Two events are portrayed in John 2, which are Christ’s miracle of creating wine from water (2:1-21) and His cleansing of the Temple to announce Jehovah’s dealings with His people Israel (2:13-22). But, of greatest significance to the Church of Christ today is an overlooked distinction made by John based upon one Greek word pisteuō, translated as believe, commit, and entrust (2:23-25).
I would like to further preface my remarks on John 2.
Augustine said,
In essentials, Unity.
In non-essentials, Liberty.
In all things, Agapé.
He also said,
The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed, while the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.
I believe in the verbal inspiration and infallibility of the Word of God, which demands the literal inerrancy of His Word, and you should, too. You and I ought to take God as literally as possible with His Word; in other words, take God at His Word, just as you would receive the words of anyone, who has integrity.
If God says,
“For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18 NIV).
Believe it.
If He says,
“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24).
Believe it, but know assuredly,
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (19:26).
Likewise, God’s Ceremonial Law for Temple Worship and Civil Law for the Ancient Nation of Israel has long passed away, but God’s Moral Law of “Love never fails” (1Corinthians 13:8 NIV). “The moral laws are such as grow out of the nature of things, and which cannot, therefore, be changed – such as the duty of loving God and his creatures. These cannot be abolished, as it can never be made right to hate God, or to hate our fellow-men” (from Barnes Notes on Matthew 5:18).
The Ten Commandments represent God’s Moral Law. Not one jot or tittle (Matthew 5:17, 18) of God’s Moral Law of Love or any other part of His Inspired Word, for that matter, can fail or pass away until all is fulfilled, as we shall see in John 2.
Now, let us examine John 2.
Chapter 2
Wedding at Cana — The First Miracle of Jesus (2:1-12)
John 2:1
“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there” (John 2:1).
A marriage in Cana of Galilee is here recorded, where Mary the mother of Jesus was present.
John 2:2
“And Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding” (John 2:2 NIV).
From the previous chapter, we learn Jesus and His disciples, Simon Peter, Andrew, Philip, Nathanael, and John, were also invited.
John 2:3
“When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to Him, They have no more wine” (John 2:3 NIV).
Mary already had thoughts about the potential help of her miraculous Son, when she approached Jesus. Possibly the addition of Jesus and His five disciples made necessary more wine than Mary originally planned.
John 2:4
“Woman, why do you involve Me? Jesus replied. My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4 NIV).
Addressing His mother as “woman [Greek, gunē]” was not considered disrespectful or rude by the Greeks, and was also used by Jesus to address the woman at the well (John 4:21) and Mary Magdalene after His Resurrection (John 20:15). Mary’s request to Jesus may seemed to have been initially rebuffed, but her importunity in asking, evidently made clear that Jesus was willing to answer her request.
John 2:5
“His mother said to the servants, Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5 NIV).
Mary already knew to take Jesus at His word, and told the servants to likewise obey His directions.
John 2:6
“Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons” (John 2:6 NIV).
180 gallons of wine is a considerable amount of wine, even today.
John 2:7
“Jesus said to the servants, Fill the jars with water; so they filled them to the brim” (John 2:7 NIV).
This reminds us of Elijah directing the trench around the sacrifice in front of the prophets of Baal to be filled with water, then ordering his sacrifice to be drenched three times with water until the “water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench” (1Kings 18:35 NIV). And, in answer to his prayer, the LORD sent fire to consume the sacrifice and “licked up the water in the trench” (18:38).
John 2:8
“Then He told them, Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. They did so” (John 2:8 NIV).
Jesus wanted the miracle to become known, since this was the beginning of His ministry. Advertising does have its place, but we shall see Jesus did not always need or want it.
John 2:9
“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” (John 2:9 NIV).
The banquet master recognized the wine to be the “good stuff.”
John 2:10
“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” (John 2:10 NIV).
Just as the LORD created in the Beginning, Jesus was also creating, this time, wine out of water. Not realizing the miracle, the banquet master objected to the waste of the best wine on those who were too full to appreciate. Most probably, the over abundance of quality wine would be a marriage gift to the newly married couple. Thank you, Jesus!
John 2:11
“What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which He revealed His glory; and His disciples believed in Him” (John 2:11 NIV).
Because the Early Church believed in taking the words of the Gospel of John literally, they rejected the writing of “The Infancy Gospel of Thomas” as part of our New Testament Canon of Scripture, because it falsely claimed Jesus performed miracles in His childhood, when it was clearly stated the transforming of the water to wine at “Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs [Greek, sēmeion, miracles] through which He revealed His glory” (2:11).
John 2:12
“After this He went down to Capernaum with His mother and brothers and His disciples. There they stayed for a few days” (John 2:12 NIV).
Evidently, some of Jesus’ immediate family, e.g., James, Joses, Simon, and Judas, were accompanying Jesus, along with His mother Mary, and the other five, newly christened disciples.
Jesus Cleanses the Second Temple (2:13-22)
The First Temple was built by Solomon [957 BC] and destroyed by the Babylonians [586 BC]. The Second Temple was rebuilt by Zerrubabel [516 BC] and later Herod began remodeling the Temple about 46 years earlier than that present time.
John 2:13
“When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem” (John 2:13 NIV).
The Gospel of John is instrumental in establishing this as the first Passover Jesus observed during His ministry (2:13), i.e., His second Passover (6:4), third Passover (11:55-57). How long was Jesus’ ministry? About 3 1/2 years. “Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry” (Luke 3:23 NIV).
John 2:14
“In the temple courts He found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money” (John 2:14).
Either the merchants were selling in sacred areas of the Temple grounds or the transactions trivialized the real need of the people to look to God for the atonement of their sins.
John 2:15
“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” (John 2:15).
Though our Lord’s First Advent was to present Himself as a Saviour from our sins, “God is angry with the wicked every day” (Psalm 7:11 KJV). And, this was a day to remind Israel that a Holy God was not happy with turning sacrifice and forgiveness into simply a moneymaking business.
John 2:16
“To those who sold doves He said, Get these out of here! Stop turning My Father’s house into a market!” (John 2:16 NIV).
John then cited Psalm 69: “Zeal for Your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult You fall on me” (Psalm 69:9). Jesus treated the merchants’ insults against His Father as an insult against Himself. God will not always restrain His anger.
John 2:17
“His disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal for Your house will consume Me” (John 2:17 NIV).
Uncommon intensity and devotion to God characterized Jesus and unsettled the religious establishment of the Jews, whose interpretation of prophecy required a different kind of Messiah.
John 2:18
“The Jews then responded to him, What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” (John 2:18).
They challenged Jesus, “Who do you think you are to do all this?” This was not a question from an earnest seeker of the truth.
John 2:19
“Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19).
Jesus answered according to their heart opposition, knowing it would help those, who would eventually repent and harden those who would not. He referred to His body as God’s Holy temple, just as “you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst” (1Corinthians 3:16). He was referring to His Resurrection from the dead (Mark 9:31).
John 2:20
“They replied, It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” (John 2:20 NIV).
King Herod made improvements upon the Second Temple starting 46 years earlier.
John 2:21
“But the temple He had spoken of was His body” (John 2:21).
Jesus was not speaking figuratively but literally, for He literally would die at their hands and resurrect.
John 2:22
“After He was raised from the dead, His disciples recalled what He had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken” (John 2:22).
Ancient prophesy demanded a literal Messiah (Isaiah 9:6-7; Daniel 9:25-26). It was not just an idea. Unfortunately, the Jews apparently wanted more of a deliverer from the Romans, not simply from their sins (Isaiah 53:1-12). Likewise, many today may be more prone to look for an easy Rapture exit than a plan for Spirit filled obedience in building His Kingdom.
Jesus Knows What Is In Each Person (2:23-25)
John 2:23
“Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs He was performing and believed [Greek, pisteuō] in His name” (John 2:23).
“Signs” or miracles [Greek, sēmeion] were being performed and people “believed [Greek, pisteuō] in His name” (2:23). Pisteuō is the same Greek word used in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes [Greek, pisteuō] in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” “Believe [Greek, pisteuō] in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household” (Acts 16:31). “If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe [Greek, pisteuō] in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Pisteuō is translated some 240 times out of 250, as believe.
John 2:24
“But Jesus would not entrust [Greek, pisteuō] Himself to them, for He knew all people” (John 2:24).
The same Greek word pisteuō is here translated as entrust [NIV] and commit [KJV].
Why would Jesus refuse to entrust or commit Himself to these Jews in John 2, if they had “believed [Greek, pisteuō] in His name” (John 2:23)? Since “He knew all people” (2:24), He knew their faith was insincere and insufficient for Him to entrust Himself to them, to commit to them, and to believe in them. This simple but significant statement informs us that our faith is not enough for Jesus to commit Himself to us, unless we have genuinely committed ourselves to Him.
This does not upend the validity of faith in our salvation, but it cautions us from the uselessness of promoting a “faith without deeds” (James 2:20). Instead, we should reevaluate John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes [literally, COMMITS] in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV).
John 2:25
“He did not need any testimony about mankind, for He knew what was in each person” (John 2:25).
This is not a works salvation but an ongoing relationship with the only One who truly knows us, loves us, and genuinely seeks our highest good.
How can we not in return commit ourselves to Him and count upon His Spirit to work in us “to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose” (Philippians 2:13)?
Let us pray.
Father, You have been amazingly patient with us to make Your point to us that faith is meaningless unless Your Spirit has inspired us to obey You. Work in us all Your good pleasure. And, may we keep our hand to the plow until Your Trumpet announces it is dinner time for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen and amen.
We Need A Miracle 