Day 1: John the Baptizer’s Witness
Read John 1:19-23
- John quoted Isaiah 40:3, revealing he was “making straight the way of the Lord.” What does John understand his role to be?
Read John 1:24-25
Malachi 4:5:
“Remember the instruction of Moses my servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Look, I [the Lord of Armies] am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.”
Sirach 48:1, 10:
Then Elijah the prophet rose up like fire … It is written that you will come at the proper time with rebukes to calm the wrath of God before it breaks forth in a fury, to turn the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.
2 Kings 1:3, 7-8:
The Angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria…” The king asked them, “What sort of man came up to meet you and spoke those words to you?” They replied, “A hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.” He said, “It’s Elijah the Tishbite.”
Deuteronomy 18:15:
“The Lord, your God, will raise up for you a prophet like me [Moses] from among your brothers. You must listen to him.”
1 Maccabees 14:41:
Thus the Jews and the priests were pleased that Simon [Maccabaeus] should be their ruler and high priest until a faithful prophet should arise.
Many in Jesus’ day, believed God would send one of the two greatest prophets, Moses or Elijah, to prepare the way for the Messiah.
- What authority do the priests and Levites give to Moses or Elijah if one of them were baptizing?
- In their minds, what is John not authorized to do?
Read Matthew 1:26-28
Matthew 3:7-9:
When [John] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance. Don’t presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’”
Excursus: The When and Why of Jewish baptisms
Nowhere in the Old Testament does God command baptism. Still, John baptizes. The reaction Scripture records show us that John didn’t begin baptizing. For their response isn’t based on what he is doing but why (John 1:25)! On whose authority does John baptize! Their response reveals baptism wasn’t something novel. So, why did John’s baptism cause such controversy?
Baptism developed, not as a command from God but as a practice arising and adopted among the Jewish people. In Ezekiel 36:24-25, we find:
“For I [the Lord God] will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries, and will bring you into your land. I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.”
These baptisms didn’t contradict the Scripture and also pointed to spiritual truths God did put in place. What also led to the development of baptism grew out of God’s command for someone with a skin disease to be purified by water. “The one who is to be cleansed will wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water” (Leviticus 14:8). After being purified, someone could join the people of God in worship and the other rites of the Old Testament Church. So, this became the adopted practice for bringing Gentile converts into Judaism (but first we will treat you like a leper).
The Dead Sea scrolls mention baptism becoming a rite of entry for bringing Gentiles into Judaism. First, the males were first circumcised, which God did command. After a time of healing, all in the converting family were baptized (including infants if part of the family). Baptism developed as an external ritual to show the washing away and removal of sinful, Gentile ways, which led one away from God.
So, these baptisms developed within “Church tradition.” When such tradition supported the teachings and truths God commanded, Jesus accepted or allowed them. When they didn’t, He condemned such traditions as “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:8). Later, Jesus takes both circumcision and the baptisms that developed within “Church tradition” and supersedes them both with New-Covenant baptism (Matthew 28:19-20, Colossians 2:13-15).
- Considering whom John baptized and why, what made his baptisms controversial?
Day 2: God’s Witness
Read John 1:29-34
- What was John saying about Jesus when he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
- What is John saying about Jesus, especially since John was born six months before Jesus?
- Why did John baptize Jesus when He didn’t need his baptism? (vs. 31)
Day 3: Andrew’s Witness
Read John 1:35-42
- What does Andrew realize about Jesus?
- Because of Andrew’s realization, what does he do?
- Today, Jesus is not walking the earth. So, how do we bring someone to Jesus?
Day 4: Philip and Nathanael’s Witness
Read John 1:43-51
- Who does Philip find after Jesus tells him, “Follow me”?
- How can Philip claim Jesus is the Messiah? (vs. 45)
- When Nathanael balked, how did Philip respond and not respond?
- Today, how do we live out the reality of “come and see” the Messiah?
What Jesus knows astounds Nathanael. But instead of Jesus pointing to His knowledge, He directed him to Jacob’s vision in Genesis 28:12: “And he dreamed: A stairway rested on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”
- What is Jesus saying about Himself and someone’s access to heaven?
- What is Jesus saying about what it means for Him to be the Messiah?
Excursus: The Son of Man
In all the Gospels, Jesus often refers to Himself as the Son of Man (John 3:13-14; 5:27; 6:27, 53, 62; 8:28; 9:35; 12:23, 34; 13:31). Though “Son of Man” is an expression for someone being human (Isaiah 56:2, Ezekiel 2:1, Sirach 17:30), Jesus’ use is more in line with Daniel 7:13-14, where Daniel received a vision of God’s defeat of evil:
Suddenly, one like a son of man was coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him. He received authority to rule, and glory, and a kingdom so every people, nation, and language should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom will never be destroyed.
Jesus’ use of “Son of Man” draws on this background to present Himself as the incarnate, revelation of God, who came down from heaven to reveal God’s will for humanity. For this reason, He has the authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:10), suspend the Sabbath (Mark 2:28), judge people (John 5:27), and can claim to be sent down from heaven (John 3:31)!
The expression “Son of Man” comes with both human and divine attributes. By being both human and divine, Jesus can bring one realm into the other—the mortal into the eternal. So, He can conquer evil for us and exercise His universal kingship, and bring us to reign with Him in heaven, (Mark 16:19; Acts 7:56; Revelation 14:14-16, 23:5).
Day 7: The Witness of the First Miracle: Water into Wine
The final day of the first week in John’s Gospel takes place on the third day after the events described in John 1:43-51
So far, we learned how John the Baptizer witnessed, or testified, to Jesus’ glory as the Messiah. Then, we saw how God Himself testified about His Son, followed by different individuals also testifying to Jesus as Messiah. Now, the Gospel ends the week by showing how Jesus’ turning water into wine also testified that He was the Messiah.
Read John 2:1-5
- What happened at the wedding party? Discuss why that would be such an embarrassment?
Woman: What’s with the Term?
When Jesus called Mary “woman” instead of “mother,” what was going on with His choice of words? In English, we don’t have a strong distinction between familiar and formal terms of address that most other languages have. “Mother” was a familiar, intimate term, which has the feel of “Mom.” “Woman” was a more formal term; yet, it did not carry any of the negative connotations that “woman” does in English (imagine a husband calling his wife, “Woman”!).
Jesus was not rebuffing His mother. But the way He spoke to her, using formal speech, addressed Mary from His role as Messiah, not as her son.
As Messiah, Jesus responded to Mary’s request to do something about the shortage of wine. He said, “Woman, to me and to you?” That expression, common in Hebrew and Aramaic idiom (Judges 11:12, 2 Samuel 16:10), brings some distance between the speaker and the hearer. It means, “What is common to you and me [about whatever matter is at hand]?” In other words, Jesus was saying that being the Messiah was something He must do alone.
We see this understanding clarified by His next words, “My [not our] hour has not yet come.” Again, Jesus is saying, “What does this have to do with me as Messiah and even Savior of the world (my hour)”?
Mary inadvertently asked Jesus, as her son, to do a miracle. But Jesus responds to her in His role as that Messiah. He will not fully show His glory as Messiah by performing a public miracle. Instead, He will quietly perform a miracle, so only a few will see it. And so, at least during the wedding party, most did not know what Jesus did.
Read John 2:6-11
The stone jars were for the ceremonial washing of hands. Before the meal, servants would pour water over the hands of each guest. If many guests were in attendance, then more jars would be needed. Six jars point to this being a large wedding with many guests.
- When and how did Jesus perform this miracle (trick question)?
- What can we infer from the almost-secretive nature of this miracle?
- What does the head steward realize about Jesus’ wine?
John calls this miracle “the beginning of the signs” that Jesus will do to point to something more significant–ultimately His death and resurrection. But His disciples did get the meaning of His first sign and miracle. Mary wanted the wedding to end without embarrassment, so she approached Jesus as a mother to her son. However, Jesus quietly performed this sign as the Messiah, so His disciples would see begin to see He came to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies. Those prophecies characterized the messianic age as a time when wine would freely flow: Jeremiah 31:12, Hosea 14:7, and Amos 9:13-14.
John also recorded that Jesus’ “disciples believed in Him.” What point is John making? They already believed that Jesus was the Messiah. But what they didn’t know entirely, and would continue to learn during their time of discipleship, was what being the Messiah entailed.
Read John 2:12
What’s Going on with John’s Counting of Days
John begins his Gospel with “In the beginning,” using the exact words from the Greek-language Old Testament for the beginning of creation (Genesis 1:1). In six days, God created the world. After his opening prologue, we also find John counting days, bringing to mind that some other creation may be taking place.
Day 1: John 1:19-28
Day 2: 1:29 (“on the next day”)
Day 3: 1:35 (“on the next day”)
Day 4: 1:43 (“on the next day”)
Day 7: 2:1 (“on the third day,” the third day since Jesus’ encounter with Nathanael)
In six days, God created the world and rested on the seventh. In John’s Gospel, what will happen on the seventh day, which is “on the third day”? In the immediate text, Jesus turns water into wine, the “first of His signs” (John 2:11).
Still, John is doing more. For the expression “on the third day” hails back to Israel’s earlier Covenant with God. In Exodus 19, the people spoke of their willingness to do all that Yahweh commanded them to do in His Covenant (Exodus 19:7-9).
Next, Yahweh directed Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow … and prepare for the third day, because on the third day Yahweh will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people” (Exodus 19:10-11).
So, Moses tells the people, “Prepare for the third day” (Exodus 19:15). “On the morning of the third day, there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain” (Exodus 19:16). The glory of God was revealed to the people “on the third day.”
So, “on the third day” comes with a lot of freight. Those who know the Old Testament, expect the revealing of God’s glory on this day. And when you connect this unveiling of God’s glory to another creation (set up by “in the beginning” and the six-days which follow), John expects the readers to expect:
As water became wine “on the third day,” in a later sign, Jesus will transform and recreate all creation (2 Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21:1-5).
As Jesus manifested His glory on the third day at Cana, in a later sign, so will He reveal His glory by rising “on the third day” after His death (1 Corinthians 15:4).
