The Wedding at Cana
Three days later, there was a wedding celebration in the town of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was at the wedding, and Jesus had been invited along with his disciples to join the celebration. During the feast, the wine supply ran out completely. Jesus' mother came to him and said, "They don't have any more wine." Jesus answered her, "Woman, what does this have to do with you and me? The time for me to act has not yet come." But his mother turned to the servants and told them, "Do whatever he tells you to do." There were six large stone water jars sitting nearby, the kind used by Jewish people for ceremonial washing. Each jar could hold between twenty and thirty gallons of water. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill these jars with water." So they filled each jar completely to the top. Then Jesus said, "Now take some out and bring it to the man in charge of the feast." The servants did exactly what he said. The master of the feast tasted what they brought him. The water had become wine, but he had no idea where this wine had come from. Only the servants who had drawn the water knew what had happened. The master called the bridegroom over to him and said, "Most people serve their best wine first, and then bring out the cheaper wine after the guests have had plenty to drink. But you have kept the finest wine until now!" This was the first miraculous sign that Jesus performed, and it happened in Cana of Galilee. Through this miracle, Jesus showed his divine glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
Jesus Goes to Capernaum
After this happened, Jesus traveled down to the town of Capernaum. His mother and brothers went with him, along with his disciples. They all stayed there together for several days.
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
When the time for the Jewish Passover celebration was approaching, Jesus traveled up to Jerusalem. Inside the temple courtyard, he discovered men selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices, along with money changers sitting at their tables exchanging foreign coins. Jesus made a whip from rope and forcefully drove everyone out of the temple courts, including all the sheep and cattle. He scattered the money changers' coins across the ground and flipped over their tables. To the people selling doves, he declared, "Take these things away from here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a marketplace!" His disciples later recalled the Scripture that says, "My passionate love for your house will completely consume me." Because of what Jesus had done, the Jewish leaders confronted him and demanded, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove you have the right to do these things?" Jesus replied, "Destroy this temple, and I will rebuild it in three days." The Jewish leaders responded, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and you claim you can raise it up in just three days?" But Jesus was actually talking about the temple of his own body. After he rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said these words. Then they believed both the Scripture and what Jesus had told them.
Jesus Knows What Is in Man
During the Passover celebration in Jerusalem, many people watched Jesus perform miraculous signs, and because of what they saw, they put their faith in him. However, Jesus did not put his trust in these followers, because he understood their true nature completely. He didn't need anyone to tell him what people were really like deep down inside, because he already knew the human heart through and through.