John Chapter 2 - January 21, 2009

2:4 - This has always sounded a little harsh coming from Jesus to his mom, but it is really more of a formal tone than a harsh tone. Mary is acting on her authority as a mother by asking Jesus to do something, and Jesus is redefining their relationships by making it clear that he is now under the authority of God alone. So he is actually acting out of holy disrespect. What would be another example you can think of of holy disrespect? (Something that might seem disrespectful, but is truly God honoring)

2:5 - It is funny that in typical mother fashion...Mary completely ignores Jesus remarks about the timing being right and assumes that he will do what she needs him to do. She has great trust in him.

2:6 - The stone jars could not be contaminated according to Jewish law...so when Jesus changes the water that was in these jars into the wine - it is utterly pure...never touched by an unclean object. So the wedding feast goes from being a social disaster with no wine...to a feast that offers the finest, purest wine that has probably ever been tasted by man (I'm sure Jesus would be able to create a wine that danced on the taste buds of any human). This is a beautiful foreshadowing of the new and better life that Jesus offers us.

2:14ff - The money lenders and salespeople may not have been corrupt swindlers, but the point is...they turned a sacred space into a money making machine. Basically they were disrespecting the holiness of the place - turning a time of worship and honor into a time of selfish gain. Do you think there is anything that Christians today do to trivialize the holiness of God? (Christmas anyone?)

2:23ff - Jesus didn't get excited about their faith, because their faith was based solely on the signs that Jesus was performing. What was in man? Wrong motivation...that exists in most of us, right? If Jesus entrusted himself to these people that believed only because of miraculous signs - they would have acted out of selfish motivation...they would have tried to make him a king and lead them against the Roman Empire. Jesus knew what his mission was...and that definitely wasn't it! Do you ever use God's word to further your own selfish motivations?