BCM Fall 2019 Week 4 The Gospel of John John 2:1-12

PASSAGE: John 2:1-12

The Wedding at Cana

2 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ​ 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.3 When the wine ran out, the mother ​ ​ ​ of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this ​ ​ have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do ​ ​ whatever he tells you.”

6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding ​ twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled ​ ​ them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the ​ ​ feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and ​ ​ did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine ​ ​ first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. ​ ​ And his disciples believed in him.

12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, ​ and they stayed there for a few days.

SUMMARY: John said of Jesus in chapter one (John 1:29): “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes ​ away the sin of the world!” Jesus came to earth for the purpose of saving sinful humanity and reconciling them back to God. He did this by coming to earth and living among humanity. It says in John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Jesus not only came to save sinful humanity, but He also did so by dwelling among us and experiencing life as we do. His ministry began in the gospel of John at a wedding. Unlike weddings of today, ancient weddings could last days and were often weeklong affairs. There would be multiple banquets as a part of the festivities, in which the whole community would take part. At this particular wedding, the wine ran low and eventually ran out. This would have been humiliating for the wedding hosts. Mary asks Jesus for help, which may be an indication of two things: Mary’s oversight responsibilities at the wedding and the potential absence (death) of Joseph by this point in time.

BCM Fall 2019 Week 4 The Gospel of John John 2:1-12

START YOUR GROUP ● Follow up with your group about prayer requests and applications. ​ ● Ask an Ice Breaker Question: Have you ever been to a wedding? What is your favorite ​ part of being at a wedding? ● Transition to the Passage: We’re going to continue on in the book of John. In the ​ beginning of the gospel, we were introduced to the eternal Word, Jesus Christ, who took on flesh and lived among His own. Over the last couple of weeks, we read about Jesus calling His first followers, the disciples. Now, in John 2, Jesus begins His earthly ministry by performing a miracle at a wedding in Cana.

READ THE PASSAGE ● Share the story in your own words; without looking at the Bible. ● Read the passage as a group. ● Have everyone take a minute and look through the passage again before asking a few key questions from the text.

ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TEXT ● What sticks out to you from the passage? (Encourage everyone to answer.) ● Is there anything that you have a question about?1 2 ● What does Mary’s priority of turning to Jesus for help say about her belief in Jesus? ● Notice how Jesus said “My hour has not yet come.” The idea of “my hour” is prominent in the gospel of John. Read the following verses: John 4:21, 23; 5:25, 28; 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20; 13:1; 17:1. What do these verses reveal about the “hour” Jesus is referring to? ● We see a partial fulfillment of the goal of Jesus’ ministry (as stated in John 20:30-31) in verse 11 of this particular story. What does it say is the purpose of Jesus performing a sign and what is the response of the disciples?

APPLY THE PASSAGE ● Mary gives what could be the greatest advice in all of the Bible in John 2:5, “Do whatever he tells you.” Why is this such great advice? Has this been the pattern of your life? Why or why not? ● How is God asking you to respond to this passage?

PRAY AS A GROUP3

1 Make sure that you, as the leader, read through the passage multiple times and study the passage. Allow group members to answer the questions, but help guide the discussion in the right direction. If someone gives an incorrect response to a question, humbly and graciously give a correct response. 2 Someone may ask about the tone of Jesus in John 2:4. For help, look at the commentary provided below. 3 Ask for prayer requests, write them down, and pray for them in the group. Remember to ask “Is there anything else?” and to pray over the requests throughout the next week. BCM Fall 2019 Week 4 The Gospel of John John 2:1-12

EXTRA RESOURCES

Jesus’ response to Mary in John 2:4

Turning first to the way Jesus seems to have treated his mother, the statement in v. 4 is literally: “Woman, what to me and to you? My hour has not yet come.” This question has raised the eyebrows of many persons over the centuries. Jesus may here seem to have been harsh with his mother. Thus many mothers and a number of Roman Catholic interpreters have found the statement to be troublesome. The NIV translation “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” is obviously an attempt to soften the misunderstanding of the Greek.

In reflecting on the text, however, we must first recall that Jesus’ mother appears in only two stories in this Gospel, here and at the cross (19:25–27). In the tender context of the cross, where at his death Jesus demonstrated his role as the eldest son and provided for his mother’s care, he again addressed her as “Woman” (19:26). For a western democratic, person-oriented society, addressing a person as “woman” seems to be an impersonal put-down. But the reader must take care lest such be attributed to Jesus or to this text. In like manner it was not inappropriate in the first century to refer to a woman by the designation of her father, husband, or son, depending on who was responsible for her. In this Gospel she is not called Mary but is designated as the “mother of Jesus” or “his mother” (2:1, 3, 5; 19:25–26). Accordingly, Jesus did not derive his significance from his mother but the reverse. Indeed, such should be true of everyone attached to Jesus.4

The form of address, gynai (niv ‘Dear woman’), though thoroughly courteous, is not normally an endearing term, nor the form of address preferred by a son addressing a much-loved mother. When Jesus addresses Mary from the cross, he uses the same expression (19:26). English equivalents are hard to come by. ‘Woman’ is too distant, and possibly too condescending; ‘Dear woman’ is too sentimental. ‘Lady’ is not much used, except as a formal title or on the lips of a New York cab driver telling a female passenger to hurry up (‘Get in, lady!’). The expression can be invested with deep love (as the husband of Pheroras addresses his wife with great affection: Jos., Ant. xvii. 74), but is not characteristically used that way. Bruce (p. 69) suggests the Ulster expression ‘Woman dear’; the expression much heard in the southern United States, ‘Ma’am’, has it almost exactly, except that well-brought-up children in the South address their mothers with that term—and that is precisely how the term does not function on Jesus’ lips. neb’s ‘Your concern, mother, is not mine’, is unjustified.5

4 Borchert, G. L. (1996). John 1–11 (Vol. 25A, pp. 154–155). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers. ​ ​ ​ 5 Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel According to John (p. 170). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: ​ ​ ​ Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.