This first temple-cleansing by Jesus teaches us much about the rights of the Son, the purpose of the Passover & temple & sacrificial system, ways we reveal our impurity, and the consuming zeal Jesus has for this house & body.

Humanity longs to return to the paradise God banished us from, so we often attempt to build our own paradise on Earth. But so long as sin exists, any paradise we build cannot last - such was the case of Noah after the Flood and of the founding of Babylon. Only the paradise God is building will last forever, and we see Him beginning to build it even in the immediate aftermath of the Flood.

Given the prominence of the several versions of The Great Commission along with the heavy Biblical emphasis on sowing & reaping (spiritually understood), Christians & our churches must push against the world’s resistance and our own excuses so we are investing well in the practical sharing of Christ with many, especially those who are not walking with Him today.

The Flood was an outpouring of God’s wrath on the corrupted world, yet it was also a display of His grace. Noah and his family deserved to die like everyone else, yet God showed grace to preserve them from His wrath through the Flood, and preserve them from His wrath after the Flood by establishing His covenant with Noah and his descendants.

John selected seven of what must have been thousands of Jesus’ signs, to highlight His manifold care & compassion, His power over all that could hinder us, and His obvious divinity.

As man began to increase on earth after the Fall, there arose a distinction between those who identified themselves with the world and were corrupted, and those who found favor with God and were defined by their calling upon Him. We must therefore be heralds of righteousness in this sinful world just as Noah was.

Jesus began to glorify Himself & His Father through signs, at a wedding. This teaches us much about Jesus, human life, priorities, and the wondrous grace of God.

John the Baptist proved to be a faithful and truthful “witness” about Jesus by proclaiming and portraying that Jesus is God the Son, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. This witness would cost John much, but he was willing to fulfill the assignment. What does your life “witness” or testify most clearly? Ask those who love you most.

What happened to Paradise? Because of Man’s sin, the whole Creation has fallen into sin. But what fell by sin God restores through grace. In Genesis 3, we see the beginning of both.

John brings clarity now, that this Word who is God & with God is Jesus Christ. Already the beloved disciple is teaching us that Jesus is God and truly man, God with us, the fullest expression of God’s glory, & the perfect meeting place for grace & truth.