In John 2
● remember John’s declaration of purpose for his gospel: “but these [words] are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:31),
● see how John is beginning to present evidence by reporting the “signs” (11, 18, 23), suggesting how the actions referenced point to something, the nature of this one called “the Word,”,
● notice the amount of detail given about the water-to-wine sign (3-10), evidence of a witness who actually knew what was happening, and the internal witness (the master of the feast) testifying to the bridegroom (10),
● record for later comparison Jesus’ declaration- “My hour has not yet come” (4)- suggesting that there is a purposeful, time-controlled unfolding of events,
● connect Jesus who “manifested his glory” (11) to the Word that “became flesh” (1:14) about whom John said “we have seen his glory” (1:14),
● count the occasions in this chapter when “believed” (11, 22, 23) is the response made to the events encountered,
● consider that Jesus’ cleansing of the temple (14-16) is a staged event, challenging custom and hearts and summoning echoes of scripture, not a temper tantrum,
● remember that we have learned to consider not only a quoted reference to the Old Testament, such as “zeal for your house will consume me” (17), but also the surrounding neighborhood in the text, so perhaps ponder Psalm 69, and
● notice that “believed” (22) refers to the disciples’ response to “the Scripture and to the word that Jesus had spoken” (22).
Thank you,
Randy Tumlinson