Day 21
Today’s reading: John 2:1-25
The First Sign
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The First Sign 〰️
Reflections
Running out of wine at a wedding in those days carried significant social implications. While no one’s life was at risk or no savings would be lost, the potential shame for the wedding hosts was real. Yet, Jesus showed compassion by intervening to prevent this social embarrassment. This may seem like a small issue in the grand scheme, but it demonstrates that God cares about even the most seemingly inconsequential matters.
More importantly, we see that Jesus is Lord over all things. He has authority over every aspect of this world, including something as simple as water. Think about that for a moment—there is nothing in this world that Jesus cannot control, even the man-made things like wine. The process of making wine is quite lengthy. It involves harvesting, ripening the grapes, crushing them, fermenting, filtering, and aging. Some of the best wines take years to perfect. Yet, in just moments, Jesus created wine—showing that He is not only Lord over time and processes but also over all of creation.
In this first miracle, we see not only God's willingness to meet our needs, but also His incredible ability to do so, no matter how ordinary the need may seem.
Study Questions
What does Jesus mean when He says, “My hour has not yet come”?
What were the social implications of running out of wine at a wedding, and what was the implication of Jesus’ miracle?
Compare the account of the cleansing of the temple in John with that of Mark 11:15-19. What are the similarities and differences in these two narratives?
What did you learn about God’s nature, His ways and His will from today’s reading?
Highlight
“Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.” John 2:23 ESV
