Bible Study John 2 Public Ministry

Chapter 2 recorded the public ministry of Jesus. The first miracle was essentially forced out by His mother. This chapter can be divided into 3 parts.

1. The Wedding Miracle at Cana 2:1-12
2. The Temple Cleansing 2:13-22
3. The Nature of Man 2:23-25

The Inductive Bible Study Method is usually recommended for the study of the gospels. It consists of 3 steps of

1. Observation - what are the facts? What actually happened from an objective viewpoint.
   
2. Interpretation - what does it mean? This part will have more arguments and different people with different cultures, at other times, will see the same thing differently and form their own interpretations.
   
3. Application - what can I learn and apply from this? There are two parts to this. The first is the lesson learned and the second is personal application. What lesson is learned to bear the danger of over-generalization? This is where we have to be careful. We may have the tendency to over-generalize an instance. For example, Jesus healed a blind man by spitting on him. Could we generalize that we must spit on people to restore their eyesight? We must gather more evidence before we generalize. With this caution in mind, we can begin to dig deeper into this gospel of John.

Here are the Questions for Reflection:

1. What can we learn about the social life of Jesus?
2. How much did Mary know about Jesus?
3. What I learned about the Miracle of Water to Wine at the Wedding?
4. What do we learn from Jesus' Cleansing of the Temple?
5. What can we learn about the nature of man?
6. What is the best learning here? What next action shall I take?

1.  What can we learn about the social life of Jesus?

Jesus, His mother, and his disciples attended a wedding 2:2
Jesus, mother, brothers, and disciples stayed together for a few days 2:12
Jesus was not so alone as we might think. He has a family and social life too, at least at the beginning of His ministry. Further on, we will learn about His brothers teasing Him. But we later know that the books of Jude and James were written by His brothers.

2. How much did Mary know about Jesus?

Observation:

1. Mary brought the 'run out of wine' issue to Jesus 2:3. She told the servant to follow Jesus' instructions 2:5.
2. Jesus said "it is not my time" 2:4
3. Jesus did help: water to top-quality wine... 2:6-10

Interpretation:

1. Mary knew Jesus could and had the ability to help. Mary did not tell Jesus how to help but just bring the problem to Him, knowing and trusting Him to help.
2. Mary knew Jesus' character of love and miracle power. If not miracle power, at least some great intelligence to solve problems.
3. Jesus at first appears reluctant (not time yet) but still did it

3. What I learned about the 'Miracle of Water to Wine' at the Wedding?

Application:

1. We must know Jesus as willing and able to help at any time of our calling. (This specific instance is at Mary's request. There are other instances in the Bible where Jesus responded to the cry for help by healing, casting off demons, etc.)
2. We must call for help but leave the how-to Him. We just faithfully follow the instructions given. This is how Mary asked and how the servants follow exactly (fill to the brim 2:7, not halfway). Other instances in the Bible tell us to follow exactly to get the desired outcome. 
3. God uses what we have to bring forth the miracle that we need. The Jar and Water.
4. God can transform the plain water, or a person like us, into something wonderful, the great wine and the great person in God. (This is symbolizing and needs extra evidence. This exertion is ok because the Bible heroes are generally people with problems like runaway Moses, cheating Jacob, coward Gideon, all the disciples of Jesus, etc.)
5. The principles learned:
1. bring our problem to Jesus (1Pet 5:7) casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
2. follow his instructions; Do NOT give God the instructions.
3. God uses what we have and not what we don't or can't.

4. What do we learn from Jesus' Cleansing of the Temple?
We need to check out the commentaries to understand why and what Jesus was angry about. We can learn the following:

1. Bad and evil things happened right in the house of God. People use the name of God to gain benefits from themselves and even do evil things. Be extra careful of people, including your leaders, doing things in the name of God, and yet you find it uncomfortable. We have the responsibility of holding our leaders accountable too. It is a proper balance of obedience and keeping in check. We are not sure how many of the great men of God could be saved from falling if their members are wise and held accountable instead of blindly following them.
2. There are right and wrong ways of expressing anger. Again, we have to watch this too. It is easy for us to cite this example to justify our actions as 'righteous anger. On the other hand, how much evil and injustice can continue because no one reaches out to help?

5. What can we learn about the nature of man?
Jesus did not entrust himself to man because he knew all people v24,25.
He knew men could not be trusted fully then, yet He now uses us to witness and spread the Gospel for Him. Why? There is the Holy Spirit given to us to help and empower us. He needs not and yet He chooses to use us.

6. What is the best learning here? What next action shall I take?
I leave it to you then to decide.

Prev: Bible Study John 1:35-:51 They Found and were Convinced that Jesus was the Messiah

Next: Bible Study John 3:1-21 Night Visit & Greatest Truth.