Author: Jeff Englund

John 2: 7

“Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim.”

The servants in this story are confronted with a unique problem. Mary has told them to do whatever Jesus tells them. She could have said, “Go and ask the master of the house if it would be okay for Jesus to help out here,” but she didn’t. She simply gave them a direct instruction, “Do whatever he tells you.”

The instructions Jesus gave them must not have made any sense. After all, how would putting water in the jugs help with the wine situation? Didn’t they have other things that they needed to be doing? Yet these must have been very good servants because they not only filled the jugs with water (a lot of work in those days!) but they “filled them to the brim.”

Q: In your life as a Christian, how far do you fill the jars of our lives? When Jesus says we should love our neighbor as ourselves, do we do just enough to get by, or do we fill the jar to the brim?

Continue reading “Filled to the Brim”

John 2: 6

 “Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.”

In this story, Jesus is not being asked to provide just a bottle (or “skin”) of wine. The wine has to last for the duration of the celebration (up to four more days) and be enough for all of the people at the celebration. (Jesus, his mother and disciples, represented a sizable group, and they were just a part of the celebration crowd.) Even so, providing 120 to 180 gallons of wine would probably have been a very generous response.

Q: How does God’s generosity in providing wine for the wedding in Cana reflect his generosity in other areas of life?

Continue reading “Generosity”

John 2: 5

“His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’”

In this simple verse, Mary tells the servants of the house to do whatever her son tells them to do. Think about this for a minute: There is a major social crisis in progress! There are still up to four days left in the traditional wedding celebration and the wine is already gone! This is a major social faux pas. The newlyweds are in danger of becoming the talk of the town very possibly for their whole lives. Enter Mary: She tells the servants to do what her son tells them to do.

Q: What does this situation tell us about the relationship of Mary to the household where the wedding is being held? Is she a stranger, or a very close friend or relation?

Continue reading “Relationships”

John 2: 1-4

“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

We revisit the introductory verses of chapter 2 again because something else of significance happens. Jesus talks about his “hour” and the fact that it “has not yet come.”

Q: What do you think Jesus means by the term his “hour” and when do you think he expected it to begin?

Continue reading “Time”

John 2: 1-4

“On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

John opens the second chapter of his gospel with a dramatic change of scene. In Chapter 1 he walks us through the beginning of creation and introduces us to the battle between light and dark. He then introduces us to his gospel message: If you receive Jesus, if you believe in his name, you have the right to become a child of God, born of God. Then we see John the Baptist introducing Jesus and Jesus calling his first disciples. (Whew!) In Chapter 2, we are suddenly transported to a small village somewhere in Galilee at a local wedding. It is the third day of the wedding ceremony and a scandal is afoot: the host has run out of wine. Mary, the mother of Jesus, brings the problem to her oldest son.

Q: Is there any significance to the way Jesus responds to his mother? If so, what is it?

Continue reading “Woman”

John 1: 50-51

“Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.’ He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man.'”

Isn’t it wonderful how Jesus maintains his heavenly perspective even while he is in the form of a person on earth? Being seen by the Son of God before you even know he exists is impressive. Yet that is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Jesus promises even more.

Q: For those of you who know your Bibles well; who else do you know of who saw heaven open?

Continue reading “Perspective”

John 1:49

“Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.'”

When Philip entices Nathanael to come to see Jesus, he says, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote…” Certain things must have come to Nathanael’s mind. Who was he expecting to see? Certainly it was not someone who would claim to know him even before they met! Nathanael’s impulsiveness is evident both in his comment about Nazareth as well as his response to Jesus.

Q: Compare Nathanael to Peter. How are they similar and how are they different?

Continue reading “Expectations”

John 1:48

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

This verse should give us pause to think. When Nathanael asks, “How do you know me?” Jesus could have said, “Well, anyone who makes a comment like you just did is either honest or a boor.” But he didn’t. Instead he says in effect that he was watching Nathanael even before Philip told him who Jesus was. If as a man Jesus was able to keep and eye on people without being physically in their presence, how much more true is that now?

Q: What do you want Jesus to see you doing today?

Continue reading “Pause to Think”

John 1:47

“When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.'”

Nathanael spoke his mind without caring who heard him or what they thought. Sometimes people like Nathanael are called, “blunt,” or worse.  Jesus could have cast him aside as being too crude to be one of his disciples, but instead Jesus (God) knows Nathanael’s heart and expresses appreciation for his honesty.

Q: When someone speaks a truism in a way that offends, how should a Christian respond?

Continue reading “Honesty”

John 1:44-46

“Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

Can anything good come from Nazareth? Clearly Nazareth had a reputation and it was not all that great. Jesus, of course, was born in Bethlehem originally, then lived in Egypt for a while, and eventually was raised in Nazareth. (Matthew 2)

Q: Was being raised in a backwater town like Nazareth a good fit for Jesus and his mission here on earth or would it have been better for him to be raised in a more prestigious neighborhood? Why?

Continue reading “Backwater”