John 2

The Wedding at Cana

2Two days later there was a wedding in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, ²and Jesus and his followers were also invited to the wedding. ³When all the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

⁴Jesus answered, “Dear woman, why come to me? My time has not yet come.”

⁵His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you to do.”

⁶In that place there were six stone water jars that the Jews used in their washing ceremony. ⁿ Each jar held about twenty or thirty gallons.

⁷Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled the jars to the top.

⁸Then he said to them, “Now take some out and give it to the master of the feast.”

So they took the water to the master. ⁹When 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 called the bridegroom ¹⁰and said to him, “People always serve the best wine first. Later, after the guests have been drinking awhile, they serve the cheaper wine. But you have saved the best wine till now.”

¹¹So in Cana of Galilee Jesus did his first miracle. There he showed his glory, and his followers believed in him.

Jesus in the Temple

¹²After this, Jesus went to the town of Capernaum with his mother, brothers, and followers. They stayed there for just a few days. ¹³When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast, Jesus went to Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the Temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves. He saw others sitting at tables, exchanging different kinds of money. ¹⁵Jesus made a whip out of cords and forced all of them, both the sheep and cattle, to leave the Temple. He turned over the tables and scattered the money of those who were exchanging it. ¹⁶Then he said to those who were selling pigeons, “Take these things out of here! Don’t make my Father’s house a place for buying and selling!”

¹⁷When this happened, the followers remembered what was written in the Scriptures: “My strong love for your Temple completely controls me.” ⁿ

¹⁸Some of his people said to Jesus, “Show us a miracle to prove you have the right to do these things.”

¹⁹Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will build it again in three days.”

²⁰They answered, “It took forty-six years to build this Temple! Do you really believe you can build it again in three days?”

²¹(But the temple Jesus meant was his own body. ²²After Jesus was raised from the dead, his followers remembered that Jesus had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and the words Jesus had said.)

²³When Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast, many people believed in him because they saw the miracles he did. ²⁴But Jesus did not believe in them because he knew them all. ²⁵He did not need anyone to tell him about people, because he knew what was in people’s minds.