Reflective Bible Study

In one of the most unusual miracles Jesus ever performed, when reading about how it happened, it almost seemed like Jesus really didn’t want to do it. This miracle is only recorded in John’s gospel, and very little is known about what happened outside of what John chose to include in his gospel. I’m not sure we even know who was getting married, but what we do know is that this marriage ceremony ran into a serious problem.

Well, in retrospect, the problem probably wasn’t that serious. If it were a life or death situation, then it’s unlikely Jesus would have been called in to help. This event happened before Jesus had done any miracles and there was no fame, glory, or even a track record to lean on.

Just because Jesus hadn’t performed any miracles didn’t stop Mary, Jesus’ mother, from bringing this problem to Him. John tells us the problem and what Mary did: “When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine.’” (v. 3)

And Jesus doesn’t really help the situation with His response: “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.” (v. 4)

If we take this problem and place it next to the huge problems in the world, it looks incredibly petty. If we place this problem next to Jesus’ big mission for His life, this problem looks insignificant. Outside of a handful of people, this event running out of wine would be forgotten at most months or a few years after the event had happened, and even bringing it up weeks later would be for more humorous purposes. In comparison, Jesus’ mission has eternal significance, and one misstep could cause the entire plan of salvation to fail.

However, Mary is not discouraged. She tells the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (v. 5)

In Mary’s actions we see an incredible witness. Jesus may have not intended to perform a miracle here, but Mary pushes Jesus’ hand and she has faith in His ability to get them out of this socially awkward situation. Mary may not have expected a miracle. She may have simply know Jesus to be very intelligent and capable of solving unsolvable problems. In an odd sort of way, Mary’s request is a precursor to the tricks and traps of the Pharisees and religious leaders. It’s an unsolvable problem for those who don’t have merchant friends after the sun has set and the shops are closed.

But Jesus bends His plans to help this situation. While He may have been saving the first miracle to be a significant one on a bigger scale than this, what ultimately happens with this miracle is that Jesus shares a different and fascinating picture of God’s character. In this miracle, Jesus demonstrates God’s love for us when facing struggles, problems, and difficult situations, and He wants to help us where we are.

Jesus’ first miracle helped an unknown host with a socially awkward problem that seemed huge in the moment but was ultimately insignificant in the big picture. This says that when we face huge challenges in our own lives, God is willing to step in and help out when we ask. We might not think our problem is in His desire to solve, but Jesus is more interested in helping us, the individual, than on the details of the problem.

Two times in Jesus’ ministry, we read about Him chasing people out of the temple. During the first time He threw people out of the temple, Jesus says an interesting phrase that is important for us to remember. While we often focus in on the second time Jesus cleared the temple (which happened during the week He was crucified), there is a unique quality that make’s John’s record of this temple cleansing important for us living today.

On coming up to Jerusalem and the temple for the Passover feast, Jesus enters the temple. “In the temple courtyard he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves. Others were sitting at tables exchanging money. So Jesus made a whip out of ropes. He chased all the sheep and cattle from the temple courtyard. He scattered the coins of the people exchanging money. And he turned over their tables.” (v. 14-15)

When reading this, we are quick to jump to the other gospels to look for an answer. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record Jesus’ quotation from the Old Testament where He says, “It is written that the Lord said, ‘My house will be called a house where people from all nations can pray.’ But you have made it a ‘den for robbers.’” (Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46)

We are quick to point out that dishonesty drove Jesus to clear out the temple, but these three gospels happen at the end of Jesus’ ministry. John’s gospel shares a different reason Jesus gives for this early-in-His-ministry temple cleansing.

John tells us in His gospel that Jesus told His reason to those selling doves. John says that Jesus said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” (v. 16)

Were the merchants in the temple being dishonest in John’s event? Probably, but here, Jesus does not mention anything to make us think this was His reason. Jesus’ reason for being upset is that these people were “turning [the temple] into a market.” (v. 16)

Jesus was upset by the commerce that was happening in the temple courtyard. This wasn’t outside of the temple, but on property that was owned by the temple and it would have been the first thing visitors would have seen when entering the temple. People who would be coming to pray and worship would have to weave their way through the crowds of merchants to simply find a quiet place to be with God.

Does Jesus hate commerce? Absolutely not when it is done in an ethical way, but in this passage we can find a key idea present for His actions here.

When we look at what God has done for us, and what Jesus has done for us, these are gifts we have been given. Life and salvation cost us nothing. God is a God who gives first, and if we choose to return, then we can choose to do so.

But commerce is all about exchange. Exchanges cost something. We give some money and we then get some item, object, or service. Commerce does not reflect God, but it does reflect society and social interactions.

Jesus is upset with the commerce in the temple because it was pulling people’s focus away from God. It was bringing what was common, ordinary, and typical of every day of the week into God’s home among people and implying that there is nothing distinguishing it from any other place one could go.

In a sort of similar way, churches today fill the role the temple and synagogues played in the first century. Churches today are places where we can go when wanting to feel closer to God. I wonder if we should pay more attention in our own lives and churches on this idea of distinguishing the common from the holy, and society’s commerce from God’s priceless gifts for us.

During one of the healing miracles that Jesus performed, we can find an interesting dialog that Jesus has with a couple of blind men. Matthew tells us in his gospel that these blind men found Jesus and were following Him crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” (v. 27)

Matthew doesn’t tell us how far Jesus traveled that day or at what point the blind men found Jesus, but when they ultimately came to the place they were going to stay the night, the blind men came up to Jesus to be healed. Jesus asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (v. 28a)

They both responded, “Yes, Lord.” (v. 28b)

On one hand, the answer to this question should be obvious. These men had followed Jesus crying out for mercy from Him. This would mean that they knew He was capable of healing them, and it would seem that they were pretty persistent with their desire to be healed. When Jesus asked them if they believed He is capable of healing their sight, the counter question back to Jesus easily could have been, “If we didn’t believe this, why would we have followed You here?

But on the other hand, I think this miracle might have a lesson for the disciples attached to it. These men clearly demonstrated their belief through their actions. They had followed Jesus requesting help for miles, and it is only after the trip had finished that Jesus acknowledges their presence. I am sure Jesus was aware of their presence before arriving. These men may have even been disruptive in their attempts to get His attention. However, it is only after Jesus arrives at the house they were staying that He comes over to talk with them.

The big key I see in this passage that makes me think this was a teachable moment for the disciples comes with what Jesus says as He is touching their eyes. “Then He touched their eyes, saying, ‘It shall be done to you according to your faith.’” (v. 29)

The proof for the blind men’s faith had been demonstrated in what they had done leading up to this miracle, and the result of their conversation with Jesus and His touch blended with this faith to give the ultimate result: “And their eyes were opened.” (v. 30a)

Jesus attached the effectiveness of this miracle to the faith of the men making the request. While faith isn’t directly visible in every miracle Jesus performed, we can see that faith is a key ingredient in many of Jesus’ healing miracles.

One lesson Jesus may be teaching here is that faith that is strong enough for miracles will also be a faith that is visible to others. Hidden faith is not a powerful faith. Powerful faith gives evidence for its existence. The blind men didn’t care who knew they wanted Jesus’ help, they simply followed Jesus asking for help until Jesus was ready to acknowledge them. Their persistence proves their level of faith.

The more I read the gospels’ record of Jesus’ temptations at the start of His ministry, the more amazed at the various nuances present in both the temptations Satan uses against Jesus, and the responses Jesus gives. One of the things that stand out as profound is the conditional nature of each temptation and this is because in each temptation, Satan phrases it as a challenge to who Jesus is.

Both Matthew and Luke include this little nuance in how Satan words his temptations, but for simplicity, we’ll just look at Matthew’s gospel. Matthew tells us that Satan’s first temptation was, “If you are God’s Son, order these stones to turn into bread.” (v. 3b)

The second temptation Matthew shares is, “If you are God’s Son, throw yourself down…” (v. 6a)

Matthew’s gospel concludes these three temptations by sharing the devil offering Jesus the world. Satan said, “All this I will give you, if you kneel down and worship me.” (v. 9)

In each of these temptations, Satan tries to plant doubt in Jesus’ mind regarding His mission. In the first two temptations, the challenge is for Jesus to prove that He really is God’s Son. In the third temptation, the challenge is for Jesus to abandon the mission of the cross. Satan essentially offers Jesus a shortcut, but the trap with this shortcut is that it would cause Jesus to sin, and by doing so, it would invalidate His ministry. The doubt that Satan tried to plant in Jesus’ mind with the third temptation is that the path of the cross would be too difficult to face.

What is fascinating about these temptations is that they echo the temptations Satan throws at each of us. All Satan needs to do is to challenge our status as children of God, which usually will either cause us to doubt God, or it will cause us to overreact and test God.

The temptations are powerful because while they try to cause sin, they are also trying to plant doubt. Too often, Satan’s temptations are successful at both causing sin and planting doubt, but when we know what he is up to, we can be one step ahead of his next attempt.

God gave Jesus to give His life for each of us. This allows us to be adopted back into God’s family. Never let a temptation plant doubt in your mind that God loves you and wants you back in His family!