The First Disciples and The First Miracle (John 1:19–2:11)

Somebody finally asks John the Baptist the blunt question everyone is thinking: “Who are you?” That moment in John 1 kicks open a fast-moving chain of events as Jesus’ public ministry steps into the light. We trace the back-and-forth with Israel’s religious leaders, John’s refusal to claim a bigger title than God gave him, and his laser-clear identity as the voice preparing the way. If you’ve ever struggled with what to say about your faith or how to stay humble when attention shows up, John’s example is a steadying guide.

Then John points past himself with one of the most packed statements in Scripture: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” We sit with what that means for sin, sacrifice, and rescue, and why John also calls Jesus the Son of God. From there the story becomes wonderfully personal and practical: two disciples start following Jesus, Andrew rushes to Simon with a “we found the Messiah” kind of joy, Philip goes and finds Nathanael, and a small band of disciples begins to grow because they can’t keep the treasure to themselves.

Finally, we head to the wedding at Cana in Galilee, where a real-world crisis sets the stage for Jesus’ first miracle, water into wine. We talk through Mary’s request, Jesus’ surprising response, the meaning of “My hour has not yet come,” and how this sign shows Jesus’ authority, timing, and heart to bring joy. If you want a clear Bible study on the Gospel of John, John the Baptist, the first disciples, and the wedding at Cana miracle, press play, then subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

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Transcript

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Well, today on our wisdom journey, Jesus' ministry is beginning to launch now into the public arena. There are a number of events that are highlighted in John's gospel for us, and they're they're incredibly significant. And one of them is a conversation between John the Baptist and the religious leaders of Israel. John chapter 1 records for us what happens. Now, John hasn't seen Jesus since the Lord walked off into the wilderness after being baptized, but John has faithfully continued calling Israel to prepare for her Messiah. His preaching

Who Are You, John

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is giving the Jewish leaders, frankly, a serious case of heartburn because of it. They don't appreciate his ministry at all. So the Jewish leaders now send a delegation of priests and Levites to John the Baptist, and they're going to ask him this question here in verse 19. Who are you? I love that. Very simple. Who in the world are you, John? Now John is quick to answer here in verse 20 that he's not the Messiah. So they ask, Well, are you Elijah? And he answers, No, I'm not. Well, are you the prophet? Now this refers back to Moses' promise in Deuteronomy chapter 18, that the Lord your God is going to raise up for you a prophet like me among you, and it is to him you shall listen. So John, are you that prophet? And John simply says no. Well now these Jewish leaders are getting frustrated, and they ask him here in verse twenty two, well, you what do you say about yourself? In other words, well then who are you? John answers in verse twenty three, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. Now these leaders immediately know that John is declaring himself to be the Lord's forerunner. And if John is the forerunner of the Messiah, then well, Jesus, the one he's introducing, must be the Messiah. So I can imagine these men here, you know, racing back to Jerusalem to figure out the implications of this announcement according to John the Baptist. Well the Messiah is already here. And then you have this rather wonderful, incredible moment in verse twenty nine. The next day he, that is John, saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who ranks before me because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came, baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel. He then adds in verse thirty-four, I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.

Behold The Lamb Of God

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By the way, beloved, it strikes me that this happens to be the ultimate goal of your testimony and mine. Now we might not be eloquent, we might not have comprehensive knowledge of the Word of God. We can, however, introduce to our needy world the Lamb of God, who came to die for our sins. Now, the day after John introduces Jesus, verse 35 tells us that two of John's disciples are with him as Jesus just sort of walks by. And John says again here in verse 36, Behold, the Lamb of God. Well, these two disciples immediately leave John and begin following Jesus. I don't think that bothered John one bit. Now one of these disciples is Andrew. The other is more than likely John, the author of this gospel, the Gospel of John. And eventually we know Andrew races

The First Disciples Start Following

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home to tell his brother that he's found the Messiah, and his brother's name is Simon. Jesus will rename Simon Peter or Cephas in the Aramaic language a little later on. Now the Greek word here for found, we have found the Messiah is Eurisco. That gives us our word Eureka. It's as if Andrew has found a hidden treasure and he's shouting to Peter, his brother, Eureka, I have found the Messiah. I have discovered the greatest treasure ever. Well, the next day Jesus walks over to Galilee and he finds Philip and he calls this man to follow him. Then verse 45 tells us that Philip goes and finds his friend Nathaniel and brings him to Jesus. So in a matter of a couple of days, Jesus now has five brand new disciples. And let me tell you, this band of followers is going to keep on growing, frankly, because they're telling everybody about the treasure they have found in Jesus. We need people like this today who just can't who just can't keep the Lord to themselves. Well, at this point, we have the first testimony from John the Baptist as well as the first group of disciples, and we're going to see the first miracle. Here in the opening verses now of John chapter 2, Jesus and his disciples arrive at a wedding. We're told the wedding is at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Most likely the couple getting married are friends of Jesus and Mary. Now, to the embarrassment of the host family, the unthinkable happens. The wine runs out. Well, Mary informs Jesus here in verse three, simply saying, They have no wine. Now you need to understand in this culture hospitality was a sacred duty. It'd be terribly

A Wedding Crisis In Cana

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humiliating for the bride and the groom to run out of food or drink for all these wedding guests. Now Jesus' response to his mother it seems to make him appear uncaring. He says to her here in verse four, woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. Well now first you ought to understand that when he addresses his mother as woman, he's using a term that can be translated dear woman, but in the Greek world this was frankly never used by a son in addressing his mother. When Jesus calls Mary dear woman instead of mother, he's actually indicating a different relationship exists between them now as he's moving into his messianic ministry. And his response to Mary here in verse four, what does this have to do with me? Well that's another way of Jesus saying, Dear woman, if I'm going to do something about this, let me handle it the way I want to handle it. One more point here. When Jesus adds, My hour has not yet come, he's correcting Mary. Jesus isn't interested in performing miracles just to solve embarrassing problems. And he certainly isn't under obligation to her to do what she wants either. He's depending on the leading of the Holy Spirit as to whether or not he will demonstrate his divine power. Well, Mary's humble response is simply to tell the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them to do. Now, I would say, you know, that's more like it. In other words, she's saying, look, if Jesus wants to do something, he's in charge. You household staff here, part of the catering team, you obey him. By the way, there are millions of people today who've been led to believe that Mary is in heaven today receiving prayers, influencing Jesus to do whatever she asks him to do. Well, this first miracle ought to silence that false teaching. Mary is not in charge here. She certainly isn't in charge of Jesus in heaven. Jesus is in total command. Now at some point, we don't know how long this interaction took place, but at some point the Spirit of God leads Jesus to perform this miracle, his very first miracle, verse six says, Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water, and they filled them up to the brim. Well, after this, Jesus tells the servants to draw up from the water jars and go and give it to the master of the feast. And can you imagine the look

Water To Wine And Its Meaning

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on the servants' faces when they realize that what they're now pouring out is wine. In fact, the master of the feast says to the bridegroom here in verse ten, you have kept the good wine until now. So this first miracle is sending several signals. First, it's a signal to Mary that Jesus isn't her little boy anymore. He isn't going to be influenced by maternal ties. He's under the direction of his father's design. It's a signal to his brand new disciples that Jesus has divine power over the elements of nature. It's a signal to the wedding party. Here's a sign that Jesus has come to bring joy to those he touches. And finally, it's a signal to these servants who are obeying the commands of Jesus. This is a sign that Jesus often performs his mighty works through ordinary but obedient and willing people. Let's be like those servants today. Well, we'll have to stop here for now. Until our next wisdom journey, beloved, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.