"John 2 Paper" By David Buck (11/28/2010)

I. Identification of Structural Elements
A. Setting: The setting is provided in verses one and two of John Chapter two.
B. Need element or crisis: The need element is provided in verse three of John Chapter two.
C. Dialogue: The dialogue is provided in verses three, four, and five of John Chapter two.
D. Miracle event: The miracle event is provided in verses seven, eight, and nine of John Chapter two.
E. Confirmation/affirmation: The confirmation is provided in verse ten of John Chapter two.
F. Narrator’s comment or summation/aftermath: The narrator’s comment is provided in verse eleven of John Chapter two.
G. Which of the 8 purposes for miracles does this one fulfill? The purpose of this miracle was to increase the faith of His disciples (Jn. 2:11b).

II. The setting (2:1-2)
A. A wedding (2:1a)
1a- “On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee”
B. The special guests in attendance (2:1b-2)
1b- “And the mother of Jesus was there.”
2- “Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.”

III. Commentary (John 2:1-12).
A. What is a miracle?
Definition: A miracle is defined as an event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God.
B. What contribution to the miracle story is made by the setting?
Contributions: The special guests of the wedding are one contribution to the miracle story made by the setting. Mary the mother of Jesus as well as Jesus Himself are the special guest’s to the wedding that make this contribution from the setting. Another contribution from the setting is the issue of the wine running out (v. 3). See John chapter two, verses three through five.
C. Comment on the need element or crisis element.
The need: The need element to this miracle story is the running out of the wine at the wedding (v. 3). This need caused Mary to ask her Son, Jesus to perform a miracle and provide more wine for the wedding party.
D. How does the dialogue provide clues as to the purpose of the miracle?
Dialogue: There is dialogue between Mary and Jesus found in verses three and four, but the dialogue that provides the clue to the purpose of the miracle is found in verse five. In this verse Mary tells the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them. The servants here are not named, but it is obvious that although Jesus is not ready to reveal Himself to all of Israel yet, He does want these certain “servants” to know of His glory. Therefore, He performs the miracle only to be seen by these certain individuals.
E. Describe the miracle event itself.
Miracle: The miracle itself can be found in verse nine, where water has now been turned into wine by Jesus.
F. How does the writer indicate that a miracle has occurred in the story?
Indication: The indication of this miracle is found in verse nine. Here the writer tells his audience that the master of the feast tasted the water which had been turned to wine. Then in verse ten, it is written that the master of the feast describes the goodness of this wine to the bridegroom of the wedding. The writer uses this event to reveal the validity of Jesus’ miracle. The water has definitely been turned to wine.
G. Describe the miracle’s aftermath.
Aftermath: The aftermath of this miracle is that Jesus’ disciples now believed in Him (v. 11).
H. Explain the narrator’s comment.
Comment: The narrator’s comment comes in verse eleven; it informs the reader of the reason for this miracle. He tells us that Jesus did this miracle for His glory, by causing His disciples to believe in Him.
I. Conclusion
Conclusion: The miracles that were performed by Jesus in Johns Gospel account were performed for a variety of reasons. This specific miracle of turning water into wine was performed to bring glory to God and to develop faith in Him. This miracle is significant because verse eleven tells us that it caused the disciples of Christ to believe in Him. Without their belief, it is not known where they might have gone after this event. But because they now believed in Christ, they continued to follow Him throughout His ministry. After the resurrection of Christ, following His death, some of these disciples even went on to perform miracles of there own, by the power of God, as it is recorded in the book of Acts. This miracle was the first of many miracles that Christ later performed to bring unbelieving sinners into a belief and relationship with Him. All glory belongs to God.
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY

________. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.

Towns, Elmer. The Gospel of John: Believe and Live. Tyndale Theological Seminary, 2002.