ndrank all that was previously purchased.\n 1. If it was alcoholic, that much wine would lead any group to become drunk,\nbut drunkenness is forbidden in the Jewish religion.\n
D. As we said, “best” does not equal potency but quality of taste.<\/p>\n
IV. The result of this miracle<\/p>\n
A. It manifested (displayed) his glory.<\/p>\n
B. His disciples believed in him. <\/p>\n
V. From here, Jesus went to Capernaum with his mother, brothers, and his disciples<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA Study of John\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Miracle at Cana Reading: John 2:1-12 I. We begin three day since Philip and Nathaniel began following Jesus. A. Jesus had traveled from the area near the Jordan and attended a wedding feast in Cana, which is just north of the town where Jesus grew up. B. With him were his new disciples (students): John, Andrew, Peter,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":21925,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-22982","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10715,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/the-beginning-of-jesus-ministry\/","url_meta":{"origin":22982,"position":0},"title":"The Beginning of Jesus\u2019 Ministry","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Beginning of Jesus' Ministry Reading Assignment: John 1:35-2:25 Psalm 69:9 Did you understand what you read? Who were Jesus' first disciples? How did they recognize Jesus as the Messiah? Who did Andrew bring? Who did Philip bring? What caused Nathaniel to doubt that Jesus was the Christ? What changed\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Outline-Map-of-Palestine.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Outline-Map-of-Palestine.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Outline-Map-of-Palestine.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21925,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/","url_meta":{"origin":22982,"position":1},"title":"A Study of John","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2001","format":false,"excerpt":"A Study of John by Jeffrey W. Hamilton, 2001 The Gospel of John An Overview of John An Introduction to the Christ\u00a0(John 1:1-18) The Witness of John the Baptist\u00a0(John 1:19-34) The First Followers of Jesus\u00a0(John 1:35-51) Miracle at Cana\u00a0(John 2:1-12) Cleansing of the Temple\u00a0(John 2:13-25) Nicodemus Visits Jesus\u00a0(John 3:1-21) The\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22987,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/the-first-followers-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":22982,"position":2},"title":"The First Followers of Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The First Followers of Jesus Text: John 1:35-51 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0On the day following John\u2019s testimony that Jesus was the Christ (John 1:35-42) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John was standing with two disciples when Jesus walked by. John pointed him out and said, \u201cBehold the Lamb of God.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This was sufficient for these two.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26080,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/the-feeding-of-the-five-thousand\/","url_meta":{"origin":22982,"position":3},"title":"The Feeding of the Five Thousand","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Feeding of the Five Thousand Text: John 6:1-14 (also Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:33-44, Luke 9:10-17) I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus traveled to the other side of the sea of Galilee by boat with his disciples \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Near Bethseda - Luke 9:10 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A large crowd followed Jesus on foot, even to the remote area because\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16749,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-gospel-accounts-a-chronological-harmony\/miracles-and-teachings-near-galilee\/","url_meta":{"origin":22982,"position":4},"title":"Miracles and Teachings Near Galilee","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Miracles and Teachings Near Galilee Reading Assignment: Matthew 4:13-17, 23-25; 8:14-18 Mark 1:21-44 Luke 4:16-44 John 4:46-54 Isaiah 9:1-2 Isaiah 53:4 Isaiah 61:1-2 Did you understand what you read? A nobleman asked Jesus to heal his child. Where was the child and where was Jesus? How do we know the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Outline-Map-of-Palestine.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Outline-Map-of-Palestine.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Outline-Map-of-Palestine.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21928,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-john\/the-gospel-of-john\/","url_meta":{"origin":22982,"position":5},"title":"The Gospel of John","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Gospel of John I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A group of self-styled scholars took upon themselves a mission to spread doubt about the Bible and Jesus. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The group is known as the Jesus\u2019 Seminar. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One of their prime targets is the book of John \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There has been a long war waged against John \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01835,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22982\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}