The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. – John 2:13-22

Every year, Jews from all over the Roman empire travelled to the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. In the courts surrounding the temple, merchants set up shop to sell sacrificial animals to the out-of-towners, whose long journeys made it very inconvenient to bring their own animals for sacrifice. In addition to this, these same Jews would have possessed foreign currency, not the required currency to offer the temple tax. To solve this problem, money-changers were available for currency exchange. Seeing the opportunity for profit though, they would rip their customers off. Making matters worse, this all took place in the Court of the Gentiles, the spot designated for God-fearing non-Jewish people to worship the one true God. As such, the market had pushed these Gentiles out of their own place of worship, disrupting the temple’s very purpose of being a light to all nations.

For all this, “gentle Jesus meek and mild” began overturning their tables and driving them out of the temple with a self-made whip. Two-thousand years later, culturally far-removed from the circumstances of this time, it might be difficult for us to fully appreciate the ways that this passage can speak to us today. To make this connection, let’s look more closely at the problems with the money-changers’ and merchants’ worship:

For starters, they weren’t worshipping God. They were worshipping themselves and their own greed. Moreover, they were worshipping themselves while doing things that appeared to be godly (serving in the temple). They looked religious, they cried “Lord, Lord,” but in the end they are those to whom God says “I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:23) “Worship” for them was about making a buck.

Secondly, the Jews from out of town weren’t offering costly worship to God. It was far more convenient to them to just buy animal sacrifices rather than bringing their own animals from home to sacrifice, animals they had themselves raised. Their worship was comfortable and cost them little.

Finally, the worship of the money-changers and merchants had no mission, and was thus not worship at all. They crowded out the Gentiles from worshipping God, the very group that God had promised to bless through Abraham’s offspring. Their worship was all about themselves. It had no aim of worshipping God or blessing others.

The sins we see in this passage should force us to search our lives for modernized versions of the same sins. For example:

Discussion Questions

• The money-changers hid their greed behind the appearance of religious duty. What are we disguising as religiosity?
• The Jewish travelers opted out for more convenient forms of worship that cost them less. In what areas do we just “check things off” the religious list? What has your faith cost you? How does it inconvenience you?
• The money-changers’ and merchants’ worship didn’t spread the glory of God to others. It was all about themselves. In what ways is church all about us? Is it about what we want in a church or what God wants? Is it about what we want (a certain preaching style or worship style) or what others need (the Gospel)?

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On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.  When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”  And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me?  My hour has not yet come.”  His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”  Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.  Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.”  And they filled them up to the brim.  And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.”  So they took it.  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 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.”  This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.  And his disciples believed in him.  –John 2:1-11

The main point of this text is found in verse 11, which tells us that Jesus performed this miracle as a sign to manifest his glory to the effect that the disciples believed in him.  This lines up with the overall purpose of this gospel which is found in John 20:31.  This miracle is a sign because it points to a greater work that Christ will accomplish on our behalf.  The key to understanding this miracle as a sign is in verse 4 when Jesus says, “My hour has not yet come.”  The “hour” is a reference to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross (John 7:30, 8:20, 12:23, 12:27).  Jesus did not turn this water into wine just to save this wedding feast from ending too early.  He performed this miracle to point forward to the glory that will be revealed through his death and resurrection.  In this miracle, we see the purpose of the cross.

The significance of Jesus producing this wine is that it shows that he is the one that mankind had long been waiting for who would bring salvation and completely purify us of our sins (see Isa. 25: 6-9).  Jesus used the water jars that the Jews used for purification rituals to show us that we can never completely cleanse ourselves from our own sins.  Just as Jesus turned this water into wine, we must completely be transformed into a new creation.  The scripture teaches that those who belong to Christ are made into a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).  Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins and we when receive him by faith, our sins are washed away and we are made into new creatures.  This miracle also shows us that Jesus is the true bridegroom who is preparing the ultimate wedding feast for his bride, the church (see also John 3: 28-29).  Just as Jesus produced an overabundance of quality wine for this wedding feast, he is the giver of abundant life for those who receive him.  Producing this life for us cost Jesus dearly.  Jesus shed his blood and gave up his life on the cross to give us eternal life.  To those (the bride) who follow him (the bridegroom), there is an eternal wedding feast waiting for them (Matthew 26:27-29).

Just as the disciples saw the glory of Christ and then believed in him, we need to see and believe.  The wine running out at this wedding party shows us that we need to confess that we are deficient – that we are sinners in need of grace.  Just as the bridegroom of this Cana wedding party receives the credit for the wine Jesus produced, we need to humbly in faith receive the forgiveness and life purchased for us on the cross.

Discussion Questions

• Describe in your own words how this miracle pointed forward to the death of Christ
• What is the significance of Jesus calling his mother “Woman?”  Discuss what it means to be part of Jesus’ family (Matthew 12:46-50)
• What areas of your life are you seeking to cleanse yourself instead of turning to the grace of Christ?
• What areas of your life has the “wine run out” and do you need Jesus to provide abundant life?

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The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” – John 1:43-51

This text revolves around the next two disciples Jesus called, Philip and Nathanael.  A very simply command, “Follow me,” was all it took for Philip to run alongside Jesus Christ. In the following verses we see the immediate incendiary results in Philip’s life – he had a burning desire to share the gospel. One lighted torch lights another torch. So Philip went forth to share the gospel and soon he found Nathanael.

Nathanael had not heard about Jesus, but he knew his Old Testament. He knew that Bethlehem was named as the birthplace of our Savior, not Nazareth. Besides, Nazareth was just four miles from Cana, which was Nathanael’s hometown, and the two towns were something like arch rivals. Therefore, Nathanael’s challenge in verse 46 reveals much about the man Jesus was about to call. In verse 47 Jesus calls Nathanael an Israelite in whom there was no deceit. He put deliberate emphasis on that word because Jacob, the Old Testament patriarch, was Israel, and he was full of deceit – a scoundrel who loved God. Jesus was saying that Nathanael was an ideal Israelite because guile had gone out of his life. Jesus not only knew Nathanael’s character, but also had already seen him under the fig tree. Thus, Nathanael quickly realizes that Jesus must be God for He just demonstrated omniscience, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus response was something to the effect of, “You haven’t seen anything yet.” For Jesus takes Nathanael back some 2,000 years to the time of Jacob – in Genesis 28 – where the original Israelite wrestled with God and saw a ladder bridging heaven and earth.  Significantly, Jesus calls himself the ladder (v. 51) on which the angels will ascend and descend.  Jesus Christ is the bridge between heaven and earth.  This reality is the “greater thing” that Nathanael would soon see.
Discussion Questions

• What is Philip’s response to Jesus command? How does this encourage you?
• What does Jesus mean when he says, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”?
• Compare the words of Philip in verse 45 to those of Nathanael in verse 49. What is significant about the different titles?
• What Old Testament text would verse 51 have brought to mind for Nathanael? How is Jesus the “true ladder” between heaven and earth?

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The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.  One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

There are two main themes brought out in the verses of this text, the first of which is that the witness-giving of John was immediately picked up by those who believed as the result of his testimony. So much so in fact that Andrew and Philip, and eventually John the evangelist, Peter, and Nathanael, became the next witnesses. What is more, they followed the same pattern of witnessing that John the Baptist had followed. That is, (1) they did not attract attention to themselves, (2) they bore a verbal witness to Jesus, and (3) they did so in order that those to whom they were speaking might believe in him also.  The second major theme of the text is that of discipleship.  Four main points bring this out:

1. Discipleship begins with understanding – 1:36-37. True disciples of Christ first understand their sin nature and its corresponding penalty then behold the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.
2. Discipleship involves following after and seeking Christ alone – John 1: 38-39. Jesus asked the men, “What are you seeking?” His desire was to search out their hearts and help them see if they were looking for fulfillment outside of Himself.
3. Discipleship results in a desire to be with Christ and make Christ known – John 1: 40-41. The result of day spent with Jesus is that Andrew rushes back to bring his brother to Jesus.
4. Discipleship transforms our identity – John 1:42.  Jesus changed Simon’s name changed to Peter, which means “Rock.”  Throughout the Bible we see God changing names and indicating a new calling and mission as a result of faith in Christ.

Discussion Questions

• What is the initial starting point of discipleship shown in this text?
• What is the ultimate thing that you are seeking with your life?
• Is your desire to be with Christ? Is it to be with someone or something else?
• How does Jesus change our identity?
• Who can you tell about Jesus this week?

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The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”  And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” – John 1:29-34

How would you summarize Jesus’ ministry? In this passage, John the Baptist highlights two aspects of what Jesus came to do: take away the sins of the world, and baptize with the Holy Spirit.

It is significant that John chose these two aspects of Jesus’ ministry to highlight. The Old Testament expectation of the Messiah’s coming included the promise of a far greater work of the Holy Spirit than any of God’s people had ever known (see Joel 2:28). God didn’t just promise to pour out his Spirit, though. Sin still needed to be dealt with. So God told Ezekiel that he was going to do two things in the new covenant: he would cleanse the sins of his people, and he would put his Holy Spirit in them. (Ezekiel 36:25-27)

These twin blessings are given to every person who puts their faith in Christ. In theological terms, these blessings are called “justification” and “sanctification.” As a believer in Christ, your sins have been completely forgiven and you now receive credit for the perfect life that Jesus lived (justification). And as a result of being forgiven, you have received the promise of the Holy Spirit (also called the “baptism of the Holy Spirit”- Acts 1:4-5) and are enabled to live in increasing freedom from sin and its effects in your life (sanctification).

Discussion Questions

• Do you ever feel like you have to prove yourself to God or others? How does the doctrine of justification speak into this?
• If you are a child of God, God’s Spirit lives in you, producing his fruits. Which fruit of the Spirit have you seen most evidently in your life? (See Galatians 5:22-24)
• Where else in the New Testament do you see the removal of sins and the outpouring of the Spirit linked together? For starters, look up Acts 2:38-39 and Galatians 3:13-14.

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And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John 1:18-29

John 1:18-29 represents the first narrative account in John’s Gospel. In the scene that unfolds we find John the Baptist under interrogation at the hands of priests and Levites. Throughout a series of seven questions the Baptist continually points to the exalted nature of the coming Christ by denying himself. Six instances of self-denial are demonstrated in these ten verses: 1) the Baptist denies being the Christ – v. 20; 2) the Baptist denies being Elijah – v. 21; 3) the Baptist denies being “the Prophet” – v. 21; 4) the Baptist is only “the voice” – v. 23; 5) the Baptist’s refuses to dwell on his ministry – v. 26; 6) the Baptist is unworthy to untie Christ’s sandals – v. 27.

Self-importance had no place for John because he was only the voice crying out in the wilderness; self-seeking had no place for John because his work of baptism only paved the way for the work of Christ; self-worth had no place for John because he wasn’t even worthy to untie Christ’s sandal straps. The text highlights the paradox that confessing Christ begins with denying self. If we are to witness for Jesus Christ, we must first of all deny ourselves – our likes, our dislikes, our needs, our personal interests, our free time, even at times our work or our ambitions. Christ can never be and will never be confessed as the supreme Savior if self is not first removed from the throne. Thomas Boston said it well when he wrote, “Self is Christ’s great rival in the world; and no man can serve the two masters: he must either deny himself and go after Christ, or he will deny Christ and go after self.”

Discussion Questions
What do we learn about John the Baptist’s ministry in 1:19-28?
In what ways does John the Baptist display self-denial in 1:19-28?
Why is self-denial necessary for one’s witness unto Christ?
What are some fruits of self-denial in the Christian life?
Name some ways that one can grow in self-denial.

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And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
John 1:14-18

The gospel of John is very unique in how it presents the birth of Christ. We have the nativity scene presented to us in Matthew and Luke. In Mark we read that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, the birth of Jesus is not mentioned. John’s gospel does not focus upon the nativity scene either, but we are given a great theological truth.

Incarnation of Christ – John ends this section with the capstone; Christ in flesh. One of the major themes in the gospel of John concerns the deity of Christ. We see in this section that the Word became flesh. If we look back up to verse 1 we also see that the Word was God. This is known as the incarnation of Christ. God came down to man in the form of man. J. I. Packer says that “the supreme mystery with which the gospel confronts us . . . lies not in the Good Friday message of atonement, nor in the Easter message of resurrection, but in the Christmas message of Incarnation.” If we can comprehend the fact that Jesus was fully God and fully man, then it is much easier to understand the miracles, death, and resurrection.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. – Philippians 2:5-7

Dwelt among us – Jesus did not simply come to this Earth, accomplish a task and then leave. He dwelt and lived among us. He ate food with many people, and had conversations with people. He didn’t come to us, set things in motion, and remove himself. This carries with it a meaning to tabernacle, such as the Old Testament tabernacle.

And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. – Exodus 25:8

Discussion Questions
Why does it matter that Jesus was fully God and fully man?
Was it required for Jesus to become flesh?
What are the implications of the fact that Jesus chose to dwell among us?

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The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:9-13

John continues the prologue to his gospel by pressing further into the truth that Jesus is the light of the world. The implications of this are huge. Light is the source of life and Jesus is the true light. This Jesus has granted us adoption as sons and daughters of the most-high God (Galatians 4:4-7).

So… how did we become children of God?

We were born…

1. Not of blood – This is not physical birth. Your “credentials” are not based on the families you were raised in. It has nothing to do with how good your parents were. It has nothing to do with your ethnicity.

2. Nor of the will of the flesh – You can do nothing to “will” yourself into becoming children of God. It has nothing to do with your desire.

3. Nor of the will of man – Again, the birth that John speaks of has nothing to do with your own effort.

4. Of God – Start to finish, it is a work of God. God, in his sovereign grace looked down on you and said, “I want that person in my family.” He chose you and then granted you the faith to believe in his son and to become adopted sons and daughters. This is a profoundly beautiful truth… let it cause you to worship your creator.

Discussion Questions
What does it mean that John called Jesus the true light?
What is belief in Jesus?
What are the implications of the fact that, in Jesus, we are children of God?
Have you been born of God? Take a moment to reflect on your story.

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There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
John 1:6-8

In these three verses, John the apostle introduces us to John the Baptist, a man who was prophesied about all the way back in Isaiah 40:3. In this brief account of John the Baptist, the apostle draws our attention to three aspects that characterized the man and his ministry:

1. John was sent by God. God himself had called John for a specific purpose.

2. John witnessed about the light. The specific purpose God was calling John to was to come before Jesus to serve as a forerunner to him and to point him out for everyone.

3. John was not the light. The apostle emphasizes that even though John the Baptist had an incredibly important task, he was only a man and not “the light of men” (John 1:4).

While in one sense John had a unique task in that he was to serve as a forerunner to Jesus, in another sense our task is the same as his. The greek word for “witness” (martureó) in verse 7 (from which we get our word “martyr”) also shows up in Acts 1:8 when Jesus tells his disciples that they will be his “witnesses” to the ends of the earth. While we have come to associate the word “martyr” with death, it simply means to bear witness to something. So to be a believer in Christ is to be a martyr. And so we too can point out three things that should characterize our lives:

1. You are sent by God. Your mission in life isn’t getting that job you want, making sure your kids get in to Harvard, or getting the house with the white picket fence. It is so much more. You have a mission in life which comes to you from the God of the universe.

2. You are to witness about the light. Your life is to be spent making Jesus famous by growing in your knowledge of him, helping other believers to know him more, and by telling others about him who don’t yet know him.

3. You are not the light. Your job isn’t to fix people or save them. You job is merely to point them to the one who alone can do both. God doesn’t need you to make himself famous, but he graciously lets you be part of his mission.

Discussion Questions
Do you sense your God-given mission throughout your normal day?
What would it practically look like to bear witness to Jesus in your day-to-day life?
Do you ever feel like saving people is your responsibility? How does this passage remove that burden from you?

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1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:1-5

The first verses of John chapter 1 represent a wondrous summit in the revelation of God. To come to these verses is to scale a peak of God’s glory and stand at the highest altitude of the knowledge of Jesus Christ. These verses contain, as J.C. Ryle said, “A statement of matchless sublimity concerning the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ.” For what see in these verses is the John making good on his aim that readers know Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The main point of this text is to show us that Jesus is God. He does this by giving his readers five specific truths concerning Christ:

1. Jesus is eternal – In the beginning was the Word. To be eternal is to exist beyond the bounds of time and reign as Lord over time. Jesus is from everlasting to everlasting.

2. Jesus is personal – The Word was with God. Jesus didn’t merely co-exist with God, but He had an active and intimate relationship with the Father from all eternity.

3. Jesus is God – The Word was God. Jesus is not merely like God; He is not merely similar to God; nor is He just an adopted Son of God; Jesus is God.

4. Jesus is the Creator – All things were made through him. All things – big and small, visible and invisible – were created through Christ Jesus and they would soon fall asunder if Christ does not uphold them by His powerful Word.

5. Jesus is the Source – In him was life. All physical and spiritual life flows from Christ alone.

Jesus Christ is the eternal and personal God, who is the creator and source of life and light. In short, the Word is worthy of worship.

Discussion Questions
What truths about Christ do we find in John 1:1-5?
How do these verses point to and prove the divinity of Christ?
How can these verses encourage your relationship with Christ?
In what ways can we offer worship to Christ?

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