1. Pray. Ask the Lord to open your eyes, that you might behold wondrous things out of his Law (Ps. 119:18). 

2. Read Sunday's passage. Feel free to read it more than once, or in another translation.

3. Review the sermon outline. Try to see how the points came out of the text.

4. Answer the questions below. Focus on personal application.

5. Pray. Praise and thank the Lord, then ask him to work in mighty ways. 

Remember, we live not by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God (Dt. 8:3; Mt. 4:4).

1 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.

Intro: This is a very familiar passage. Some teaching on this passage can focus on the wine, or on the miracle, but miss the deeper meaning of what the miracle signifies. It points us to Christ, who fills us with the Holy Spirit.

I. Mary shows us: we don't come to Christ through family ties, but through faith (v. 1–4). Before we get to the deeper meaning of the miracle, Mary gives us an honest example of faith. At first, she approaches Jesus with presumption on the basis of her family ties. But then, she approaches with simple, humble faith, saying to the others, "Do whatever he tells you." She trusted in Jesus. Do you? Do you relate to Jesus on the basis of your family connections? Or do you really know, and love, and trust, and follow, and serve him? Lay aside your trust in others, and put your trust in Jesus. You must come. He will not cast you out. 

II. The miracle shows us: the messianic age of the Spirit has come (v. 5–11). The connections between wine, the messianic age, and the Spirit are many (see Joel 3:18; Amos 9:13; John 3:34; Ephesians 5:18). The miracle and the "good wine" signify that this age has come. This is confirmed by Jesus mentioning his "hour," which points forward to his death on the cross, which was part of his mission as the Messiah. In this new age, we don't relate to God by practicing rituals and traditions (represented by the stone jars); we relate to him by receiving the Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. Like the guests at the wedding, we experience joy when we "taste" God's abundant, gracious provision for us in Christ. 

Conclusion:  Through this miracle, the disciples saw Jesus' glory, and they believed in him. Do you? Have you received the "good wine?" Believe in him. And you will. 

1. Family ties, or faith?

- What stands out ot you about Mary's interactions with Jesus?

- What stands out to you about Jesus' response? 

- Aside from what scholars say, how do we know that Jesus calling Mary "woman" was not disrespectful? (Hint: where/when does Jesus do this again?)

- What is your first instinct when you face a problem? 

- How can you get into the habit of imitating Mary, and bringing your problem to Jesus?

- When someone goes from having Christian family ties (e.g. "I come from a Christian family," "My family always went to church," "We all grew up Christian,") to having personal faith in Christ, what changes? How does it affect their thinking, beliefs, actions, words, habits?

2. The Good Wine.

- Why is it significant that this first "sign" in the Gospel of John took place at a wedding? What is the theological significance of the wedding in scripture? Where else do we see wedding themes in the Bible?

- How does this impact our interpretation of this text?

- Do you ever feel like God is holding out on you?

- How do the abundance and quality of the wine speak to your feelings?

- What does this show us about what God is really like? 

- Put yourselves into the shoes of the groom. Jesus just rescued you from shame and disgrace. You did nothing to deserve his abundant, gracious provision for you. Have you ever felt like that before God? Have you ever realized that all Christ offers us, is a gift of his grace? 

- Through this miracle, the disciples saw Jesus' glory, and beleived. What about you? When and how did you believe? 

1. Praise God that Jesus has saved us from shame and disgrace by giving himself for us. 

2. Thank God for sending the Son to his "hour," on the cross. 

3. Thank Jesus that he has given us the "good wine," and filled us with his Spirit.

4. Ask the Holy Spirit to cheer your heart, that you may delight in his power and presence. 

5. Pray for those who might still be clinging to "family ties," yet they lack personal faith in Christ. 

Thanks for reading the Bible Study Guide! I pray it helps us "continue to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ" (Eph. 4:15).

Sincerely, your brother in Christ,

Tom Hansen, Senior Pastor