John 2 (HCSB)
The First Sign: Turning Water into Wine
2 On the third day a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and 2 Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding as well. 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother told Him, “They don’t have any wine.”
4 “What has this concern of yours to do with Me, woman?” Jesus asked. “My hour has not yet come.”
5 “Do whatever He tells you,” His mother told the servants.
6 Now six stone water jars had been set there for Jewish purification. Each contained 20 or 30 gallons.
7 “Fill the jars with water,” Jesus told them. So they filled them to the brim. 8 Then He said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the chief servant.” And they did.
9 When the chief servant tasted the water (after it had become wine), he did not know where it came from—though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He called the groom 10 and told him, “Everyone sets out the fine wine first, then, after people have drunk freely, the inferior. But you have kept the fine wine until now.”
11 Jesus performed this first sign in Cana of Galilee. He displayed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
12 After this, He went down to Capernaum, together with His mother, His brothers, and His disciples, and they stayed there only a few days.
Cleansing the Temple Complex
13 The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple complex He found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and He also found the money changers sitting there. 15 After making a whip out of cords, He drove everyone out of the temple complex with their sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables. 16 He told those who were selling doves, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning My Father’s house into a marketplace!”
17 And His disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal for Your house will consume Me.
18 So the Jews replied to Him, “What sign of authority will You show us for doing these things?”
19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this sanctuary, and I will raise it up in three days.”
20 Therefore the Jews said, “This sanctuary took 46 years to build, and will You raise it up in three days?”
21 But He was speaking about the sanctuary of His body. 22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. And they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made.
23 While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many trusted in His name when they saw the signs He was doing. 24 Jesus, however, would not entrust Himself to them, since He knew them all 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify about man; for He Himself knew what was in man.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 22): Lord, please forgive me for sometimes doubting You and relying on myself to perform miracles/change in my life. You are capable of anything and I need to be better at trusting in You.
PROMISE (verse 19): You made a promise to the Jews that when Your temple (Your body) is destroyed, that You will raise it up in only 3 days and YOU DID!!
ATTITUDE (verse 22): Lord, help me to change my mindset to shift by default towards You and not to myself. I am a better man, husband, and father when my focus is on You and I want it to remain that way.
COMMAND (verse 5): Although this was Your mother speaking to the servants, I feel this is a command to us to do whatever You tell us to do. Help me to discern Your will, remain in Your word and prayer, and to always listen to You first before any others, especially myself.
EXAMPLE (verse 22): Help me to remember Your word, acts, and will along the way so that I may look back and see what great things You are doing and that You are always in control and keep Your promises, just as the disciples were witness to in this verse.
*DAILY NOTE: John 2 reminds me that I need to keep my focus on God at all times, because if I lose that focus then I begin to rely on myself and my own opinions/thoughts, which are heavily flawed by the influence of the world and of sin.
*GENERAL NOTE: I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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