Read:
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So, they took it. 9 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 10 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.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.
Q1: How do the verses below help serve as a lens to help understand what John included in his gospel and why? How does it help you ask the right questions as you read and seek to understand his gospel?
But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:31
And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if every one of them were written down, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written. John 21:2.
Background: Asceticism: the belief that a person can attain a high spiritual and moral state by practicing self-denial, self-mortification, and the like. Asceticism, in various forms has taught that there is spiritual value in abstaining from the normal, mundane, physical pleasures and activities. One of the more famous ascetics was Simeon Stylites. He lived on top of pillars that were up to 50 feet high for 37 years. His living area was about one square meter and he was provided food but people who climbed a ladder or he pulled it up with a rope. He lived in Syria in the 5th century, so you can imagine the heat and cold he endured. Jesus was no ascetic. He celebrated a wedding. He attended dinner parties. At the same time, he was disciplined. He frequently went off by himself to pray and he engaged in extended fasts.
Q2: What are some differences between ascetism and spiritual disciplines? What spiritual disciplines are important to you and what disciplines would you like to be more faithful in? Have you every struggled with turning disciplines into “earning” God’s favor versus “training for godliness”?
Q3: Why do you think Christians have had trouble finding balance between being overly engulfed in the world (culture) and being overly withdrawn from it?
Q4: What are some key resources and principles for living faithfully “in” but not “of” the world?
Background: This sign at the wedding, like all 7 signs that John lists, pointed to Jesus. Not Jesus the miracle worker who can make all your dreams come true but rather Jesus the Savior of the world, the promised Messiah. Understanding the purpose of miracles in the Bible is important for setting personal expectations of what God has promised you. Many become disillusioned and disappointed when God doesn’t answer some prayer for healing, provision, or to even change another person’s heart.
Q5: Have you ever asked God for something and become confused, disappointed, disillusioned, or angry because he did not respond like you wanted him to? Perhaps this is currently the case for you. Talk about it.
Background: Jesus told his mother, in response to her request, that it was not his time (hour). He performed a miracle that met his mother’s request but the act was a sign pointing to him as the Savior it was not simply using his power to do what his mother wanted.
Q6: Talk about what it might have been like for Mary to go from Jesus as her son to Jesus as her Lord. This actually happened, they had real conversations just like the one John gave us. Think about it and discuss what might have been going on in Mary’s heart and mind.
Q7: We have not known Jesus in the flesh but we have all had to deal with his claim of Lordship. Maybe you “believed” in Jesus at one point in your life but then you can to the place that you had to make the decision to crown him Lord of your life. Describe what this looked like. What was hard about it? What kind of freedom did you experience as a result of making Jesus Lord.
Q8: If you are wrestling with the Lordship of Jesus in an area of your life, be honest and let the group know. Ask for prayer to truly make Jesus Lord of this and every area of your life.