Day 251 – Jesus’ First Miracle

• You will know that the bible records Jesus performing many miracles and we’ll read about lots of them over the coming months. Today’s is the first; something specifically mentioned by John which tells us that Jesus didn’t perform any miracles during his childhood or young adult life.
• Why do you think Jesus performed miracles? Beyond just improving the specific situation (i.e. bringing healing to someone, or wine to a wedding), did they have a wider purpose?
• In today’s short set of readings, John started his account by saying it was the “third day”. This means that it occurred two days after meeting Nathaniel, which we read about in our last reading. Do you think that it was important that Jesus performed this miracle so soon after calling His disciples? What would that have achieved? What clues are there in the text about this?
• A wedding that ran out of wine would have been very embarrassing to the groom and his family. It would also be a symbolic sign of a reduced joy, or blessing. Does this help to give some context as to why Jesus chose this particular act as his first public miracle?
• Jesus spoke to his mother in John 2:3-4. The word “woman” would have been more polite than it might seem to you when you first read it. What do you think Jesus means when He says His “hour has not yet come”? What is His “hour”? What does the third reading today add to this?
• Why would Jesus say that his “hour had not yet come”, and then still perform this miracle? Think about the context and the people there.
• John often focused his accounts of Jesus’ “signs” on how they pointed Jesus to be the Messiah, or on the exceptional things that occurred (such as the fact that the wine was “the best”). He also focused more on Jesus’ personal ministry rather than his public speaking. Flick through the rest of John to see what I mean, and compare it with a similar scan of Matthew, which contains much more of Jesus’ general teachings.

What do you think of when you hear the word “miracle”?

Is it one of those Christian words that you shy away from, because it talks about something outside of the expected way that things normally work? Sometimes people can understand and believe in God, and believe in Him as a Creator and Saviour, but trip up a bit when it comes to subjects such as miracles (or the resurrection, or angels, to give other examples).

Perhaps, on the other hand, you have no problem considering and believing that Jesus did miracles – He’s God, after all!

If this does make you stop and think, or you’re unsure of how to explain miracles to yourself or your friends, spend a few moments jotting down some of your thoughts, ideas or questions and be sure to bring them up next time you have a reading plan catchup meeting with whomever you chat with.