WORD SEARCH, SCRIPTURES, WORKSHEET jan 30 2011
THE WEDDING AT CANA C3 Bible Study January 30, 2011
January 30, 2011
Please take time to read/re-read the sermon handout from the past Sunday. Based on the themes in the sermon, your C3 group will delve deeper in study and discussion of the key themes. 10 Minute 5 Minute 10 Minute 15 Minutes 35 Minutes Fellowship Announcements Outreach Care & Pray Bible study
The last couple of weeks, we have looked at events in the life of Jesus that reveal Who He is and What He has done for us. Like a spotlight, these events highlight truths for us to know and grow in our faith. Let's start today by reviewing some of these events. Briefly discuss the significance of these events: •The Name of “Jesus” •The Arrival of the Magi •The Baptism of Jesus • The Temptation of Christ
Today we will study the first miracle of Jesus recorded in Scripture. The Bible calls it a “sign”; a sign to reveal to us that Jesus was sent from God: that He is God incarnate, God in the flesh, the Savior of Jews and Gentiles alike who can do great things!
Read John 2:-‐11. The following Q&A1 will give you some background information about this story. Please read and discuss these. Q. What was the wedding like in an eastern culture? Who were invited? How long can it go? •In Eastern cultures, a wedding was like a social event, family, friends, distant relatives, neighbors are all invited. A wedding celebration can go up to 2-‐3, even 7 days. Q. The passage starts with ‘On the third day’, so what is it referring to? How was Jesus’ schedule like? Let us trace back Jesus’ schedule for this week. •1st Day – John spoke about Messiah (John 1:26-‐28) •2nd Day – John testifies about Jesus (John 1: 29) •3rd Day – Jesus’ first disciples – Andrew and Simon Peter (John 1:35) •4th Day – More disciples – Philip and Nathaniel (John 1:43) •7th Day – Jesus at the Wedding (John 2:1) It seems like John is giving account of major events on every day of the week. This is quite fascinating. In some ways, this gives us an idea of what happened during first few days of Jesus’ public ministry. Q. Where was Cana? •Small town in Galilee (use your Bible map to locate Cana). It is this place where Jesus performed his first miraculous sign, in his public ministry. (John 2:11) Jesus also performed another miracle in Cana. See John 4:46. Cana is also mentioned in John 21:2 as a Nathanael’s home town. The Q&A format of this study is from an online Bible study found 12/1/10 at http://bibleseo.com/john/ miracle-jesus-cana-wedding-john-2111-bible-study. (adaptd) 1
Q. What does it mean to run out of food in the Wedding in that culture? •Public disgrace, shame for the family In some eastern cultures, legal actions can also be taken against it. Q. Why did Mary tell Jesus about the problem? •To report, or just to inform, or may be to do something about it. •Her anticipation is clear from her instruction to servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” •(Mary may seem like a meddler! But it is quite common for the elders to help out in some critical situation during a wedding) Q. What do you think about Jesus’ address to his mother? •“Dear Woman”, sounds strange! Nonetheless, it was a respected term. •(Jesus used similar words on the cross, John 19:26 -‐”When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son...”) Q. Why did Jesus tell, “My time has not yet come”? • This is a phrase that is unique in John, where he uses it 7 times to refer to the death and resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus dies on a cross, then His hour has come, and His work will be complete. His resurrection from the dead is the greatest sign of all. All miracles that Jesus performs ultimately point to the greatest miracle of all: His resurrection from the dead! This phrase points Mary, and us, to the cross: the work He came to do! It is pure Gospel – Good News for us! •Compare it with John 12:23, John 12:27, John 13:1, John 17:1. •John 19:30 is the EXACT “time” of Jesus -‐-‐-‐ this is perhaps the greatest verse in the Bible: It means the atonement is finished: the work is complete!
(Note: the Resurrection proves it -‐-‐-‐ it's as if God the Father has said, “Yes, it is true, the work of salvation is finished when My Son died on the cross!”). Q. What were those six stone jars for? •They were for the purpose of Jews washing their hands before they begin to eat and for other purification purposes. •Each stone jar, can approximately contain 20-‐30 gallons of water. Jesus provided around 753 bottles of the finest wine in the history of the world! Q. How many people knew that Jesus performed this miracle? What can we learn from this passage? •His mother, his disciples, and the servants. •This was the first miracle Jesus performed. It was very low profile. Very few people knew about it. It was at the wedding, in very insignificant town, in front of the servants. •Jesus cares about the details of our lives.
IMPORTANT CLOSING: Note that this is Jesus’ first miracle, and the disciples put their trust in Him. It was a “sign” that He was God, the Savior sent to redeem us from sin. Read John 20:30-‐31 and discuss John 2:1-‐11 in light of that verse.
January 30, 2011
Please take time to read/re-read the sermon handout from the past Sunday. Based on the themes in the sermon, your C3 group will delve deeper in study and discussion of the key themes. 10 Minute 5 Minute 10 Minute 15 Minutes 35 Minutes Fellowship Announcements Outreach Care & Pray Bible study
The last couple of weeks, we have looked at events in the life of Jesus that reveal Who He is and What He has done for us. Like a spotlight, these events highlight truths for us to know and grow in our faith. Let's start today by reviewing some of these events. Briefly discuss the significance of these events: •The Name of “Jesus” •The Arrival of the Magi •The Baptism of Jesus • The Temptation of Christ
Today we will study the first miracle of Jesus recorded in Scripture. The Bible calls it a “sign”; a sign to reveal to us that Jesus was sent from God: that He is God incarnate, God in the flesh, the Savior of Jews and Gentiles alike who can do great things!
Read John 2:-‐11. The following Q&A1 will give you some background information about this story. Please read and discuss these. Q. What was the wedding like in an eastern culture? Who were invited? How long can it go? •In Eastern cultures, a wedding was like a social event, family, friends, distant relatives, neighbors are all invited. A wedding celebration can go up to 2-‐3, even 7 days. Q. The passage starts with ‘On the third day’, so what is it referring to? How was Jesus’ schedule like? Let us trace back Jesus’ schedule for this week. •1st Day – John spoke about Messiah (John 1:26-‐28) •2nd Day – John testifies about Jesus (John 1: 29) •3rd Day – Jesus’ first disciples – Andrew and Simon Peter (John 1:35) •4th Day – More disciples – Philip and Nathaniel (John 1:43) •7th Day – Jesus at the Wedding (John 2:1) It seems like John is giving account of major events on every day of the week. This is quite fascinating. In some ways, this gives us an idea of what happened during first few days of Jesus’ public ministry. Q. Where was Cana? •Small town in Galilee (use your Bible map to locate Cana). It is this place where Jesus performed his first miraculous sign, in his public ministry. (John 2:11) Jesus also performed another miracle in Cana. See John 4:46. Cana is also mentioned in John 21:2 as a Nathanael’s home town. The Q&A format of this study is from an online Bible study found 12/1/10 at http://bibleseo.com/john/ miracle-jesus-cana-wedding-john-2111-bible-study. (adaptd) 1
Q. What does it mean to run out of food in the Wedding in that culture? •Public disgrace, shame for the family In some eastern cultures, legal actions can also be taken against it. Q. Why did Mary tell Jesus about the problem? •To report, or just to inform, or may be to do something about it. •Her anticipation is clear from her instruction to servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” •(Mary may seem like a meddler! But it is quite common for the elders to help out in some critical situation during a wedding) Q. What do you think about Jesus’ address to his mother? •“Dear Woman”, sounds strange! Nonetheless, it was a respected term. •(Jesus used similar words on the cross, John 19:26 -‐”When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son...”) Q. Why did Jesus tell, “My time has not yet come”? • This is a phrase that is unique in John, where he uses it 7 times to refer to the death and resurrection of Jesus. When Jesus dies on a cross, then His hour has come, and His work will be complete. His resurrection from the dead is the greatest sign of all. All miracles that Jesus performs ultimately point to the greatest miracle of all: His resurrection from the dead! This phrase points Mary, and us, to the cross: the work He came to do! It is pure Gospel – Good News for us! •Compare it with John 12:23, John 12:27, John 13:1, John 17:1. •John 19:30 is the EXACT “time” of Jesus -‐-‐-‐ this is perhaps the greatest verse in the Bible: It means the atonement is finished: the work is complete!
(Note: the Resurrection proves it -‐-‐-‐ it's as if God the Father has said, “Yes, it is true, the work of salvation is finished when My Son died on the cross!”). Q. What were those six stone jars for? •They were for the purpose of Jews washing their hands before they begin to eat and for other purification purposes. •Each stone jar, can approximately contain 20-‐30 gallons of water. Jesus provided around 753 bottles of the finest wine in the history of the world! Q. How many people knew that Jesus performed this miracle? What can we learn from this passage? •His mother, his disciples, and the servants. •This was the first miracle Jesus performed. It was very low profile. Very few people knew about it. It was at the wedding, in very insignificant town, in front of the servants. •Jesus cares about the details of our lives.
IMPORTANT CLOSING: Note that this is Jesus’ first miracle, and the disciples put their trust in Him. It was a “sign” that He was God, the Savior sent to redeem us from sin. Read John 20:30-‐31 and discuss John 2:1-‐11 in light of that verse.
