I Will Raise • John 2:1-23
By Rick Henson
The previous text stated that Jesus called His disciples that they might be with Him and learn from Him. His first recorded miracle taught them about His divinity and character.
At Cana, near Nazareth, the family of Jesus was part of a wedding. The wedding party may have been kin or friends of the family because the servants of the large home knew Mary, the mother of Jesus. From the previous text we learn that the disciples present were Andrew, Simon Peter, Nathaniel, Phillip, and John, the author of this Gospel.
A situation arose when they ran out of wine. Since this low-alcohol drink was the main beverage of the day, this caused a problem. Mary turned to Jesus. She was His earthly mother, and she knew who His Heavenly Father was. She told Him the situation and He replied that His hour had not yet come.
Two other verses in the Gospel of John state His time had not yet come: John 7:29 and John 8:20 (KJV). Then in John 13:1, just before the Lord’s Supper, the text reveals that Jesus knew His hour had come. Yet Jesus did what Mary requested at the wedding just as he raised the dead, healed many sick, gave sight to the blind, and cast out many demons, all before his hour had come.
Jesus miraculously changed plain water into good wine, witnessed by the servants and the disciples. Afterward the text reads, “…and his disciples believed on him” (KJV). Since this miracle was not a public one, the purpose was to enable the disciples to see who He was and trust Him.
They saw an amazing sign of His divinity, for they were willing to believe beforehand when they had stated they had found the Messiah.
Later in the chapter, the Jewish leaders asked Jesus to demonstrate His authority to cleanse the temple with a sign. Jesus did not give them a sign because they asked out of disbelief.
The text then reveals what happened during the Passover when Jesus and the disciples went to Jerusalem. Some scholars believe this is not the same event as recorded in Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15-18, and Luke 19:45-46, since some of the details are different.
Others believe it is the same. Either way, Jesus demanded the people in the temple always reverence the holiness of God. He drove out those who had abused the opportunity to trade there.
John referenced Psalm 69:9 in stating that Jesus was zealous in exposing acts of irreverence toward His Father. Not simply selling wares there, these merchants were stealing from the worshippers, over charging for exchanging money, and exploiting their need for sacrificial animals.
Some of the Jews asked Jesus to demonstrate His authority to cleanse the temple. Numerous times in the Gospels the religious leaders asked Jesus for a sign. I Corinthians 1:22 states that the Jews seek a sign and the Greeks seek wisdom, yet the true sign of the Gospel is the resurrected Jesus.
In fact, Jesus told the Jews here in John 2 that the only sign He would give would be His resurrection. While the Jews focused on the age of the temple, they missed the Eternal Lord Jesus.
At the end of this chapter before the notable story of Nicodemus and the oft-quoted John 3:16, we read that Jesus would not commit Himself to all who said they believed in Him, for He knew their hearts. Though some saw miracles and believed, Jesus did not commit Himself to them.
Hence the problem with the sign, for some saw signs and believed they saw something amazing but did not believe in the name of Jesus. Salvation is not simply a religious experience but a relationship with Jesus that begins with a work of the Spirit of God.
Salvation includes repentance, faith, and the publicly-stated belief that Jesus is God. At the wedding feast, in the temple, and with those seeking a sign, we see Jesus demonstrating the glory of God and demanding holiness and trust from His hearers.
Henson is minister of outreach and evangelism at Bethel Church, Brandon.
