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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
John 2
Once again I find myself wondering what “third day” John referenced here. I thought before that maybe this was the third day after Jesus’ baptism. Now, however, I’m not so sure that’s it. The other gospels all note that Jesus went to the wilderness for 40 days after His baptism. It seems both events took place before He had any followers. Looking more closely at John 1, I see that John doesn’t really write about Jesus’ baptism event, but only mentions John the Baptist’s testimony of it. So now I’m thinking that the wedding at Cana maybe took place on the third day after Jesus’ return from His wilderness temptation. Or maybe it was simply three days after Nathanael came to Jesus.
None of that really tells me anything, of course, and maybe it doesn’t matter at all. But why would John put a time reference in there if it didn’t matter somehow? There’s just something about this whole story that seems symbolic somehow. And since John labeled it as Jesus’ first sign, perhaps it is. On the third day a wedding took place, where mere water was poured into purification jars and was transformed into the best wine. Some time later, on another third day, Jesus emerged from the grave to claim His bride. Now those who pour themselves into Him find their lives transformed into something good.
John 3
I don’t know if the final words of this chapter belong to John, the disciple who wrote this gospel account, or to John, the baptizer. Whichever John the words belong to, however, the message is the same as the one Jesus gave to Nicodemus. This message is at the core of the entire Bible. It is the message of our choice. Life or death, grace or wrath, mercy or judgment. They are all the same choice, and they all rest on the same pivot point – God’s Son, Jesus.
We tend to think of God’s judgment being the result of our sin. While that is true to a point, Jesus died to remove the problem of sin. So why does judgment remain? Jesus told us. “This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light” (Jn. 3:19a). So God’s judgment is a result of our choice. If we refuse to admit that we are sinners in need of a savior, we reject Jesus, God’s light, and receive God’s judgment. If, however, we confess the truth, God’s grace does its work in us through His Son and we receive His mercy.
John 4
I saw two little related things in this familiar story this morning that I haven’t really thought about before. When Jesus told the Samaritan woman that those who drank His water would never thirst again, she said, “give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water.” (Jn. 5:15). Though she didn’t realize what she was saying, she spoke a great truth. When we give our lives to Jesus, we no longer need to seek our sustenance in earthly things. Yes, we still need water to live. But we no longer need to fear losing it because we know it isn’t what truly sustains us. In fact, there is no “well” on earth that offers what we really need, so we can leave those earthly idols behind and turn to God for everything.
When the Samaritan woman realized who Jesus was, she clearly took Him in. We know, because she did exactly what I just said. “Then the woman left her water jar” (Jn. 4:28a). Suddenly, her priorities changed. No longer did her physical needs drive her actions. I believe this is what Jesus meant when He said, in His Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matt. 5:6). If only we could live with such conviction, letting our relationship with God, rather than our physical needs, direct our lives!