John ch02

John chapter 2 has basically 2 contrasting stories….the first being the really cool event of Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding party and the second being Jesus all bent out of shape over the people making money in the temple.

Since other Biblical writers put this story in a completely different time in Jesus’ life, maybe John was thinking a lot more about the juxtaposition of these stories than chronological accuracy.

In the first story, Jesus is at a party…his mother, who is not even the organizer of the event tells him about the lack of wine (really interesting first problem for Jesus to deal with). His reponse is that his "time has not come". Despite the vagueness of this phrase, Mary tells the servants "do what ever he tell you." Evidently she has already seen other examples of his "help around the house."

Now contrast this party Jesus, making wine so that people could have more fun with a Jesus who is really angry with people corrupting the temple. He whips them, turns over their tables, money rolls everywhere and he drives them yelling "get out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!" Whoa, a little bit touch on this subject, eh Jesus? Could he be just a touchy today about tele-evanglist the likes of Benny Hinn, or mega-churches or the whole religious junk you find at every Christian bookstore?

The contrast of these stories is quite intersting…I think there are various layers to the message here that make only come out with more reflection on it.

The last three sentences of this chapter 2 really intrigue me because I don’t remember seeing them before: "Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man’s testimony about man, for he knew what was in man."

What do you think about those verses? I’ve got to think about it abit.