John 2 - Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs!

John 2 - NIV 

John 2 - Enduring Word Commentary

Jesus Changes Water Into Wine

2 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[b] 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

Yesterday, I shared that in the gospel of John, Jesus' miracles are called "signs". They point to his divinity, as the Son of God. Weddings were a very big deal in Jesus' day. The reception was planned well in advance, as well as the guest list being finalized. One of the worst things that could happen during the wedding banquet would be to run out of wine, which is what happened at the wedding in Cana that day. 

Jesus' mom, Mary, knew the special anointing that her son possessed. In this urgent moment she turned to him and basically assumed he would take care of the problem. Jesus was reluctant to perform this sign, because he knew doing it would speed up the knowledge of who He was as the Son of God. But mom didn't give up. You can almost see the stereotypical Jewish mom overruling her son when she says to servant, "Do whatever he says!" 

Jesus was backed into a corner. Although it wasn't his desire to be the solution for this problem, for the sake of the groom and his family, and the embarrasment they would suffer, he told the servants to fill the hug ceremonial jars with water (huge meaning 20 to 30 gallons). These jars were used for ceremonial cleansing so they would have a specific meaning. 

They did so, 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 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.” 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. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.

So if every sign had a meaning related to reveal who Jesus was, what did the sign of turning the water into wine mean? The key lies in the words, "saved the best until last". God had done a lot of amazing things for the people of Israel including delivering them from the Egyptians and providing manna in the wilderness, but He saved the best for last. 

"God spoke through the Law and Prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us through His Son." - Hebrews 1:1-2

"There is a principle behind these words; the principle that for the people of God, the best is always yet to come." - Guzik

“I can conceive you, brethren, in the very last moment of your life, or rather, in the first moment of your life, saying, ‘He has kept the best wine until now.’ When you begin to see him face to face, when you enter into the closest fellowship, with nothing to disturb or to distract you, then shall you say ‘The best wine is kept until now.’” Spurgeon

Jesus Clears the Temple Courts

13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 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. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”[c] 18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 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. 23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name.[d] 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

You may recall Jesus turned over the temples in the other gospels right before his death. People have tried to make a lot these "so called contradiction", but the answer is easy. Jesus cleansed the temple two different times. Scholars like Barclay estimate there could be like close to 1/4 million Jews in Jerusalem for the Passover festival. So it would have been a huge opportunity for these money lenders to make some cash at the expense of the pilgrims faithfullly paying their temple tax. The moneychangers changed the money from foreign currencies to Jewish currency. The foreign currencies had imagery of the Roman emperor and other gods detestable to the Jews. 

Jesus was angry because they had turned a place of worship into a marketplace for buying and selling and making a profit. The disciples remembered a passage from the Old Testament, Psalm 69:9, which said, "Zeal for your house will consume me!"

The Jews (religous leaders probably) questioned his authority to do what he was doing. Jesus replies by saying, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." The people didn't get what he was saying, but John translates it for us. The temple was referring to his body, destroying it referred to his death, and raising it again in 3 days referred to his resurrection. 

The disciples would look back at this event and what he said and put the pieces together. Jesus then did many other signs and many came to faith in him. Then it says, "Jesus did not entrust himself to them." What did that mean?

"Jesus knew that this was thin, superficial belief. It wasn’t based on anything other than an admiration of the spectacular. Knowing this, Jesus did not commit Himself to them." Guzik

“If belief is nothing more than admiration for the spectacular, it will create in multitudes applause; but the Son of God cannot commit Himself to that kind of faith.” - Morgan

What signs has God given you to show you Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God?