John 2–4

Jesus Changes Water Into Wine

2On the third day there was a wedding. It took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. ²Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. ³When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

⁴“Dear woman, why do you bring me into this?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”

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

⁶Six stone water jars stood nearby. The Jews used water from that kind of jar for special washings to make themselves pure. Each jar could hold 20 to 30 gallons.

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

⁸Then he told them, “Now dip some out. Take it to the person in charge of the dinner.”

They did what he said. ⁹The person in charge tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He didn’t realize where it had come from. But the servants who had brought the water knew.

Then the person in charge called the groom to one side. ¹⁰He said to him, “Everyone brings out the best wine first. They bring out the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink. But you have saved the best until now.”

¹¹That was the first of Jesus’ miraculous signs. He did it at Cana in Galilee. Jesus showed his glory by doing it. And his disciples put their faith in him.

Jesus Clears Out the Temple

¹²After this, Jesus went down to Capernaum. His mother and brothers and disciples went with him. They all stayed there for a few days.

¹³It was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast. So Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the temple courtyard he found people who were selling cattle, sheep and doves. Others were sitting at tables exchanging money.

¹⁵So Jesus made a whip out of ropes. He chased all the sheep and cattle from the temple area. He scattered the coins of the people exchanging money. And he turned over their tables. ¹⁶He told those who were selling doves, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

¹⁷His disciples remembered what had been written. It says, “My great love for your house will destroy me.”

¹⁸Then the Jews asked him, “What miraculous sign can you show us? Can you prove your authority to do all of this?”

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

²⁰The Jews replied, “It has taken 46 years to build this temple. Are you going to raise it up in three days?”

²¹But the temple Jesus had spoken about was his body.

²²His disciples later remembered what he had said. That was after he had been raised from the dead. Then they believed the Scriptures. They also believed the words that Jesus had spoken.

²³Meanwhile, he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast. Many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing. And they believed in his name. ²⁴But Jesus did not fully trust them. He knew what people are like. ²⁵He didn’t need others to tell him what people are like. He already knew what was in the human heart.

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

3There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish rulers. ²He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. We know that God is with you. If he weren’t, you couldn’t do the miraculous signs you are doing.”

³Jesus replied, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one can see God’s kingdom without being born again.”

⁴“How can I be born when I am old?” Nicodemus asked. “I can’t go back inside my mother! I can’t be born a second time!”

⁵Jesus answered, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one can enter God’s kingdom without being born through water and the Holy Spirit. ⁶People give birth to people. But the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷You should not be surprised when I say, ‘You must all be born again.’

⁸“The wind blows where it wants to. You hear the sound it makes. But you can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born through the Spirit.”

⁹“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

¹⁰“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus. “Don’t you understand these things?

¹¹“What I’m about to tell you is true. We speak about what we know. We give witness to what we have seen. But still you people do not accept our witness. ¹²I have spoken to you about earthly things, and you do not believe. So how will you believe if I speak about heavenly things?

¹³“No one has ever gone into heaven except the One who came from heaven. He is the Son of Man. ¹⁴Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. The Son of Man must be lifted up also. ¹⁵Then everyone who believes in him can live with God forever.

¹⁶“God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

¹⁷“God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world. He sent his Son to save the world through him. ¹⁸Anyone who believes in him is not judged. But anyone who does not believe is judged already. He has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

¹⁹“Here is the judgment. Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light. They loved darkness because what they did was evil.

²⁰“Everyone who does evil things hates the light. They will not come into the light. They are afraid that what they do will be seen. ²¹But anyone who lives by the truth comes into the light. He does this so that it will be easy to see that what he has done is with God’s help.”

John the Baptist Gives Witness About Jesus

²²After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the countryside of Judea. There he spent some time with them. And he baptized people there.

²³John was also baptizing. He was at Aenon near Salim, where there was plenty of water. People were coming all the time to be baptized. ²⁴That was before John was put in prison.

²⁵Some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew began to argue. They argued about special washings to make people “clean.” ²⁶They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River is baptizing people. He is the one you gave witness about. Everyone is going to him.”

²⁷John replied, “A person can receive only what God gives him from heaven. ²⁸You yourselves are witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Christ. I was sent ahead of him.’ ²⁹The bride belongs to the groom. The friend who helps the groom waits and listens for him. He is full of joy when he hears the groom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. ³⁰He must become more important. I must become less important.

³¹“The One who comes from above is above everything. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks like someone from the earth. The One who comes from heaven is above everything. ³²He gives witness to what he has seen and heard. But no one accepts what he says. ³³Anyone who has accepted it has said, ‘Yes. God is truthful.’ ³⁴The One whom God has sent speaks God’s words. God gives the Holy Spirit without limit.

³⁵“The Father loves the Son and has put everything into his hands. ³⁶Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life. Anyone who says no to the Son will not have life. God’s anger remains on him.”

Jesus Talks With a Woman From Samaria

4The Pharisees heard that Jesus was winning and baptizing more disciples than John. ²But in fact Jesus was not baptizing. His disciples were. ³When the Lord found out about all this, he left Judea. He went back to Galilee again.

⁴Jesus had to go through Samaria. ⁵He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar. It was near the piece of land Jacob had given his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from the journey. So he sat down by the well. It was about noon.

⁷A woman from Samaria came to get some water. Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.

⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew. I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” She said this because Jews don’t have anything to do with Samaritans.

¹⁰Jesus answered her, “You do not know what God’s gift is. And you do not know who is asking you for a drink. If you did, you would have asked him. He would have given you living water.”

¹¹“Sir,” the woman said, “you don’t have anything to get water with. The well is deep. Where can you get this living water?

¹²“Our father Jacob gave us the well. He drank from it himself. So did his sons and his flocks and herds. Are you more important than he is?”

¹³Jesus answered, “All who drink this water will be thirsty again. ¹⁴But anyone who drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty. In fact, the water I give him will become a spring of water in him. It will flow up into eternal life.”

¹⁵The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water. Then I will never be thirsty. And I won’t have to keep coming here to get water.”

¹⁶He told her, “Go. Get your husband and come back.”

¹⁷“I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. ¹⁸The fact is, you have had five husbands. And the man you have now is not your husband. What you have just said is very true.”

¹⁹“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our people have worshiped on this mountain for a long time. But you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

²¹Jesus said, “Believe me, woman. A time is coming when you will not worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. ²²You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know. Salvation comes from the Jews.

²³“But a new time is coming. In fact, it is already here. True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. They are the kind of worshipers the Father is looking for.

²⁴“God is spirit. His worshipers must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

²⁵The woman said, “I know that Messiah is coming.” (He is called Christ.) “When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

²⁶Then Jesus said, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”

The Disciples Join Jesus Again

²⁷Just then Jesus’…