 Well, yes, I hope you had a good break. Let's get back into our subject. So we have covered up to verse 39 If we can have one person read out verses 40 up to 46 John chapter one verse 40 Up to verse 46 if we can have someone read out, please. Thank you so much for all of you who are reading You know, it really makes it easier for me. Thank you so much. Someone can go ahead Okay, whoever's come back from their break and has rejoined the class if you could read John chapter one versus 40 to 46 Does this mean that no one has rejoined after the break? John chapter one verse Verse 40 to 46 pastor. Yes. Thank you One of the two who had John speak And followed him was Andrew Simon Peter's brother. He first found his Only brother Simon and say to him we have found the Messiah which is translated the Christ and he brought him to Christ now when Jesus looked at him. He said you are Simon the son of Jonah You shall be called Sifas which is translated as stone Philip and Nathan Nile the following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee and he found Philip and say to him follow me Now Philip was from Bath Shader the city of Andrew and Peter Philip found Nathan Nile and say to him we have found him whom Moses in the law and The prophets wrote Jesus of Natharys the son of Joseph Amen Was 46 as well, please Okay, and nothing I'll say to him can anything good come out of Natharys Philip say to him come and see Yes, Philip gives a very good reply. He says you come and find out for yourself whether anything good can come out of Nazareth so it versus 40 to 46 we see that I Andrew immediately goes and tells his brother that they have found the Messiah and when Peter comes to Jesus Jesus speaks to him and says I know that you know your name is Simon son of John But I am going to be giving you a new name Which is capos? That would be your Aramaic word Which means rock? Peter I guess would be the Greek word which means rock So these are all different languages which are we're being used over here, but they all basically are referring to a rock so Even though Jesus sees Peter the way he is right now currently he accepts him and Also shows him what he is going to be in the future Now this applies for all of us who come to Jesus You know with his eagerness to become his followers to become his disciples when we come We come rather raw We are not very pleasant We are very unfinished We are we have a lot of defects We may not even be very pleasant people You know, but there's this desire somewhere inside that we want our life changed If we want to reach out to God and that God will do something for us So with that eagerness we come to him and he looks at us in our Imperfect state and he loves us and he accepts us There's no rejection from his side. He doesn't say oh you are too rotten. You know for me. No Person ever has to approach the Lord and fear rejection He will accept every person who comes to him. So that is guaranteed He loves us as we are he accepts us, but he doesn't want us to stay where we are He wants us to become something much more Because now we have someone divine backing us up now We have someone divine working on our behalf in our life. So we don't have to stay where we are we can rise up to the Level that he has in mind for us He has a greater status for us and we can reach that So, you know, he may not speak in audible words to us the way he did over here with Peter but when he looks at each of us he say he says to us, you know, okay, this is who you are right now, but This is who you're going to be in the future and there's good There's a there's a name that he probably has a term A phrase which will describe What we will be when we know when we attain that new status. So we are all headed towards something higher something better so If a person is coming to Jesus just for a free ticket to heaven Then this is not going to work because when we go to him He accepts us as we are but no, he doesn't want us to stay as we are He has something higher Better so the work of polishing us is going to begin the work of disciplining us will begin Because he loves us, you know, like it says in Hebrews He corrects those whom he loves the reason that he is going to be disciplining us and Sharpening us and polishing us is because he loves us And so I do not know what people had been saying about Simon son of John, you know, especially because this man Whatever we see of his personality type from the Gospels. We see that he's a very impulsive person very open-hearted and Very spontaneous No first acts and then things, you know, so he's that type So who knows how many fixes he's gotten himself into because of his nature and so people probably tell him, you know, you need to be a little more Calm-headed think before you act is probably what they say to him They may not have a very high opinion of him But now Jesus looks at this man and says no, this is who you have been your whole life Simon son of Jonah, but sorry, not Jonah John Simon son of John But now you're going to be something more a day is going to come when you are going to be capers the rock And that is who I'm going to start calling you even from now So that you will always remember that you're not going to remain just this Simon but you are going to continue progressing in your walk with me until you become this capers and we see the Impact this capers had, you know on the early church later. I mean what a man he became so The Lord can take any one of us and turn us into Someone, you know of an equal caliber has this Peter. It is possible Why because we have Someone divine working on our behalf Someone who's willing to you know, think about us every moment You know like it says in some month it in and the number of thoughts you think towards me. Oh Lord, you know I mean, I cannot even count them. No, we can really apply that scripture to ourselves God is constantly thinking of us. He is now, you know taken us into his hand And so he says that he's going to make us into you know, make us Christ like so We never have to limit ourselves and think oh, I am going to stay this way because this is who I am No, there's another phrase that he has in mind for each of us It would be very interesting if you knew what it was Maybe he reveals it to some of us, but some of us may not know that know what it is that he we are going to turn Into but yes, he has something beautiful for all of us That's a very powerful learning that we can take away from this, you know from these verses. So Oh, Philip is also someone that Jesus approaches and says follow me Philip does not ask any questions He doesn't make any comments. He is his he's completely ready. And so he just You know a breeze he accepts and he begins to follow Jesus and he's the one who goes and informs Nathaniel and he says we have found the one Moses wrote about in the law in those first five books of the Torah The person that he was always indicating towards we have found him And you know who it is it is Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph and Nathaniel is very disappointed when he hears about Who this person is and from which place he is he says Nazareth can anything good come from there? because At least if he had said Jerusalem, you know, then it would have made sense But he is saying this person is from Nazareth. What on earth are you going to pick up in Nazareth? You know Not exactly the center of spiritual learning Not exactly the place where religious leaders get made So he is rather disappointed and Philip sensible man He says come and see for yourself, you know, then you will know whether this is What can actually come out of Nazareth? You can see it for yourself and So we see Nathaniel coming over here to to see Jesus and Because Jesus knows that Nathaniel is hesitant that he needs a little additional boost There are some who are so open in their heart to the things of God You just have to God just has to say the word, you know, like Philip someone like Philip God just has to say follow me and Philip will follow because he's all ready But there are going to be some like Nathaniel who have a lot of thoughts running to their minds and then a little additional boost And so Jesus understands that and so even as Jesus sees him approaching He says to him here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit Here is a man who will speak frankly who will not think one thing and say one thing Whatever is in his heart, he will say it out Which is maybe see an example of that, you know, just in the previous verse where he very frankly and openly says, you know What good can come out of Nazareth? So he's a person who? Speaks his mind his Frank is not deceitful so Jesus says I know that's the kind of person that you are and How do you know me in Nathaniel says and Jesus says I saw you while you were still under the victory before Philip called you So now this is something that nobody could have known, you know, unless they are divine and so when Even Philip did not know right because I mean Philip only came and spoke to him after he had, you know finished sitting under the victory So here we see that Jesus says I saw you while you were still under the victory before Philip called you and When Nathaniel hears this he says my you really must be the son of God Okay, so now all his doubts are removed and he says rabbi. You're not just rabbi. You're the son of God You are the king of Israel. So now Nathaniel is very excited as excited as all the others So when we have that attitude of learning, you know, God Speaks to us All these people they all came to Jesus in different ways Two of them who had become disciples of John the Baptist so that they can learn and start getting ready And then they went and told others about this Jesus so different people came to Jesus differently and Jesus speaks to each of them very intentionally He will give you what you need for your You know for you for you to begin your walk with him what you require to hear from him He will speak that so Jesus is very Intentional in the way he communicates with each of the people who come to him Nobody is sent away empty-handed So if you have that desire to know him more to reach out to him and connect with him He will complete the connection Okay, so all you need to do is be eager to want to go back to him each day And connect with him. It's you know the branch Re-establishing your connection in the wine. So even as you do that with him each day He will give you what you require for that day He will speak to you what you need to hear What you require to move on through that day and through the rest of your life with him He will give you what you need But you would have to make time So Nathaniel had to actually set aside his other Responsibilities and tasks and make time for someone who had come from Nazareth It's it's an effort that he had to take And he had this joyous revelation that now he has met the very son of God So if we go to the Lord for five minutes in the morning and say Lord Speak to me. It probably will not happen So we need to have a hunger that is great enough That will hold us in his presence long enough For him to share something of value with us If we don't give him that time if Nathaniel had not taken that effort to you know, go there and speak to Jesus What he encountered would not have happened So the Lord is very Intentional he knows exactly what you need to hear from him what you need to receive from him is ready to give it But we need to make time To go and establish that connection from our side the wine is always there waiting But the branch has to decide that it's going to reinforce its connection with that wine every single day And we choose to do that when we spend time with him He will very intentionally minister to us We will come away from that quiet time having received what we need For our day for our week for our life, you know, so If we make the time we will see that the Lord is there to provide us with exactly what we require Now Jesus goes on to say some other things to Nathaniel We could maybe look at those verses if so if we can have someone read out verses 50 and 51 Jesus Answered and said to him Because I said to you I saw you under the fig tree. Do you believe you will see greater things than these? And he said to him most assuredly I say to you Hereafter you shall see heavens heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man Very interesting things that Jesus says to Nathaniel. He says, you know, you're so pleased and surprised that I am talking about you being under the fig tree But there are going to be greater revelations that you're going to be receiving and he says There's going to be a day when you will actually see the heavens open and you'll see the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man Now we are not given any Explanation by John the writer regarding this matter So we don't really know in what way Nathaniel got to see this Did he see a vision, you know the way Jacob saw a vision and saw people Angels climbing up the ladder to heaven and coming down from heaven, you know to the earth on the ladder Because this wording seems to be similar to that in Jacob's vision, which he had in the Old Testament He sees an open ladder and there are angels bringing messages from God to the people down here And there are men and in there that they know They're probably collecting the prayer request of people down here and going up the ladder to deliver them to God It's all of course very symbolic God doesn't need someone to come all the way up the ladder to him and tell him What we need, you know, he is all knowing so it's basically a symbolic language that is being used about how there is a connection between heaven and earth and In Jacob's vision, it was a ladder that was connecting But here it's going to be a person who is going to be the connection the son of man he is going to be the direct connection between heaven and earth and So the angels that I'm ministering will be ministering, you know under him through him So he is going to connect heaven and earth and he's going to you know use his angels to do his bidding so Was Jesus saying you're going to get to know more about me and you're going to find out that I am the link between heaven and earth and it is you know through me that the angels do their work and You know see my will being done So was he just explaining that to him or was Jesus saying that he would actually have a vision one day and See this with his own eyes, you know that Jesus being the link between heaven and earth Would he actually see it in some kind of vision form? We do not know the details, but God says there are greater revelations ahead Awaiting you and so we can see the same thing, you know for ourselves as well When we make the time to go into his presence He is very intentional in what he reveals to us Maybe Nathaniel needed to you know See this at some point of time and so Jesus chooses to reveal this particular detail to him at you know At whichever point of time God had appointed for him to know this in the same way for us There are greater revelations ahead But all those revelations will are all dependent on us Creating the time to go and sit in his presence. It's not just going to happen We have to create the time and if we do that He is ready and waiting and he will be very Intentional in what he reveals to us what we require what revelations we need for our personal life for our family For our ministry those are the things that he would reveal to us. So Here we see him promising Nathaniel that much greater things are going to be coming And there's a term that Jesus uses over here in referring to himself. He calls himself the son of man now when it when he uses the term son of man over here is Not talking about humans. He's using a technical term He's referring to a prophecy about the son of man, which was made You know by Daniel So that is the son of man that he's talking about it's not just talking about any human being who's just a son of man He's talking about the son of man who was prophesied about in Daniel chapter seven versus 13 and 14 But son of man, he is going to become the link between heaven and earth He is the one through whom the angels will go and do their ministry So let's turn to Daniel chapter 7. Let's look at verses 13 and 14 if we can have someone read out for us, please Daniel 7 13 and 14 Daniel 7 13 and 14 I was watching in the night regions and behold one light the son of man Coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him Ben to him was given Dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people's nations and languages should serve him His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which shall not pass away and his kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed now people like Nathaniel and The other disciples who know who were preparing themselves for the Messiah and The Pharisees and all the religious leaders would be very familiar with these verses So they would know that one day this Messiah is going to come and he would be the son of man Not just a son of man But the son of man the one who would go before and stand before the ancient of days and Receive all authority and glory and sovereign power This is the son of man who would rule over all the nations and everyone would bow down before him And he would have everlasting dominion over all of them They knew that this is the Messiah who is going to be coming to them So whenever Jesus used the term son of man for himself, he was saying very openly I am that person that Daniel talked about he is saying this prophecy has been fulfilled in me So Nathaniel probably is familiar with his scriptures and therefore Jesus uses this term You know with him and scalls himself the son of man so that Nathaniel will be assured that yes He is indeed the person in whom the prophecy of Daniel has been fulfilled Now if you look over here, you know Generally the term Messiah by that by the time of these people by the time the Jesus time had come on the earth by that time this term Messiah had acquired a very Political overtone because for so many generations the people had been telling each other Messiah will come when he comes he will sit on the throne He will dethrone the Caesar Caesar who knows who has control over us right now So somewhere along the way they had decided that Messiah is equal to Political king they have they were not even willing to consider any other options But here when we when we look at this Daniel chapter 7 passage We see that it is Talking about an everlasting Dominion in the end times now. This is not something that the people have of that time You know of Jesus times would have caught they were thinking that this everlasting Dominion is going to happen right then and there, you know during their lifetime So Jesus chooses to use this term son of man Maybe you know to also indicate that this these are events which will take place at the end of time And not immediately right now. So right now is going to be more their lamb rather than this You know rather than this one who is going to have dominion over everyone. So The he is probably hinting at these things, you know, and whenever he uses the term son of man Referring to the end of time when the son of man will come with the clouds of heaven All right We will now move into chapter 2 and in chapter 2 John chooses to Place two events in front of us You know each of the gospel writers when they wrote their gospel Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They arranged the events As they were led by the Lord to convey certain messages when we look at certain passages the way they are arranged It is because all of those particular passages are trying to bring out one central theme one central teaching So, you know when you're doing your bible study if you were to carefully observe that let us say, you know on that particular day You have decided that you're going to be studying John chapter 15 It would be interesting for you to just take a look at John chapter 14 And then look at also very briefly at chapter 16 just to see the flow of thought Because these writers every one of these gospel writers when they wrote They were inspired by the Holy Spirit to put down the events and the teachings in a certain order To convey something very clear and definite So It always helps when you are doing your personal bible study, you know during your personal devotions To focus of course on the passage which you have chosen for that day But also just quickly look at what is about look at what is below And you sometimes you will discover that there's a there's a flow of thought running through that entire passage and it kind of makes you Catch the broader perspective, you know, it's uh, so here He uh, John very specifically chooses to start off his description of Jesus ministry by mentioning two specific incidents the first of course is the Wedding feast where Jesus has you know gone as a guest So maybe we can have someone read out versus One two and three John chapter two If someone could read out for us the first three verses, please On the third day there was a wedding in Canada of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there Now about Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding And when they ran out of wine the mother of Jesus said to him they had no wine Yeah, so um We are told that on the third day of the wedding the wine runs out No, uh for us today because especially maybe because of the expensive world that we live in For us the wedding ceremony is two hours At the most maybe five hours never goes beyond that. We simply couldn't afford the expenditure In those days a wedding would last seven days And now we see that only three days have gone by And the wine supply is already run out. It's a bit of a disgrace especially because wine had a kind of um symbolic significance During weddings. You see it was considered a symbol of joy. Okay, so, um, uh, you Generously give wine to your guests To kind of symbolize that this is an occasion of joy And there's going to be much joy in the couple in the life of the couple that has now come together And so it's all about celebration And expressing joy If your wine has run out, it's like as if you're saying, oh, okay, it's all done finished. No joy left. It's rather Bad symbolically for the couple. It's like as if you're saying, you know, uh Your the wine didn't even last throughout the festivities Goodness knows what's going to happen in the rest of your marriage, you know So because that wine is supposed to symbolize joy It symbolizes the celebration of something new and beautiful that is that god is doing in their lives So it it actually had symbolic meaning. It's not that you know, you need to you know, uh, Play your guests with enough beverages to keep them happy. It's not just that There's more, um, you know in their culture it held And so, you know in our own nations, you know, when we have our wedding ceremonies, we have this certain features they hold some significance and if you disrupt that it kind of Casts a shadow on the entire ceremony, you know, so so this was something important for that particular family and So when the wine runs out, uh, you know Uh, Mary immediately comes to jesus, uh to ask for his help And then we see jesus response. Uh, so, uh, we can look at verses Four and five if we could have someone read out for us, please versus four and five Jesus said to her Woman, what is our cons your concern have to do with me? My our has not yet come his mother said to the servants Whatever he says to you do it So, um here, you know, uh, jesus Refers to his mother as woman Now, of course that sounds really bad to us in our, um, uh, you know, current day Set up, uh, simply because we we tend to use this term in a derogatory manner But in the greek when that word was first spoken It was a common greek salutation a formal term that you would use to address Women with respect It's like us today saying ma'am You know Instead of saying, you know, hey you or something like that or a woman, you know We would rather politely go up to a person and say ma'am. We are showing respect so In the, um, you know a in those days When jesus used that term he was in no way being dishonorable. In fact, he was using a very respectable term Something that we would be could say is the equivalent of our current day ma'am. And so he uses that term And he says to her why are you getting me involved in this? Um, you know, this is not something that I should get involved in right now. Um So immediately when he responds that way Mary would have caught what he is saying Because you see at home he addresses her as Mother No, that's the term that he would use But here he is not addressing her as uh her son He's talking to her in his official capacity as the messiah And so there's immediately when he refers to her in this formal manner calling her ma'am Rather than calling her mama or mother or whatever he generally, you know refers to her as Immediately, she would have understood he now he is not speaking to me as my son He is now speaking to me in his official capacity in which god has sent him over here onto this earth And so in his official capacity jesus is saying this is not something that I should be getting involved in right now Why are you getting me? You know my because my hour has not yet come It's a divine timetable that has been set up And according to this divine timetable his public ministry is supposed to be beginning on a certain day And today is not that day And we look at uh mary's response She says to the servants do whatever he tells you she backs off She does not continue pressurizing him She understands that he's coming over here to the earth with a purpose He's going to be doing things his way God's way and she has no right to interfere in that So she just backs off she accepts whatever he has said in simple trust And she says to the servants he's going to tell you what to do whatever he says to do you just do that Because there's no pressure from her side. No saying, uh, you know, you know, you must provide the wine No, you must take care of this need. She Um submits in simple trust. Okay. So, um, this is something that we see Something that we can learn from when we place our requests before the lord And the lord, you know in case he says no Then I think the best response for us would be to just do whatever he says, you know Rather than pressurizing and saying no, no, I need to have it this way. No, you don't understand the circumstances are like this A cultural setting is like this that couple is going to be disgraced. No no arguments. No explanations She just backs off and she says Uh, to the servants, whatever he he considers best Whatever he says just do that and it's a very, uh Amazing response of trust And an amazing response of humility She's the woman who brought him up But now she backs off, you know, she doesn't say, oh, I'm your mother. I'm the one who, you know, like, you know, we have this Dialogue which mothers say to their children. I carried you in the womb for nine months. What do you know what I went through? So, you know, you need to have some sense of loyalty and submit to me is what, you know, mothers say nowadays But here in Jesus' case, you know, Mary does not make any such claims because she understands That she too is just a follower, a disciple of this Jesus who is who is now standing before her in his official capacity And so she just humbles herself. She backs off and she says to the servants, let him decide Whatever he says, let that be done. No, so we see humility over here Accepting who she is that she is just a disciple And also the trust, the level of trust he will do what is right He will do what he considers best for the situation So she recognizes the fact that he does care about this family He is going to be concerned about them and he will do for them what he regards as best So she leaves it in his hands um And because of this level of trust which she has demonstrated and just saying do whatever he tells you Jesus Changes his divine timetable. It's amazing. I mean this lady She has submitted uh with such humility and trust that it moves the heart of God To change his divine timetable. Now, this is not the first time that it happens in scripture We see it happening, you know on different occasions in the Old Testament You know One example that we could take is of Nineveh, you know where In another 40 days according to the divine timetable judgment is supposed to come upon Nineveh but then Because those people repent and respond with humility and trust just like you know, Mary does over here The judgment gets delayed by another 150 years You know, so God changed his divine timetable around that particular occasion um And so in the same way we have different, uh, you know instances mentioned in the Old Testament Where God says I'm I will do this thing and then when the person, you know Thrice out to him and says lord, you know, give me another opportunity God chooses to change his divine timetable regarding those particular matters So here we see the same thing happening Now, this is something that Could happen even for us Are you willing to show that level of humility and trust? Where rather than arguing and saying lord, you don't understand the circumstances You don't know what we are facing over here. You don't know what is at stake rather than coming up with Silly absurd arguments like that If we can instead choose to be like Mary and say Whatever you say do whatever you consider best I leave it in your hands because I know that you're someone who can be trusted with my interests You will do what is best for me. You have that kind of a heart. I know your character lord So I choose to submit so when Mary adopted this attitude Jesus in fact changes his timetable and says, all right, you know, I'm going to get involved in this In this event which is taking place so Maybe we can read verses Six up to verse 10 Yeah, if we can have someone, you know, now we are kind of running out of time. So if someone could, you know, read quickly Verse six up to verse 10, please Now there was said there are six water pots of stone According to the manner of purification of the Jews containing 20 or 30 gallons of these Jesus said to them fill the water pots with water And they filled them up to the brim and he said to them Draw some out now and take it to the master of the feast and they took it When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine And did not know where it came from But the servants who had drawn the water new the master of the feast called the bride room And he said to him Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine and when the guests have well drunk Then the inferior you have kept the good wine until now Yes So we see that Jesus takes the water which is available over there now. This is good water It's it's meant to be used for ceremonial washing So, you know, it has some kind of religious significance And so this is good water which is standing over there and Jesus uses that He turns it into wine. It's interesting that when he tells the servants to fill it up with water They are not the lazy type who just maybe fill up one fourth or even half These are see these seem to be sincere servants who actually take the effort to fill it up to the brim Because you see if they had only filled it up one fourth You would only have one fourth jar of wine On the other hand because they took the effort to fill it up to the brim Now you have a lot more wine available when the miracle happens So maybe one small learning from this you can take away Uh, you know, we say to the Lord do whatever, you know, whatever you want Whatever you tell us to do, we will do it Once we say that when the Lord asks us to do something How do we do it? Do we go all the way up to the brim? Or do we just do a little bit, you know and leave it at that The answer the miracle that we receive may actually depend on to what extent we did what he asked us to do So obedience becomes very important over here So when when we say to the Lord, I'm submitting to you. Whatever you want me to do I will do it when we say that and he tells us what we should do How do we do it? Are we going up to the brim because then the miracle that we receive will be greater Or are we doing it half-heartedly thinking what's going to be achieved by doing this? This is anyway not going to solve my problem if we go with that attitude and Do whatever he's telling us to do half-heartedly The miracle may be very very small and we would be the losers So, you know, that's one thing that maybe we can carry away from this but Coming to the next, you know Sentence which can which is which can be quite significant was 11 It says what Jesus did here in Canada of Galilee was the first of the signs Through which he revealed his glory And his disciples believed in him. So here it talks about how This became Jesus decides to, you know, move the entire timetable up a little bit and so he starts Doing his signs Signs which will indicate who he is. So he decides that this is going to be his first sign Through which he is going to reveal his glory and it's interesting that, you know, uh, this particular event reveals so much about his glory The water that was used to turn, you know into wine That actually was water used for ceremonial, you know, uh cleansing is what it mentions over there in the earlier verse So all these people were using that water most respectfully To wash their hands and feet Because the Pharisees, you know had given some kind of religious significance to that And so by doing that You would become as clean as the Pharisees on the outside you would be clean But on the inside, oh my Jesus says they are like Graves with rotting flesh on the inside, you know, so That is what those jars of water can do But now when Jesus turns that water into wine He is pointing to the day when his blood Will be, you know, uh, commemorated as, you know, wine during our communion And that wine It points towards the blood of Jesus which not only cleanses you on the outside But even it can cleanse you on the inside and make you into a new person Who can actually honor God and, you know, follow him So Jesus is revealing his glory at a very basic level by showing mercy to that family By showing that he can, you know, go against the laws of chemistry and physics and, you know Transform something in a matter of minutes into wine. Yes, or he's doing all of that He's revealing his glory at that level But he's also revealing his glory at a much higher level. He's saying when I shed my blood That is not just going to cleanse you on the outside the way the ceremonial purification cleanses you I can clean you right through Where every sin is forgiven and you are restored into a right relationship with God I have the power to do that and you will be commemorating this for many many centuries to come Where each time you drink wine, this is what you will be reminding yourselves of So there's a connection between what Jesus does over here and what he's going to accomplish later on on the cross We see that connection Now coming to the other event which is mentioned over here, you know, we are very familiar with that So I would just like to maybe bring out one or two points from that Story which would be in verses 13 to 17 Where it talks about how Jesus goes to the temple and he sees all these people sitting over there, you know, selling the The animals and the birds which will be used as sacrifices And there are also people sitting over there who will know do the money exchange Because people are going to be coming from different countries to, you know, give their sacrifices And so they would they would need to exchange their foreign currency with the local currency So all these people have settled down over there And because they have occupied the entire temple court The Gentiles are unable to come and stand over there and worship So if you look in the other gospels, uh, Matthew Mark and Luke, you know, if you look at the other gospels The emphasis is on that aspect Because all these people are merchants are sitting over there in the courtyard There is no place left for the Gentiles to come and stand over there quietly You know, in a in a humble manner and focus their thoughts on God How are you supposed to focus your thoughts on God when somebody is screaming next to you saying, you know, uh, This is the rate for my sheep. This is the rate for my doubts I mean, um, it's like they've turned it to into a marketplace So the other gospels emphasize that point where, uh, they have turned this house of prayer Into a marketplace and the Gentiles are unable to stand over there quietly and connect with the living God here John, um Places his emphasis on a slightly different aspect And when we look in John chapter two versus, uh, 16 and 17 This is what it says over there. It says to those who sold doubts. He said get these out of here Stop turning my father's house into a market His disciples remembered that it is written zeal for your house. Well, consume me. So over here John chooses to emphasize the other aspect where Jesus is offended that they are turning a holy place Into a commercial place Where money is what rules God doesn't matter money is what matters. So he says you are corrupting my father's house so both I mean the the other writers and John are bringing out different aspects of this of what has happened over here So if we can maybe, you know, just sum up and say Jesus is upset about two things One that the Gentiles will not be able to stand over there and connect with God the way they had hoped to do And the other aspect which John touches upon Jesus is angry that they have taken something so holy and sacred as the temple court And turned it into a market place where money is all that matters where his presence doesn't even matter You know, so he is angry with that and that is why he takes action against them. Um, and um Why does John choose this particular? Story because you see the Jews will ask him the question next They will say by whose authority are you doing this? You know all these years these people have been sitting over here and doing their you know selling Who are you to ask them to leave and Jesus explains and says, you know, what I am this temple Right now you're looking at one physical temple and considering it so great But I myself am the temple and so he goes on to say, you know This temple if it is destroyed it will I I will raise it up again in three days So he is basically saying to them. I am this temple. I am what this temple is all about And I have arrived And now I am going to set certain things in motion and it's all going to lead finally to redemption So he's publicly declaring and saying I performed a sign in canna To reveal my glory and now I am declaring to you my authority as well And so from now on the next chapter onwards We are going to be seeing his glory manifested in so many different ways And we are going to see his authority being declared in so many different ways Okay, so that's basically what this chapter two is all about so As nobody has posted any questions. Maybe we can close with the word of prayer Why don't you have any questions? It always makes it so interesting when people, you know, ask their doubts or when people just give their comments You know, they are things which they have wished to say regarding these verses But anyway, maybe we can do that next class So, uh, let's close with the word of prayer We thank you so much your lord for your for the learnings that we could Gather from your word today. Your word is so rich. Oh lord There's something significant that we can learn from every single verse We pray oh lord that we will not just be hearers of this But that lord we will apply these things to our own lives so that we will grow in our relationship with you Draw closer to you and see your glory manifested in our life and our situations Help us oh lord be with us and lord guide us. Thank you lord in jesus name amen Amen, thank you so much For logging in and staying up to the end and we'll meet again next class