First Disciples and Early Signs
Jn 1:35-51; Jn 2:1-11; Jn 2:12; ...
The First Disciples of Jesus
(Jn 1:35-51)
35The next day John was standing with two disciples. 36When he saw Jesus walk by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37His two disciples heard him and followed Jesus. 38Jesus turned around and saw them,
“What are you looking for?”
“Rabbi [Teacher], where are you staying?”
39“I’ll show you.”
So they went and saw where he was staying and stayed with him that day. It was about four o’clock.
40Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two that followed Jesus. 41He found his brother Simon, “We’ve found the Messiah [the Christ].” 42When he brought him to Jesus, Jesus looked at him, “You’re Simon, son of John; you’ll be called Cephas [Peter].”
43The next day Jesus wanted to leave for Galilee. He found Philip, “Come with me.” 44Philip was from Bethsaida, where Andrew and Peter lived. 45Philip found Nathanael, “We’ve found the One that Moses and the prophets wrote about in the law: Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph.”
46Nathanael said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
“I’ll show you.”
47Jesus saw Nathanael coming, “A true Israelite with no deceit in him.”
48Nathanael said, “How do you know me?”
“Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
49Nathanael answered, “Rabbi, you’re God’s Son! You’re the King of Israel!”
50“You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You’ll see greater things than that. 51You’ll see the sky open up and God’s angels go up and down on the Son of Man.”
The First Miracle—at Cana
(Jn 2:1-11)
2:1Three days later there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2and Jesus and his disciples were invited. 3When the wine ran out, his mother said to him, “They don’t have any more wine.”
4Jesus said, “What’s between you and us? It’s not my time yet.”
5His mother told the help, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6Now six large stone water pots were standing there that the Jews use for purification. They held twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7Jesus said, “Fill the pots with water.” They filled them to the brim. 8“Dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies.” 9When the master of ceremonies tasted it, he didn’t know where it had come from—but the help that drew the water knew. He called the groom, 10“Everybody serves good wine first. When people have drunk freely, they serve wine that’s not as good. You’ve kept the good wine till now.” 11So Cana was where Jesus performed his first sign and demonstrated his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
Visit to Capernaum
(Jn 2:12)
After this he, his mother, brothers, and disciples went down to Capernaum and stayed a few days.
The First Cleansing of the Temple
(Jn 2:13-25)
13The Jewish Passover was coming up, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14In the temple he found the men that were selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and found moneychangers sitting there. 15He made a whip out of cords and drove the sheep and oxen out of the temple. He poured out the moneychangers’ coins and turned their tables over. 16He told the ones selling doves, “Get them out of here; don’t make my Father’s house a marketplace.” 17His disciples remembered that the scripture said, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE HAS CONSUMED ME” [Ps 69:9].
18The Jews said, “What sign do you show us that you have a right to do this?”
19Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and I’ll raise it up in three days.”
20“It took forty-six years to build this temple, and you’re going to rebuild it in three days?” (21He was talking about his body, “the temple.” 22So when he arose from the dead, his disciples remembered he’d said that, and believed the scripture and what he’d said.)
23While he was in Jerusalem at the Passover festival, many people believed in him because they saw the signs he did. 24But Jesus didn’t entrust himself to them because he knew everybody. He didn’t need anybody to tell him about anybody; he knew what was in him.
Conversation with Nicodemus
(Jn 3:1-21)
3:1Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, 2came to Jesus at night, “Rabbi, we know you’re a teacher from God. Nobody can do the signs you’re doing unless God’s with him.”
3Jesus answered, “Unless you’ve been born again, you can’t see God’s kingdom.”
4Nicodemus said, “How can you be born when you’re an adult? You can’t get in your mother’s womb a second time and be born, can you?”
5Jesus answered,
“Unless people have been born of water and spirit, they can’t get into God’s kingdom. 6What’s born out of the physical is physical; what’s born out of the spiritual is spiritual. 7Don’t be surprised that I said to yousg, ‘Youpl have to be born again.’ 8The wind blows wherever it likes. You hear it, but you can’t tell where it’s from or where it’s going. That’s the way everybody is that’s born out of the spirit.”
9Nicodemus responded, “What are you talking about?”
10“You’re a teacher in Israel and don’t understand that? 11I’m telling yousg, we talk about what we know and tell you about what we’ve seen, and youpl don’t accept what we tell you. 12If I’ve used physical examples and youpl don’t believe them, how will youpl believe if I tell youpl heavenly things? 13Nobody has gone up to heaven except the One that came down from heaven, the Son of Man. 14As Moses held up the brazen viper in the desert, the Son of Man needs to be held up 15so everybody that believes in him can have eternal life.”
16God loved the world so much he gave his only Son so everybody that believes in him wouldn’t perish but have eternal life. 17God didn’t send his Son to the world to condemn it, but to save it. 18Whoever believes in him isn’t condemned, but whoever doesn’t believe stands condemned for not believing in God’s only Son. 19This is the condemnation: light has come to the world, and people love darkness instead because they’re evil. 20People that do evil things hate light and don’t come to it; they don’t want their deeds condemned. 21But people that do the truth come to the light to show that they’re doing their deeds in God.
Jesus’ Growing Ministry and John’s Waning Ministry at Aenon
(Jn 3:22-36)
22After this, Jesus and his disciples went to Judaea, and he stayed there baptizing. 23John was baptizing too—at Aenon close to Salem; there was a good supply of water there. (24Herod hadn’t put John in prison yet.)
25A controversy about purification came up between John’s disciples and a Jew. 26They came to John and said, “Rabbi, the man that was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you vouched for—is baptizing, and everybody’s going to him.”
27John answered,
“A person can’t receive anything unless heaven lets him have it. 28You heard me say yourselves that I’m not the Messiah, that I’ve been sent ahead of him. 29The groom has the bride, the best man enjoys hearing him talk. I’m perfectly at peace with this situation. 30He needs to increase; I need to decrease.
31“The One from above is above everything; someone from the earth talks about the earth. 32The One from above talks about what he’s seen and heard, and people tend not to accept what he says. 33Whoever does accept it, is acknowledging that God tells the truth. 34The One that God sent speaks God’s message; he doesn’t give the spirit just in part. 35The Father loves the Son and has turned everything over to him. 36Whoever trusts in him has eternal life; whoever doesn’t, won’t see life. He doesn’t please God.”