Sermon Discussion - John 2:1-12

Hey discussion leaders! Here’s some follow up questions from Aaron’s sermon from this last weekend. Hope it’s helpful. It’s probably a little long, so feel free to pick and choose what you want to highlight.
Teaching Goal:

That the way Jesus reveals his glory in John 2:1-12 points us to the fact that Jesus himself is our ultimate joy and gives us analogies to understand what that means.

Application Goal:

That people would seek to cultivate a greater enjoyment of Christ in their personal and communal (church) lives.

Thought provoking question:

What is something you enjoy a lot? This is pretty broad, so it could be a hobby, a food, a season, etc. Essentially, what is something that brings you a lot of joy? And what is it about that thing that gives you so much joy?

Intro questions:

Read John 2:1-2

This wedding took place right after Jesus called his disciples. What can you learn about the way Jesus pursues discipleship based on this passage? How does this inform the way that we pursue discipleship? How are we doing as a community at utilizing normal, day-to-day life occurrences for the discipleship mission? How can we improve?

Looking at the text:  (these should all be obvious answers from the text)

Read John 2:3-12

What is the problem they encounter?

How does Mary try to resolve it?

What is Jesus’ response?

How does the problem get resolved?

Interpretive questions:

What are some reasons Jesus responded the way that he did to his mother’s request? What is the significance of his “hour”?

Corresponding texts to “the hour”

• John 7:30: “So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.”
• John 8:20: “No one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.”
• John 12:27: “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.”
• John 12:23–24:“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

(The teaching point here is that Mary’s request at a wedding caused Jesus to look ahead to his own wedding, but he knew that his wedding would come at great expense to himself. Hence, “My hour has not yet come.” If you like sharing the gospel, this is a great place to insert it.)

What kind of vessels does Jesus have the servants fill up in 2:6-8? What do you think the significance of purification jars could be, rather than just having them fill normal drinking jars?

When the wine was served, it was incredibly abundant and it was delicious. What do you think Jesus is trying to communicate to us through that?

Near the end of the passage, it states “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed him.” Looking at the passage as a whole and what it symbolizes, how would you describe to a non-believing friend how this story “manifests” or “reveals” the glory of Christ?

Personal Questions:

We asked at the beginning about what you really enjoy in life and why you really enjoy it. Aaron’s sermon on this text was entitled “Jesus Is Joy.” Do you make time to enjoy Christ in your life? What are some ways that you cultivate enjoying Christ in your own life?

In the sermon, Aaron talked about how we can know a lot of facts about honey, that it’s sweet, sticky, good on peanut butter, etc. without actually ever experiencing the sweetness of honey for ourselves. Read Psalm 34:8. Have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good? In what ways have you experienced it?

Jesus intentionally revealed his glory through abundance of wine at a wedding. What are some things about wine that make it enjoyable? How does the analogy of enjoying wine help us understand what it means to enjoy Jesus? (It may not be obvious, but the answer I’m looking for here would be to be intoxicated with him, see Ephesians 5:18, Isaiah 25:6-8).

How does the analogy of a wedding help us understand how we enjoy Christ?

Are there other scriptural analogies that have helped you enjoy Christ?

How can we encourage each other to taste, see (2:11, 1:14), know, understand, and practice enjoying God more?

Spare time questions:

We have a story here about a husband who had failed big in his first act as a husband by not providing enough wine for the wedding. How can this story help husbands who feel like they’re failing at their role in the home?

Why do you think Jesus would choose this as his first miracle? (from the sermon, Aaron compared it to a politician announcing that he’s running for office. It doesn’t get into the nitty-gritty details of his policies, but is designed to show where things are going).

Have you ever had a circumstance where you felt like you screwed something up big time (like the husband)? If you want to share, what was it? How does seeing Jesus help this guy out encourage you?