************Note from Wayne********************

I was reading through my old study from many years ago on John 2:6-11 and thought I would let you read it.

Enjoy!

Wayne Brown

John 2:6-11

“ And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast.
And they bare it. 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,
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.
This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. “

Let’s continue.

As you recall in our last study of verses 1-5 we learned that Jesus’ mother Mary knew how important her Son is and knew He could bail them out of a predicament at this wedding feast.
We also saw that Jesus shows Mary His mother no preferential treatment just because she is His mother.

We should learn from this.

Rather, Jesus said His true “family” is anyone who does the will of the Father in Heaven.

“ And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying
of the Jews, “

The Greek word “ katharismon” translated “purifying” means a ceremony of cleansing
or washing before and after meals as a custom of the Jews.
The 6 water pots were probably used to wash hands before eating.

“containing two or three firkins apiece. “

The Greek word “metretes” translated “firkins” means measures and actually in the Greek reads - “metretes duo e treis” meaning in English…measures 2 or 3.
“ Metretes “ is a measurer which is a species of measure used for liquids, containing 72 sextarii or slightly less than 9 gallons. These 6 water pots each would hold about 9 gallons of water.
It is interesting that Jesus used the very pots the Jews used for washing their hands before
eating in their ‘cleansing ceremony’, that might have been a type of religious observance
as well for the wine He was about to create that they would be drinking from.

I’m not sure if Jesus meant anything by doing it this way or not but to me it is interesting that He would use the same water pots.

“Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. “

These people knew something unique was about to happen but probably not sure what, so they took advantage of the situation and filled those pots to the top.

If I had been there, I would have done the same.

“And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast.
And they bare it. “

Can you imagine what was going through the heads of these people just after pouring ordinary water in these pots and Jesus telling them to serve it to the governor to drink? This was water from the pots they used for washing hands.

“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,
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. “

When Jesus turned the water into wine is not for sure because by the time it reached
the mouth of the governor of the feast it was for sure wine.
The Greek word “methusthosin” translated “ have well drunk ” means intoxicated, drunken.
While there are Bible commentators who will try to tell you that the Greek word “methusko” has 2 meanings - one being to become drunk and the other to be satisfied from drinking without being intoxicated… this is not true. There are not 2 meanings for the Greek word “methusko”.
The actual form usage of “ methusko “ in this verse being “methusthosin” actually means to become drunken and intoxicated.

There are not 2 meanings for the Greek word “oinou” either.

“and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;)"

The people who took the water to the governor knew Jesus was the one who turned the water into wine and when... the exact moment He did, since they were carrying it.

“ This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; "

The Greek word “ semeion” translated “miracles” means signs.
The Greek phrase “archen ton semeion” actually means beginning of 'the signs'.
What is meant here in this verse is that Jesus began on this day in Cana to confirm His being sent by God with 'the signs', this being the first sign.
The Bible says this was Jesus’ first sign or miracle.

“and his disciples believed on him. “

Again Jesus’ disciples put their faith in Him.
If you are a born again believer, which means you are an adopted son or daughter of God by faith, be happy for this.
The world is searching for happiness.
If you are born again into the family of God you will know in your heart what your purpose for living is. You do not need to go out and spend $24.95 on a book to tell you what your purpose for being here is.
A person who does not know Jesus might buy such a book, along with all the other self-help books that are out there but a born again christian who is saved should already know in his or her heart what the purpose for being here is.

One can find answers in the book known as the Holy Bible and in having a one on one relationship with Jesus.
If you have a personal relationship with Jesus you will know that your relationship with Jesus is the purpose of existence.
My dad would say…” Life’s the pits and then you die. “ It does not have to be that way but I certainly understand what he meant.  LOL
Jesus even said that life has its daily hardships and we should take each day at a time because there are enough troubles in one day, we don’t need to add to it by worrying about tomorrow.
This present life with all its troubles will help us appreciate Heaven all the more when we get there.
I cannot imagine not having Jesus in my life. I was saved at a very young age and I guess
because of this I never needed to know what my purpose driven life was all about. I just never needed to know what my purpose in life was because I knew Jesus and knew He lived in my heart from the moment I knelt at the altar in church and prayed and felt Him come inside me and He was as real as holding my wife in my arms and feeling her love and that was enough for me just in knowing this. I did not need to know anything else. I never lived a perfect sinless life but because I was born again and Jesus lived inside me I never felt lost, not knowing what on earth I was here for and where I was headed and never needed to know what my purpose of existence is.
I was saved when I was a child and lived with one foot in Heaven and the other in the world much of my life. No matter how sinful I became though, I never renounced my faith in Jesus.
But I also knew that I could not keep that up for too long because a born again christian
living in sin and 'keeping the faith' is not a good mixture. Something will have to eventually change…either he will come to repentance and change his lifestyle or he will change his faith and follow other gods. Sometimes I would go to the nightclubs on Saturday night and then go to church the very next morning.

This is why I teach so much against a born again christian living in sin and come against sin in the church so much because all those wasted years I was living without
God’s best for me. God will not fully bless us if we are living in disobedience unto Him. It is hard to live in faith when we are living in disobedience… it just doesn’t work. Answers to prayer are hindered when our heart is not right with God.

He is tolerant, patient and loving yes, but He will not give us His best in our life if we choose to live in sin.

Most born again christians turn to books other than the Bible to find answers. Their relationship with the Lord has grown cold and the Bible is no longer enough for them…nor is Jesus enough for them anymore.
They feel like the Lord is not listening to them anymore but the truth is they are the ones who have left their “ first love “ which was Jesus, when they first got saved.
The Bible is not enough anymore for these christians who have grown cold.
But if you are saved and not habitually practicing sin as a lifestyle, then you can have confidence in taking life by the tail and living life to its fullest, not as the world teaches living life to its fullest but as the Bible teaches it.

Jesus said He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.
When we pray we can have confidence that God will hear us and give us the desires of our heart if our heart is clean before Him and if our heart does not condemn us.
As a child of God we have authority over satan even though he is the god of this world.
Greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world…remember this verse?
We do not have to live in defeat over worrying about losing our job. Someday we will be our employer’s boss.

Jesus promised this!

And until then Jesus will take care of His own.
We always knew our parents would take care of us when we were kids and I hope your childhood was as good as mine. I always knew mom and dad would come through.

We can have this same comfort with our Lord, knowing He will always come through. Never in my life has the Lord failed to come through for me.

While I was a fool He was wise. I reaped for my sinful lifestyle yes, but I never skipped a meal, never had to sleep out on the streets, and always had clothes.

He never let me win the lottery all the times I asked Him to help me and for obvious reasons, but He always met my needs and He still does.
If our heart is clean before Him and does not condemn us, He will do more for us than meet our daily needs.
Jesus promised us that the miracles He did we can do and can do more.

I will continue with verse 12 in the next study.

Wayne Brown