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JOHN 2
page 954
see heaven open and the angels of God going up
and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the
stairway between heaven and earth.*”
The Wedding at Cana
The next day* there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’
mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples
were also invited to the celebration. 3 The wine
supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’
mother told him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,”
Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”
5 But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Standing nearby were six stone water jars,
used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each
could hold twenty to thirty gallons.* 7 Jesus told
the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When
the jars had been filled, 8 he said, “Now dip
some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.
9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the
water that was now wine, not knowing where it
had come from (though, of course, the servants
knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10 “A host
always serves the best wine first,” he said.
“Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink,
he brings out the less expensive wine. But you
have kept the best until now!”
2
— promises —
from God
“For this is how God loved
the world: He gave his
one and only Son, so that
everyone who believes
in him will not perish but
have eternal life.”
JO H N 3:16
11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was
the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his
disciples believed in him.
12 After the wedding he went to Capernaum
for a few days with his mother, his brothers, and
his disciples.
Jesus Clears the Temple
13 It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover
celebration, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the
Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle,
sheep, and doves for sacrifices; he also saw
dealers at tables exchanging foreign money.
15 Jesus made a whip from some ropes and
chased them all out of the Temple. He drove
out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money
changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over
their tables. 16 Then, going over to the people
who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things
out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into
a marketplace!”
17 Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s
house will consume me.”*
18 But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What
are you doing? If God gave you authority to do
this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”
19 “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this
temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken
forty-six years to build this Temple, and you
can rebuild it in three days?” 21 But when Jesus
said “this temple,” he meant his own body.
22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered he had said this, and they
believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus
had said.
Jesus and Nicodemus
23 Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in
Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many
began to trust in him. 24 But Jesus didn’t trust
them, because he knew all about people. 25 No
one needed to tell him about human nature, for
he knew what was in each person’s heart.
3
There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.
2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with
Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God
has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs
are evidence that God is with you.”
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless
you are born again,* you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus.
“How can an old man go back into his mother’s
womb and be born again?”
5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can
enter the Kingdom of God without being born of
water and the Spirit.* 6 Humans can reproduce
only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth
to spiritual life.* 7 So don’t be surprised when I
say, ‘You* must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows
wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind
but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is
going, so you can’t explain how people are born
of the Spirit.”
9 “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
1:51 Greek going up and down on the Son of Man; see Gen
28:10-17. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
2:1 Greek On the third day; see 1:35, 43. 2:6 Greek 2 or
3 measures [75 to 113 liters]. 2:17 Or “Concern for God’s house
will be my undoing.” Ps 69:9. 3:3 Or born from above; also in
3:7. 3:5 Or and spirit. The Greek word for Spirit can also be
translated wind; see 3:8. 3:6 Greek what is born of the Spirit
is spirit. 3:7 The Greek word for you is plural; also in 3:12.