NICODEMUS AND THE NEW BIRTH, GOD'S SALVATION, THE CONTINUING MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. The New Birth And God's Salvation (John 3:1). When Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, comes to Jesus he learns that he needs to be ‘born from above', that is, that he must be born of the Spir... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus also was bidden, and his disciples, to the marriage.' Note once again the time element, ‘on the third day' (v. 1), presumably the third day after leaving the place where Nathaniel received his c... [ Continue Reading ]
HELPING AT A WEDDING AND CLEANSING THE TEMPLE - JOHN 2 The Wedding at Cana (John 2:1). The incident at the wedding in Cana of Galilee is said by the writer to be the first of Jesus' ‘signs'. This brings out how important what happened here was seen to be. It was to be seen as a specific sign of Wh... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus says to him, ‘They have no wine.' We do not know at what point the wine failed, whether at the marriage feast or in the later festivities, but either way it was a shameful thing for the families concerned. They could have suffered reproach for many yea... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus says to her, ‘Woman, what is there to you and to me, my hour is not yet come.' That Mary's words are not just a quiet remark to her son comes out in the reply He made. It makes clear that He knew that she hoped that He would be able to do something remarkable, revealing some of the power... [ Continue Reading ]
‘His mother says to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.' Mary clearly did not feel His words as a rebuke, but just as a reminder that she must not hurry Him into His work. But she knows Him well enough to know that He will do something, something which is apparent to her from His attitud... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now there were six water pots of stone set there in accordance with the Jewish custom of purifying, each containing two or three metretes.' Nearby Jesus sees six very large jars which were there for the purpose of Jewish cleansing rituals (compare Mark 7:3). The writer remembers clearly the number... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Jesus says to them “Fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them to the brim.' On the basis of Jesus' instruction to ‘fill the water pots with water' the servers enthusiastically fill them to the brim. They are probably curious as to what He will do and perhaps a little jocular. There may... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he says to them, “Draw out now and carry it to the ruler of the feast”. And they carried it. And when the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from, (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom and s... [ Continue Reading ]
‘This beginning of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed openly his glory, and his disciples believed on him.' The whole account illustrates to John that here is One Who will take the old ceremonies (the jars of purification) and replace them with a new and vibrant reality, the wine o... [ Continue Reading ]
‘After this he went down to Capernaum, he and his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they remained there not many days.' The writer now remembers vividly how, after this incident, they went to Capernaum for a few days, along with Jesus' mother and brothers, where they all stayed togethe... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.' John constantly tells us that Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the different Feasts of the Jews, and especially for the Passover (John 1:13; John 5:1; John 7:10; John 10:22; John 11:55 with John 12:12). But even if we had not... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE (JOHN 2:13). It is difficult to avoid the feeling that this narrative is given here on close proximity to what has gone before because it illustrates the fulfilment of the turning of water into wine. Now Jesus will act to turn the Jerusalem worship into genuine ‘worship f... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he found in the Temple those who sold oxen, and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers sitting there.' Entering the Temple He found in the court of the Gentiles, set apart for Gentile worship, men who were selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others who were at tables exchanging currencies. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he made a scourge of cords and cast them all out of the Temple, both the sheep and the oxen, and he emptied out the changers' money and overthrew their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these things out of here. Do not make my Father's house a house of business”.' Note that Hi... [ Continue Reading ]
‘His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your House will eat into me'.' The words cited here by John come from Psalms 69:9 and there it is also in a context where insults are being offered to God, just as they were here. We are not told when the disciples remembered the words, proba... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The Judaisers therefore answered and said to him, “What sign do you show us that you do these things?” ' Certain fervent Judaisers (men of religious dedication among the Jews) who had observed all this now came to Him, and they sought a sign from Him to justify what He had done. Let Him justify His... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy the Temple and in three days I will raise it up”.' Jesus' reply is straight and simple, ‘Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up.' This enigmatic reply brings them up short. They had not expected Him to tell them to destroy the Temple in or... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty six years to build this Temple, and will you raise it up in three days?' ” The Judaisers were naturally taken aback. Did He really mean that if they destroyed the Temple He would be able to rebuild it in three days? The building of Herod's Temple had commenc... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But he spoke of the temple of his body'. Here Jesus' meaning is explained to the readers. He was aware already that at some stage they would be ready to destroy Him, as they had the prophets before Him. But His further point here is that by destroying Him they will in effect destroy the Temple, ev... [ Continue Reading ]
. ‘When therefore he was raised from the dead his disciple remembered that he had spoken like this, and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.' Although the disciples did not understand the meaning at the time, once Jesus had risen from the dead they remembered what He had s... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast many believed on his name when they saw the signs which he did, but Jesus did not trust himself to them because he knew all men, and because he did not need that anyone should testify to him concerning man, for he himself knew what was... [ Continue Reading ]