Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
The Wedding at Cana
2 ·Two days later [L On the third day] there was a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee [C of uncertain location, probably near Nazareth]. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] were also invited to the wedding. 3 When all the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 Jesus answered, “·Dear woman [L Woman; C a respectful form of address in that culture], ·why come to me [what concern is that to me and to you; L what to me and to you]? My ·time [L hour; C here and throughout John, Jesus’ “hour” refers to his messianic sacrifice on the cross] has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you to do.”
6 In that place there were six stone water jars that the Jews used in their washing ceremony [C a Jewish ritual before eating, before worshiping in the Temple, and at other special times]. Each jar held about twenty or thirty gallons [C Greek: two or three metretai; each about nine gallons or forty liters].
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled the jars to the ·top [brim].
8 Then he said to them, “Now take some out and give it to the ·master of the feast [chief steward; headwaiter].”
So they took the water to the master. 9 When he tasted it, the water had become wine. He did not know where the wine came from, but the servants who had brought the water knew. The ·master of the wedding [chief steward; headwaiter] called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “People always serve the ·best [expensive] wine first. Later, after the guests have been drinking awhile [C and are less discriminating], they serve the ·cheaper [inferior] wine. But you have saved the ·best [expensive] wine till now.”
11 So in Cana of Galilee [see 2:1] Jesus did his first ·miracle [L sign; C Jesus’ miracles are called semeia, “signs,” in John’s Gospel]. There he ·showed [revealed; manifested] his ·glory [majesty], and his ·followers [disciples] believed in him.
Jesus in the Temple(A)
12 After this, Jesus went to the town of Capernaum [C a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee] with his mother, brothers, and ·followers [disciples]. They stayed there for just a few days. 13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast [C annual festival that celebrates God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt; Ex. 12], Jesus ·went [L went up] to Jerusalem. 14 In the Temple [area; C not in the Temple proper, but in the outer courtyard, the Court of the Gentiles] he found people selling cattle, sheep, and ·doves [or pigeons; C for sacrifices in the Temple]. ·He saw others sitting at tables, exchanging different kinds of money [L …and moneychangers sitting; C the annual temple tax (Ex. 30:11–16) had to be paid in Tyrian shekels, because of their high quality silver]. 15 Jesus made a whip out of cords and forced all of them, ·both [with] the sheep and cattle, to leave the Temple. He turned over the tables and scattered the money of ·those who were exchanging it [L the moneychangers]. 16 Then he said to those who were selling ·doves [or pigeons], “Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house [C the Temple was God’s home on earth; 1 Kin. 8] a ·place for buying and selling [L a house of market/trade]!”
17 When this happened, the ·followers [disciples] remembered what was written [C in the Scriptures]: ·“My strong love for your Temple completely controls me [L “Zeal for your house will consume me”; Ps. 69:9].”
18 Some of ·his people [L the Jews] ·said to [responded to; demanded of] Jesus, “Show us a ·miracle [L sign] to ·prove you have the right to do these things [justify your actions].”
19 Jesus ·answered [replied to] them, “Destroy this temple, and I will ·build [L raise] it again in three days [C an allusion to his resurrection; 2:22; Matt. 26:61; 27:40].”
20 ·They [The Jewish leaders; L The Jews] answered, “It took forty-six years [C Herod the Great began a reconstruction and expansion of the Temple complex in 20 bc, thus dating this statement to about ad 27] to ·build [reconstruct] this Temple! Do you really believe you can ·build [raise] it again in three days?”
21 (But the temple Jesus meant was his own body [C Jesus was claiming divinity, his body corresponding with the Temple, the home/dwelling place of God; 1:14]. 22 After Jesus was raised from the dead, his ·followers [disciples] remembered that Jesus had said this. Then they believed the Scripture [compare Ps. 16:10] and the words Jesus had said.)
23 When Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast [see 2:13], many people ·believed [put their faith; trusted] in ·him [L his name] because they saw the ·miracles [L signs; 2:11] he did [4:48; Mark 8:11–13]. 24 But Jesus did not ·believe in [entrust/commit himself to] them because he knew them all. 25 He did not need anyone to ·tell [testify/witness to] him about ·people [human nature], because he knew what was in ·people’s minds [people’s hearts; L people].
Nicodemus Comes to Jesus
3 There was a man named Nicodemus who was one of the Pharisees [C a religious party which strictly observed OT laws and later customs] and ·an important Jewish leader [L a ruler of the Jews; C probably a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish court of the time]. 2 ·One night [or By night; C perhaps with connotations that he could not “see” spiritually] Nicodemus came to Jesus and said, “·Teacher [L Rabbi], we know you are a teacher sent from God, because no one can do the ·miracles [L signs; 2:11] you do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered, “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], unless you are born ·again [or from above; C this may be a play on words, meaning both “again” and “from above”], you cannot ·be in [experience; L see] God’s kingdom.”
4 Nicodemus said to him, “But if a person is already old, how can he be born ·again [or from above; 3:3]? ·He cannot enter his mother’s womb again. So how can a person be born a second time [L Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born]?”
5 But Jesus answered, “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], unless you are born from water and the Spirit [C equivalent to being born again (3:3); water could symbolize physical birth, but more likely symbolizes spiritual cleansing which brings renewal; Ezek. 36:25–27], you cannot enter God’s kingdom. 6 ·Human life comes from human parents [L That which is born of the flesh is flesh; C flesh here means human nature], but ·spiritual life comes from the Spirit [L that which is born of the Spirit is spirit]. 7 Don’t be ·surprised [amazed; astonished] when I tell you, ‘You [C plural, referring to the Jews or the Jewish leaders] must be born ·again [or from above; 3:3].’ 8 The wind [C one word means both “wind” and “spirit” in Greek] blows where it wants to and you hear the sound of it, but you don’t know where the wind comes from or where it is going. It is the same with every person who is born from the Spirit.” [C We cannot comprehend or control the Spirit, but we experience his effect.]
9 Nicodemus ·asked [replied], “How can this ·happen [be]?”
10 Jesus ·said [replied; answered], “You are ·an important teacher in Israel [L the teacher of Israel], and you don’t ·understand [know] these things? 11 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], we talk about what we know, and we ·tell [testify; bear witness] about what we have seen, but you don’t ·accept what we tell you [L receive our testimony/witness]. 12 I have told you about things here on earth [C the teaching about being born again], and you do not believe me. ·So you will not [L So how will you…?] believe me if I tell you about things of heaven. 13 ·The only one who has ever gone up to heaven is [L No one has gone up into heaven except] the One who came down from heaven—the Son of Man[a] [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14].
14 “Just as Moses lifted up the ·snake [T serpent] in the ·desert [wilderness; C Moses put a bronze snake statue on a pole, and those who looked at it were healed of snake bites; Num. 21:4–9], the Son of Man must also be lifted up [C an allusion to the cross and resurrection]. 15 So that everyone who ·believes can have eternal life in him [or believes in him can have eternal life].
16 “[L For] God loved the world so much that he gave his ·one and only [only; unique; T only begotten; 1:14, 18] Son so that whoever believes in him may not ·be lost [T perish], but have eternal life. 17 [L For; Indeed] God did not send his Son into the world to ·judge the world guilty [condemn the world], but to save the world through him. 18 People who believe in God’s Son are not ·judged guilty [condemned]. Those who do not believe have already been ·judged guilty [condemned], because they have not believed in [L the name of] God’s ·one and only [only; unique; T only begotten; 3:16] Son. 19 ·They are judged by this fact [L And this is the judgment/condemnation/verdict]: The Light [C Jesus, God’s Son] has come into the world, ·but they did not want light. They wanted darkness [L but people loved the darkness more than the light], because they were doing evil things. 20 All who do evil hate the light and will not come to the light, because it will show ·all the evil things they do [L their deeds/actions]. 21 But those who ·follow the true way [do what is true; live by the truth] come to the light, and it ·shows [may be seen] that the things they do were done ·through [or in the sight of; or in obedience to; L in] God.”
Jesus and John the Baptist
22 After this, Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] went into the ·area [countryside] of Judea, where he ·stayed [spent time] with his ·followers [disciples] and baptized people. 23 John was also baptizing in Aenon [C a town (meaning “springs”) of uncertain location on the Jordan River (but see note on Salim)], near Salim [C a town (meaning “peace”) probably located either near Shechem or just south of Bethshan, both of which are in a Samaritan area], because there was plenty of water there. People were going there to be baptized. 24 (This was before John was put into prison [Matt. 4:12].)
25 Some of John’s ·followers [disciples] had an ·argument [discussion; debate] with a Jew about ·religious washing [ceremonial cleansing; L purification; C the Jewish people washed themselves for ritual purposes before eating, before worshiping in the Temple, and at other special times]. 26 So they came to John and said, “Teacher [L Rabbi], remember the man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, the one ·you spoke about so much [L about whom you have testified/witnessed]? He is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
27 John answered, “A ·man [person] can get only what ·God gives him [L is given to him from heaven]. 28 You yourselves heard me ·say [testify], ‘I am not the ·Christ [Messiah], but I am the one sent ·to prepare the way for him [L before him; 1:20–28; compare Is. 40:3].’ 29 The bride belongs only to the bridegroom. But the ·friend who helps the bridegroom [or the best man] stands by and listens to him. He ·is thrilled [rejoices greatly] that he gets to hear the bridegroom’s voice. In the same way, ·I am really happy [L my joy is fulfilled; C in this analogy, John is the best man and Jesus is the bridegroom]. 30 He must ·become greater [increase], and I must ·become less important [decrease].
The One Who Comes from Heaven
31 “The One [C Jesus] who comes from above is ·greater than [L above] all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and talks about ·things on the earth [earthly matters]. But the One who comes from heaven is ·greater than [L above] all. 32 He ·tells [testifies to; bears witness to] what he has seen and heard, but no one ·accepts [receives] ·what he says [his testimony; 3:11]. 33 Whoever ·accepts what he says [receives his testimony] has ·proven [certified; affirmed; L set his seal] that God is true. 34 [L For] The One whom God sent speaks the words of God, because God gives him the Spirit ·fully [L without measure/limit]. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given ·him power over everything [him authority over all; L all things into his hand]. 36 Those who believe in the Son have eternal life, but those who ·do not obey [reject] the Son will ·never have [L not see] life. God’s ·anger [wrath] ·stays [remains] on them.”
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