Introduction
After you have challenged your family and friends to come and check out Jesus, you must begin to explain to them what the Bible says about Him. You must tell them who He is. There is a lot that the Bible says about who Jesus is, so where do you begin? We learned yesterday that Jesus began where the people were, where they would best understand, and He used the Bible — the Word of God. Let’s see where He goes from there with this first group of “Christ-followers.”
Reading [You can read as much as you can, depending on your availability]
John 2:1-11
Meditating [Use these questions to start your thinking]
- What can we learn about Jesus’ priorities from this passage?
- What is unique about this miracle?
- Mary stated in v. 5, “‘Do whatever he tells you.’” Why is this great advice from any parent? Do you think Mary was expecting a miracle? Why or why not?
- What other questions do you still have?
Sharing: Text ONE of your answers to the questions above to your team. Each team should post a sharing from a team member in the comments below.
There are key truths about Jesus that one must share with anyone. Jesus will spend the next three years of His life revealing to His followers the truth of who He is. There are many things that He will reveal, each in its own time. He has a well thought-out plan. One of the things that Jesus revealed yesterday to His first followers was His humanity. Did you pick up on the phrases? Andrew says to Peter: “‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ)” (John 1:41). Then Philip says to Nathaniel, “‘We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the Prophets also wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:41). The phrase shouts that Jesus is a real person, with a real family, from a real town in Israel.
Jesus challenges them to “Follow Me.” They follow and get to meet Jesus’ family (John 2:12)! I imagine them getting a chance to embrace Jesus’ mother, shake hands with His brothers and offer a kiss of greeting to His sisters. Can you see Jesus’ display of humanity here? He shows that he is fully man. But, then He reveals His deity in a supernatural act. He saves the wedding by turning water into wine. Why? Look back at verse 11 for the answer. It says this was His first sign and he did it to manifest His glory. His disciples began to believe that He was who He said He was. They already had believed, but now some of their beliefs were being confirmed. Can you see that as they grew in their knowledge and experience with Jesus that they grew in their faith? Their ability to trust Jesus deepened the more they got to know Him. By getting to meet His actual family and by witnessing His first miracle, they were able to see first-hand His humanity and deity. That is the fourth root — Jesus’ humanity and deity, the one who is God and Man at the same time.
So far we have discovered four roots that Jesus is planting in His first followers as He seeks to establish them in this new movement of multiplication. Did you pick them up? Jot down the first four roots: [Here is what I got… 1) He invited people to “come and see”, 2) He told them who He is (so they came back and shared “We have found the Messiah), 3) He invited them to be with His family, thus show them His humanity, 4) He performed a miracle (at Cana) in a way to reveal to them His deity].
The closer those earlier followers got to Jesus, the more they learned about the truth of who He was. It is the same for us today. “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (Jam. 4:8). Take some time to draw near to Him. Spend a few minutes thanking God for the gift of His Son. Thank Him that He would expose Himself to sinful men and be tempted in all things like us. Try sharing with someone who needs to go deeper with Jesus. Challenge them to join you in answering the call to “Follow Me.”
Mary stated in v. 5, “‘Do whatever he tells you.’” Why is this great advice from any parent? Do you think Mary was expecting a miracle? Why or why not?
–> I agree with Tu, where following and obeying God’s commands is great advice that any parent could give!
Perhaps at that very moment, she wasn’t expecting a miracle exactly.. but I think for Mary, knowing who Jesus was and knowing his purpose, knew that whatever was to happen next, was the right thing. She had Full faith in Jesus right then.
What can we learn about Jesus’ priorities from this passage?
My takeaway from this passage is that Jesus loves and prioritizes people, because if the wine were to run out, the celebration would end, so He turned water into wine that the wedding would continue. He used this miracle to serve and share the joy and celebration with others, rather than using His power for His own benefit
In today’s passage, I thought it was very on par with Jesus’ character to create something miraculous and of good quality, like he did with the wine. The fact that he turned water into good wine, and not just cheap wine, kinda exemplifies that Jesus can go above and beyond. In other miracles, he doesn’t just heal, he instills faith in the people. He doesn’t just split the sea as an escape for the people, he provides a way and a reason for them to believe who he says he is. I think he is shocking to the point that you can’t not believe him! We’re shown time and time again that he truly loves people and wants to serve and provide to the very best of his abilities, which is far greater than any of us could ever do.
I think what’s so unique about this miracle is that Jesus didn’t touch anything. He didn’t serve the water that was turned into wine, he simply commanded something and it came to be. I had this realization after reading this that I tend to want God to answer my prayers in a way that makes sense to me instead of Gods way. God will present opportunity to me, but I can’t grasp or I don’t want what he has to offer because I want that reassurance. Basically having more faith.