Thursday, September 26, 2013

Water to Wine and Cleansing the Temple: John 2

In John 2:1-22 it describes the miracle of Jesus turning the water to wine at a large wedding party.

We read that Mary and Jesus were invited and attended a wedding.

Mary told Jesus that there was no wine.  And Jesus asked 'Woman, what have I to do with thee?"  2 things stand out to me in this verse.  Jesus called his mother 'Woman'.  To me, this seems like a negative term at first.I knew it had to be of some significance because it is included in the scriptures.  It is a term of respect when Jesus uses it.  "To every son the mother ought to preeminently the woman of women."(p 29 , The Life and Teachings of Jesus).  It is considered respectful acknowledgement of Mary's role as His earthly mother.

 It was a rather large wedding.  We can assume this because it says (vs 6) that there were '6 waterpots of stone containing two or three ferkins apiece'  This would be equivalent to 100-150 gallons of water that Jesus turned to wine.

This miracle is impressive for different reasons.     Mary in a sense pushed/nudged Jesus to go ahead.  She knew who He was and had faith in His abilities.  He had not started his ministry yet.  This miracle was done in His home town.  I don't think Jesus wanted to showcase His powers.

In John 2:13-16 it talks about the cleansing of the temple. How can we apply this story to ourselves?


Just as the temple needed to be cleaned to have the Spirit dwell within, so does our body and mind need to be clean to have the Spirit be with us.  We need to cleanse our lives and keep our bodies and minds clean from the things of the world.