The account of Jesus clearing the Temple courts is so the opposite of our cultural expectations of Jesus: Furious at the retail outlets filling the outer court he forcibly drives them out with a homemade whip and confronts the religious authorities with an outrageous challenge. What’s going on, and why?

In one of the strangest passages in the Gospels Jesus performs a very puzzling miracle: turning water into wine. It is possible to actually believe that he really did it? And why would he do such a thing if he could?

Jesus once said that the whole Old Testament was all about him, understanding himself as the fulfilment of every prophecy, picture and storyline. John's gospel begins right at the start and unveils a magnificent portrait of an utterly unexpected Messiah.