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Gospel of John Bible Study: John 2

by Wayne Davies  
4/28/2014 / Bible Studies

Let's dive into the second chapter of John, shall we?

First, read John 2 in one sitting.

John is writing this book so that we can believe that Jesus is the long-awaited Jewish Messiah (the Christ) and the Son of God. (John 20:31)

Recall in Chapter 1 that when Jesus came down from heaven and took on human flesh, John said: "We have seen his glory". In other words, because Jesus was God, He could demonstrate the glory of God by all that He said, all that He did, and all that He was.

In Chapter 2, let's look at how Jesus displays His divine glory. John shows us the divine glory of Christ in 3 consecutive episodes that occur early in the ministry of Jesus: 1) His compassionate miracle of turning water into wine; 2) His wrathful cleansing of the temple; and 3) His supernatural knowledge of every human being.

Jesus Turns Water Into Wine John 2:1-11
Because Jesus is God, He could do anything (except sin). As the God-Man, He repeatedly demonstrated His divine power. John recorded several of these miraculous displays of glory:

-- Jesus had the power to heal the sick (John 4:46-54), the lame (John 5:1-9) and the blind (John 9:1-12).

-- Jesus had the power to feed 5,000 men with only 5 loaves and 2 fish (John 6:1-15)

-- Jesus had the power to walk on water (John 6:16-21)

-- Jesus had the power to raise the dead (John 11:38-44)

-- And in John 2:1-12, Jesus had the power to turn at least 120 gallons of water into wine.

The other gospel writers (Matthew, Mark and Luke) also record many amazing acts of divine power by the hand or mouth of Jesus. He was the greatest miracle worker to ever walk on this planet. No one else even comes close. (See Matthew 4:23-25)

Certainly Jesus did many of these miracles out of perfectly motivated compassion for people in need. Mark tells us that a leper came to Jesus and begged to be healed. "Moved with pity, he (Jesus) stretched out his hand and touched him (the leper) and said to him, 'I will; be clean.' And immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean." (Mark 1:40-41, emphasis added.)

Right before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he was so moved by compassion for Mary and Martha that "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). And as Jesus approached the tomb of Lazarus, we are told that He was "deeply moved again" (John 11:38).

Jesus was God (John 1:1), and "God is love" (1 John 4:8 ), so Jesus was love, and He loved like no other.

And at the wedding of John 2, when the wine was gone, this was undoubtedly a major embarrassment for the host of the wedding feast, so Jesus was motivated here, too, by a sincere desire to provide the solution to a problem.

But John also wants us to focus on another reason for this miracle. Note John 2:11 "This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory."

The word "manifested" is translated "revealed" in the NIV. The Amplified Bible adds these thoughts: "by it (this miracle) He displayed His greatness and His power openly".

Jesus performed miracles not only to meet real human needs, but also to demonstrate His divine glory, to prove that He truly was God in a human body, and to authenticate His claim to be the one and only Son of God.

Notice also the effect this miracle had on those who witnessed it: "This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him" (John 2:11, emphasis added).

The early followers of Christ saw this miracle and the demonstration of His divine glory had tremendous impact on them. They believed in Him!

To recap this passage (John 2:1-12):
1. Jesus demonstrates His compassion by solving a problem in a miraculous way.
2. Jesus demonstrates His divine power and glory by turning water into wine.
3. The result of this miracle is that the followers of Jesus believed in Him.

Questions to Ponder
1.What do you think of the miracles of Jesus as recorded in Scripture? Do you believe they really happened, or do you think these are fabricated stories or fanciful exaggerations by His over-zealous followers?

2. Take time to read the miracle passages listed above in John's Gospel.
John 4:46-54 healing the sick
John 5:1-9 healing the lame
John 9:1-12 healing the blind
John 6:1-15 feeding 5,000 men with only 5 loaves and 2 fish
John 6:16-21 walking on water J
ohn 11:38-44 raising the dead

What is your response to these incredible displays of divine power? Do you see the glory of Jesus? What effect do these miracles have on your faith?

Jesus Clears the Temple John 2:12-22
Because Jesus is God, He is compassionate -- and we just saw a miraculous demonstration of that compassion in the previous passage.

And because Jesus is God, He is also holy. This is the paradox of the divine nature: God is loving and merciful; and He is righteous and wrathful and so He must eventually punish sin.

In the second episode of John 2, we see the righteous indignation of Jesus as He enters the temple and becomes infuriated with those who have turned the house of God into a den of greed.

And so we are confronted with an aspect of the divine nature that makes us squirm. Many people do not want to see this side of Jesus. But it is there, and it is real. The wrath of God is just as real as the love of God.

Consider these verses:

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
(Psalm 2:12)

You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
With you the wicked cannot dwell.
The arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
You hate all who do wrong.
(Psalm 5:4-6)

God is a righteous judge,
A God who expresses his wrath every day.
(Psalm 7:11)

The Lord reigns forever;
He has established his throne for judgment.
He will rule the world in righteousness;
He will govern the peoples with justice.
(Psalm 9:8)

Here in John 2 we have a preview of things to come. In His first visit to our world, Jesus came primarily to show His love and to provide salvation from the wrath of God. Many Scriptures attest to the wonderful grace of God poured out for sinners at the cross of Christ:

"For God did not send his Son into the world (the first time) to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:17)

But Jesus is coming a second time, and those who have embraced Him as Savior and Lord will be rewarded with eternal life and joy unspeakable. John 3:16 makes that quite plain "whoever believes in Him will not perish (in hell), but have eternal life (in heaven) because "whoever believes in him is not condemned" (John 3:18a).

For those who have ignored and/or spurned the Messiah, the Second Coming of Christ will be a time of great sorrow and the beginning of eternal misery, because "whoever does not believe stands condemned already" (John 3:18b).

In this temple outburst, Jesus is demonstrating just a fraction of His fierce anger that will be released on Judgment Day.

Again, let's allow the Bible to speak for itself: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (John 3:36)

Questions to Ponder
1. When you consider the wrath of God, what is your reaction?

2. In churches today, we don't hear much about hell and Judgment Day. Why do you think this is so? What do you think about the fact that most churches seem to have little to say about the wrath of God?

3. Thankfully, there are still preachers today who teach the wrath of God. These tend to be preachers who are faithful in teaching the entire Word of God via what is known as "verse-by-verse expository preaching".

If you read through the whole Bible, and are careful not to skip the parts that make you squirm, you will be confronted with God's holiness, righteousness, justice and wrath. Likewise, if you teach and preach the whole Bible, your sermons must eventually address the wrath of God.

So I highly recommend the ministries of men like John MacArthur (www.gty.org) and John Piper (www.desiringGod.org), for they have been preaching through the Bible verse by verse for decades. Please do yourself a favor and check out their sermon archives at the websites mentioned above.

Jesus Shows His Omniscience John 2:23-25
The last words of John 2 are both delightful and haunting: "he knew all menfor he knew what was in a man" (John 2:24-25).

Jesus knows everything about you! Think about that for a moment. That is delightful news for the believer, but just as troubling for the non-believer.

Jesus knows everything you've ever done, every word you've ever said, and every thought that has ever crossed your mind. Whoa how incredible is that? And He knows everything about not only you, but about every person who has ever lived on this planet!

And that is the point of this passage. Many people were impressed by the miracles Jesus did: "many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name."

At first glance, that sounds a lot like the response of Jesus' disciples to his miracle at Cana, when He turned water into wine and "thus revealed his glory and his disciples put their faith in him." (John 2:11, emphasis added)

But now in John 2:23, after stating that many people "believed in his name", John proceeds to tell us that Jesus did not respond favorably to the way these folks "believed". Note John 2:24: "But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men."

These people had some type of faith, but it wasn't the right kind of faith. In other words, John is saying that Jesus could look at a person who claimed to believe and know whether that faith was superficial or genuine. Apparently, there were people who would see Jesus "up close and in person", be amazed at His miracles, and say "Wow. This guy is really something special. Sure, I believe in Him; after all, look at all the incredible things He can do."

But this wasn't true, sincere saving faith. It was an outward, external, shallow profession of faith, and it didn't impress Jesus. He could see right through it and know whether someone's faith was the real deal or a fake.

Questions to Ponder
1. Reality Check: Now that you've read the first 2 chapters of John, you've traveled back in time and taken a firsthand look (through an eyewitness account) at the power and glory of Jesus. You've seen Him turn water into wine. You've heard many people testify that this Man is not just any man, but the Creator God of the universe, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Word of God, and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

John, the author of this book, has presented the testimony of a stream of witnesses, all declaring with conviction and authority that Jesus is the one and only God-Man.

So the question you must not only ponder, but also answer today (before it's too late), is the question that Jesus asked His disciples:

"But what about you? Who do you say I am?" (Mark 8:29)

What is your answer?

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I'd be glad to have a dialogue with you about your answers to any of the questions above. You are welcome to send me an email at GodWroteTheBook @ gmail.com with your answers to the questions above; I'll review them and respond with feedback.

For more Bible reading tips, visit http://www.GodWroteTheBook.com for 2 free gifts: the Resource Guide "Top 5 Free Online Bible Study Tools" and my book "Sweeter Than Honey, More Precious Than Gold: Meditations on Psalm 119," by Wayne Davies, dedicated to helping you read and understand the Bible.

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