CHAPTER 4

Jesus and his new disciples walked to Galilee and were invited to attend a wedding in the town of Cana, which was located about eight miles north of Nazareth. Because it was an extended family wedding, Mary the mother of Jesus was also present. After several days of celebration Mary said to Jesus, “The wedding guests have no more wine!” Jesus said, “Mother, what does this have to do with me? For my time has not yet come.” Mary said to the wedding servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Now nearby there were six stone water jars that were used by the Jews for purification washings, each could hold about 20 to 30 gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill these jars with water.” So they filled the jars. Then he told them, “Now take some of the water to the wedding master.” So they took it to him. Although the servants knew where the water came from, the wedding master did not. After he tasted the water that had been turned into wine, he called the bridegroom aside and said to him, “Everyone serves the best wine first and then serves the cheaper wine. But you have saved the best wine until now!”

Turning water into wine at Cana was the first miraculous sign through which Jesus revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

After the wedding in Cana, Jesus, along with his mother, brothers, sisters, and disciples walked about 16 miles to the town of Capernaum located on the northwestern shore of Lake Galilee. And they stayed there for a few days.

Because it was time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus and his disciples left Capernaum and walked south to Jerusalem.

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem he went into the temple courts. In the temple he saw people selling cattle, sheep, and pigeons for sacrifices, and moneychangers sitting at tables exchanging money to make a profit. So Jesus made a whip out of rope and drove everyone out of that area of the temple courts, along with the sheep and oxen. And he turned over the tables of the moneychangers, scattering their coins onto the ground. Jesus shouted to the pigeon sellers, “Get out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a public market!” Later on his disciples remembered that it is written in Psalm 69:9, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

After seeing Jesus clear out a section of the temple courts, some Jews said to him, “Show us a miracle to prove to us that you have the authority to do these things!” Jesus said to them, “Destroy this temple sanctuary, and I will raise it again in three days.” The Jews were shocked and said, “It took 46 years to build our temple, how are you going to raise it up in three days?”

But Jesus was talking about the temple of his body. After Jesus was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that Jesus said this, and they believed God’s word and all the things Jesus said.

Many people saw the miracles that he was doing during the Passover Feast and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them for he knew the condition of the hearts of all people. He did not need anyone to tell him about the human condition, for he knew what was in the heart of each person.

In Jerusalem there was a religious leader named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish religious council. He came to Jesus under the darkness of night so he would not be seen and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could do the miracles you are doing unless God was with him.”

Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth: No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again from above.”

Nicodemus was puzzled and said to Jesus, “It is impossible for an adult to reenter his mother’s womb and be born again.” Jesus said, “I tell you the truth: No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Holy Spirit. Those born of the flesh are flesh, but those born of the Holy Spirit are spirit. You should not be surprised that I said, ‘You must be born again.’ For the wind blows wherever it wants and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born by the Holy Spirit.” Nicodemus asked Jesus, “How can this be possible?”

Jesus said, “You are a teacher of Israel, and you do not understand my teaching? I tell you the truth: We speak about what we know and have seen, but still you do not believe my testimony. I have told you earthly things and you do not believe me, so how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the Son of Man who has come from heaven. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up and everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.”

Jesus was speaking about his crucifixion on the cross.

Then Jesus said to the people gathering around him, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned. But whoever does not believe is condemned already, for he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. The light has come into the world, but people love the world’s darkness instead of God’s light because their works are evil. For whoever does evil hates God’s light, and will not come into the light for fear that their evil deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives a life of truth comes into God’s light.”

When the week-long Passover Feast was over, Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and walked to Aenon near Bethany on the Jordan River. John the Baptist was water-baptizing people here. Jesus stayed in Aenon with John the Baptist for some time.

While Jesus was in Aenon, an argument erupted between some of John the Baptist’s disciples and a certain Jew over the issue of purification washings. John’s disciples were upset and went to him and said, “Teacher, Jesus who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing and everyone is going to him.”

John said to them, “No one receives anything unless it is given to him from God in heaven. You know that I have al- ready told you that I am not the Messiah, but I was sent to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus. The bride belongs to the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom waits and listens for his coming, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. I tell you, my heart is full of joy, for the time has come. Jesus must increase; and I must decrease. He comes from heaven and is above all things. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. Jesus tells us what he has seen and heard. Whoever believes his testimony confirms that God is true. For God sent Jesus into this world and he speaks the words of God, for he gives the Holy Spirit in all its fullness. The Father loves the Son and has placed all things under his authority. Whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life in the kingdom of God, but whoever rejects Jesus will not see eternal life, for the just wrath of God remains on them.”

At that time Jesus learned that the religious leaders in Jerusalem had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John the Baptist—although it was not Jesus who was baptizing but his disciples. The religious leaders were suspicious that Jesus was becoming too dangerously popular among the people, for they might think he was the Messiah. So Jesus and his disciples left Judea and began walk- ing back to Galilee in northern Israel. On his way to Galilee, Jesus had to walk through the region of Samaria. The region of Samaria was be- tween Judea in the south and Galilee in the north.

After Jesus had left Aenon, John the Baptist continued to exhort the people and proclaimed the good news of God to them. When Herod Antipas married Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother Philip, John declared to Antipas, “It is not lawful for you to marry your brother’s wife.” John had also condemned Antipas for all the other evil things that he had done. Herodias became very angry with John and wanted to have him killed, but she was not able to on her own. Although Antipas also wanted to kill John, he was afraid of the crowd of people who believed that he was a prophet of God. Antipas feared John, for he knew that he was a righteous and holy man. He enjoyed listening to John, even though he was greatly perplexed when he heard him speak. But in order to please his wife Herodias, Antipas gave orders to have John ar- rested, bound, and put in prison.

As Jesus and his disciples were walking toward Galilee, they en- tered the Samaritan town called Sychar. Sychar was about two miles northeast of Shechem near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. It was about noon, and Jesus sat down at Jacob’s well because it was hot and he was tired from his long journey.

As Jesus was sitting at Jacob’s well, a Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well. Jesus said to her, “Can you give me a drink of water?” Jesus was alone because his disciples had gone into town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. Why do you ask me for a drink of water?” For Jews would not associate with Samaritans. Jesus said to her, “If you only knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked me and I would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, the well is deep, and you do not have a bucket to draw water. Where are you going to get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and animals?”

Jesus said to her, “Whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give them will become a spring of water gushing up within them to eternal life.” Then the woman said to Jesus, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t be thirsty, and I will not have to draw water from this well ever again.” Jesus said to her, “Go and bring your husband to me.” The woman was startled with guilt and said, “I don’t have a husband.”

Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying ‘I do not have a husband.’ The truth is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now live with is not your husband.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our Samaritan ancestors worshiped on this mountain Gerizim, but you Jews say that we must worship at the Jerusalem temple.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the time is coming when you will not worship the Father on your mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know, but we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the time is coming and has now come, when the true worshipers of God will worship the Father in the Holy Spirit and truth. The Father seeks these kind of worshipers. God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Holy Spirit and in truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming. And when he comes, he will explain everything we need to know.” Then Jesus said to her, “The one who is speaking to you is the Messiah—I am he!”

Just then Jesus’ disciples returned from buying food, and they were amazed that he was talking with a Samaritan woman.” Then the woman dropped her water jar and hurried into town and told the people, “Come with me, meet a man who told me everything I ever did. Do you think he could be the Messiah?” Many Samaritans rushed out of the town to meet Jesus.

Meanwhile, Jesus’ disciples said to him, “Teacher, you need to eat something.” But Jesus said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” Then his disciples looked confused and said to each other, “Has someone given him food?” Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of of him who sent me into this world and to finish his work. You often say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest.’ Look! I tell you the truth: Lift up your eyes and see that the fields are already ripe for harvest. Many of the Samaritans from the town Sychar believed in Jesus because the woman said, “He told me everything I ever did.”

So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there for two more days. And during that time, many more Samaritans believed in Jesus because of his teaching. They said to the woman, “We first believed because of what you told us, but now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man is truly the Savior of the world!”

After spending two days in Samaria, Jesus left and walked north into Galilee.