John 2

Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

(Joh 2:1) And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
(Joh 2:2) And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
(Joh 2:3) And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
(Joh 2:4) Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

The Lord was not there to provide wine for the feast. Seems as if the time had not come to Him to begin His ministry just yet. Perhaps the Lord preferred that we not fuss about trivial things like running out of wine. Yet He still provided the wine even though it was not His time.

(Joh 2:5) His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
(Joh 2:6) And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
(Joh 2:7) Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
(Joh 2:8) And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
(Joh 2:9) When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
(Joh 2:10) And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
(Joh 2:11) This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

It is wonderful that many believed in Him because of miracles but we really need more than that. Sometimes miracles disappear. We may go for years and not see a miracle. We really need the word to sustain us and the Holy Spirit to abide in us to live in holiness and be ready when the Lord comes. We can't rely on feelings, experiences and miracles although it is nice to see miracles and feel the presence of God. We have to have the word in our hearts to keep faithful when the miracles cease.

(Joh 2:12) After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.
(Joh 2:13) And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
(Joh 2:14) And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

Here at the beginning of His ministry He gets angry at those selling in the temple.

(Joh 2:15) And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;
(Joh 2:16) And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house a house of merchandise.

I've heard many sermons on this and many seem to assume that dishonest business was going on and that is what made the Lord angry. However, I don't quite see it that way. I see people using the temple sacrifice as an opportunity to gain financially. Jesus said they were making His Father's house a house of merchandise. It was wrong even if they were not cheating anyone.

Our churches are not exactly like the temple in that day but our churches are places set aside for worship. True we can worship in our homes and some have church in their homes but when we build a building and dedicate it to the Lord for worship, it should be for worship. Never should we make it a house of merchandise. This of course is my own opinion and should not be taken as gospel. I don't believe in bingo parlors in a church or buying and selling inside the building. We do have a lot of foolishness in church that bothers me but I'm not going to say too much more on that subject except that the Lord took this very serious and I don't think we should try to explain it away and assume there was cheating going on. One might say that we worship in spirit and in truth so it doesn't matter where we buy and sell.  That may be true in a sense but as a church or a body of believers, should we really being buying and selling to each other as a church?  In the place where we are employed we may buy and sell.  That is how we might make a living but as a church, perhaps it would be better to trust the Lord for finances and leave the buying a selling to our secular jobs. When we do something as a body of believers, we are representing Christ.  I remember once seeing a local church have a festival of some sorts.  I went inside their church building and saw the sanctuary lined with flee market booths.  The Sunday School rooms were opened up to make room for them.. It reminded me of this verse.  Whether or not these things are right or wrong, we need to remember the holiness of God and have respect for the place of worship and also for the church (body of believers) and be very careful to keep holy things holy.

(Joh 2:17) And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
(Joh 2:18) Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
(Joh 2:19) Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
(Joh 2:20) Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
(Joh 2:21) But he spake of the temple of his body.

Sometimes Jesus spoke in parables and hidden meanings. I believe it was that way so that those that really hungered and thirsted after righteousness would get understanding and those that took the word lightly would not understand.

(Joh 2:22) When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

Sometimes we may not understand something the first time we read it but later the Holy Spirit will bring it to our remembrance at the right time.

(Joh 2:23) Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.

Again I repeat that it is a wonderful thing to believe when we see but there is a special blessing to those who have not seen and yet believe.

Joh 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

We have not seen Christ, some have not seen miracles but we believe because of the word that was preached to us. The Holy Spirit draws us to God and quickens the word in our hearts. This is why we can not see yet believe.

(Joh 2:24) But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
(Joh 2:25) And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.

Jesus knew who would betray Him, who would deny Him, who would believe and knew all about those that surrounded Him. He knew that some would follow Him only because they saw the miracles and not because they really deeply believed in Him and what He stood for.

Jesus didn't commit Himself to these here. We need to take heed and not be quick to put all our trust and allegiance to men for we do not know their hearts. Our trust must be in God.

This is why we should seek God for our own local churches. Many are copycatting. We see a TV preacher or another successful pastor do things a certain way and lo and behold, we start copying them. We don't have to speak evil of them or find fault. They may be doing things according to what God led them to do but that doesn't mean that we should copy them. We should earnestly seek God for God's will in our own church and not necessarily do what they are doing.

Its like making a duplicate car key. As long as we keep copying the original it is okay but if we keep making copies of the copies, we eventually lose the original shape.

Copycatting is dangerous for this reason, if a false doctrine infiltrates one church it can get to all the others.  However, if each pastor and congregation seek the Lord continually, then they can learn from God and His word and not be copying others.  Even if what they do works, brings in the crowds and looks great, that doesn't mean its for everybody.  God knows all hearts and what is His will in one area may be different than what His will is in anther area.  Praying and even fasting for the Lord's will would give us fresh anointing for what God wants us to do and not what He wants someone else to do. 

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