1:45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
1:48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
1:49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.

The inhabitants of Nazareth were proverbial for their wickedness, thus Nathaniel was surprised: "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?"

Yes it is hard for people who live in wicked places to maintain their integrity and relationship with God. That's why parents are encouraged to raise their children away from these wicked towns and cities. Yet, Jesus grew up in this sinful village and remained untainted! Our Redeemer did not choose the best situations to live in while a human here on earth. He, the Creator of the universe, choose the lowly estate of people struggling in this world of sin. It was His constant connection with the Father, that kept Him pure and holy in spite of all the evil surrounding Him. Showing us that we can not excuse our sinning on the environment, God can uphold us when we put our lives and wills in His hands.

When Nathaniel raised a question, Philip did not enter into arguments, instead he simply said, "Come and See"
Check it out for yourself!
There was a little doubt in each of their minds, we see it in Philip's words "Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Joseph" and in Nathaniel's reply, "Can any good come out of Nazareth?"

But they were both honest seekers.

They didn't trust in the rabbis and teachers of the day, they went to Jesus to see for themselves.





It was Nathaniel, who was the first disciple to exclaim "You, Jesus, are the Son of God"!

1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
1:48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
1:50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
1:51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.


NO GUILE

No self-deception, and no disposition to deceive others, no dishonesty, no duplicity, no deceptive tactics. or deviousness.
All who enter the Paradise of God will be those in whose mouths there is no guile, no impurity, no falsehood.

The 144,000 with Jesus in Revelation 14 are said to have "no guile in their mouths".
What a contrast to those working for the beast powers who are all about deception, hidden agendas, and control tactics.

JESUS SEES US WHEN WE PRAY

"He who saw Nathanael under the fig tree will see us in the secret place of prayer. Angels from the world of light are near to those who in humility seek for divine guidance".?(The Desire of Ages, 141.) {Pr 187.5}
Never is one repulsed who comes to Him with a contrite heart. Not one sincere prayer is lost. Amid the anthems of the celestial choir, God hears the cries of the weakest human being. We pour out our heart?s desire in our closets, we breathe a prayer as we walk by the way, and our words reach the throne of the Monarch of the universe. They may be inaudible to any human ear, but they cannot die away into silence, nor can they be lost through the activities of business that are going on. Nothing can drown the soul?s desire. It rises above the din of the street, above the confusion of the multitude, to the heavenly courts. It is God to whom we are speaking, and our prayer is heard.?(Christ?s Object Lessons, 174.) {Pr 188.3}

BELIEF

How Jesus rejoiced to see such an expression of faith, so full and earnest and sincere. Such faith would grow. "Thou shalt see greater things than these. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man" (John 1:49-51).

This is what we shall see if we are connected with God. God wants us to depend upon Him, trust him, and not upon man. He desires us to have a new heart;, and a new purpose. He would give us light from the throne of God. Angels are traveling back and forth from heaven to bring strength, light, truth, encouragement, and help. And while now, we see figuratively the heavens open as God's blessings flow upon us, in the future we will literally see the heaven's open and Christ with millions o f angels coming to take us home.

2:1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
2:2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
2:3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto Him, They have no wine.


We now begin the second chapter of the book of John.

The first chapter gave us a glorious picture of the divinity of Jesus!
It told us about John the Baptist and His mission
It told us about Jesus baptism with God the Father declaring Christ as "My Son in Whom I am well pleased, Listen to Him!"
It told of John's declaration that Jesus is "The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world:

It told of the Jesus first disciples and how they came to follow Jesus.

Now we begin the first story of Jesus' ministry as Messiah during His three and a half years of ministering.

The third day there was a marriage....

The account of Jesus ministry on earth begins with the account of "a marriage".
Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage.
Why would John begin the account of Jesus ministry on earth with a wedding feast?

If we look through John's writings, we find a wedding theme Christ is the bridegroom seeking His bride. He has come to earth to pay the bride price -- which is extremely high. But He will pay it so some day there will be a great wedding feast.

At the end of salvation's story we find this call to a great marriage in Revelation 19:7-9.
"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready...Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb."

The first chapter of the gospel by John, revealed that the "Lamb of God", the creator of all things, had arrived with the solution to the sin problem.
Now on the "third day", the marriage theme is introduced. (does this third day symbolically point to the resurrection, when the bride price was fully paid)

It is interesting that John begins this scene by mentioning only one character in the first verse -- the mother of Jesus. She is not named, her identity is entirely defined by her relationship to Jesus.

Does this take us to Revelation 12? That scene also begins with a woman. The woman who gave birth to the child. The woman being symbolic of the church. Yet it is the child that was born which made all the difference for the world.

It reminds us of the very first promise in Genesis 3:15 when the "seed" of the woman, a child born of a woman, would crush the serpents head. That "seed" had come, Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God with us, would gain the victory over sin, death, and the grave.

Mary, it is suggested in the story, as a relative to the bride or groom had responsibilities in preparing things for the wedding. She's the one who is concerned that there is no wine for the guests. The church also needs to be concerned about the wine.

Wine also has it's symbolic meaning, pure wine is representative of the covenant blessings of God, the true doctrine or belief in God.
The Lord's Supper is believed to serve the dual purpose of remembering Jesus' sacrifice, as well as looking forward to great wedding feast, Jesus said, "I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdomI (Matthew 26:29). Yes, at that great wedding feast of the Lamb.

Later in chapter three verses 29 -36 John the Baptist declares Jesus as the true bridegroom who has come to prepare His bride, while he, John the Baptist, was only a friend of the bridegroom.

The true bridegroom, is making preparations for his bride, the Church.

2:3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine.
2:4 Jesus said to her, Woman what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.
2:5 His mother said to the servants, Whatever He says to you, do it..

DA 146 -147 "There was danger that Mary would regard her relationship to Jesus as giving her a special claim upon Him, and the right, in some degree, to direct Him in His mission. For thirty years He had been to her a loving and obedient son, and His love was unchanged; but He must now go about His Father's work. As Son of the Most High, and Saviour of the world, no earthly ties must hold Him from His mission, or influence His conduct. He must stand free to do the will of God....

In saying to Mary that His hour had not yet come, Jesus was replying to her unspoken thought,?to the expectation she cherished in common with her people. She hoped that He would reveal Himself as the Messiah, and take the throne of Israel. But the time had not come. Not as a King, but as ?a Man of Sorrows, had Jesus accepted the lot of humanity.

But though Mary had not a right conception of Christ's mission, she trusted Him implicitly. To this faith Jesus responded. It was to honor Mary's trust, and to strengthen the faith of His disciples, that the first miracle was performed.....

In nowise disconcerted by the words of Jesus, Mary said to those serving at table, ?Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.? Thus she did what she could to prepare the way for the work of Christ."

John 2: 6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

Stone waterpots!!!
Six of them.
"Large stone vessels are very difficult to make, since they must be carved from a single piece of stone. A quarry and workshop producing stone vessels was recently discovered not far from Cana in lower Galilee. But the technology to produce large vessels needed the kind of lathes that were used by the Romans in making stone columns?so these large stone vessels were made during the period of the Roman occupation of Judea and Samaria.

These vessels had a specific purpose. They were used for purification rituals. Scholars have suggested it is quite likely (though of course not provable) that the wedding in Cana was taking place in the house of a priestly family, which accounts for the presence of so many large jars for ritual purity.

Jesus gives a command. Fill these purification vessels with water. The servants obey, and now we have six large, stone water pots,- holding 30 gallons of water a piece, and there were six of them.

This is a literal story of a literal marriage and it's problem, but it is told to convey spiritual lessons.

Jesus turns water in purification vessels into wine.
The water in those pots symbolized purification by water -- the baptism of John the Baptist,
But for the marriage feast (the one for the Lamb of God ) there is need for better cleansing, -- the wine of the covenant has been supplied-- representing the blood of the Lamb slain to redeem us from sin. (See Luke 22:20 and 1 Cor. 11:35)

2:9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
2:10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: [but] thou hast kept the good wine until now.
2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

The best!
Everything is better with Jesus.
Marriage where Jesus is the center is far better than any human centered relationship.
Life is better with Jesus, no matter what the surroundings.

The book of Hebrews is full of examples of "better".
The better Priest,
The better sanctuary
The better blood
The better covenant
The better promise
The better hope
And it's all centered in Christ!

Many don't realize where the BETTER, Superior quality comes from.
They keep doing their own thing, thinking its good enough.
But the Better and Superior life and hope is all in Christ.

2:12 After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.
2:13 And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,

Jesus is beginning His ministry, His years in the carpenter shop of Nazareth are in the past.
It appears from this verse that He, and His mother and brothers, move to Capernaum.

Matthew seems to confirm this: 4:13 That shortly after the wilderness experience, Jesus left Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

The first story which Luke records, (4:16-31) after Jesus wilderness experience, is the hostile reception of Jesus in Nazareth, when Jesus revealed He was the fulfillment of the passage in Isaiah, they tried to kill Him. Some suggest after this Jesus, His mother and brothers, all moved to Capernaum.

Capernaum was the metropolis of Galilee and one of the most prosperous and crowded districts in all Palestine.

Capernaum was the home of James and John, sons of Zebedee and Salome. Salome is considered (by some) to be the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus.
Peter's mother-in-law lived in Capernaum.
In Capernaum they were astonished at His teaching for His word was with authority (Luke 4:32)

Who the brothers are, has been disputed by theologians. EGW indicates they were the sons of Joseph from a previous marriage, thus step-brothers of Jesus.
They did not really believe Jesus was the Messiah, and had at times made life miserable for Jesus in His growing up years.
But they still spent quite a bit of time with Him, and witnessed many of His miracles. They saw Him heal, heard Him preach, and saw how He was able to answer the Pharisees. They often travelled with Jesus, and in spite of their skepticism, and misplaced trust in Jewish leadership, at least two of those brothers accepted Jesus in the end, and became strong leaders in the fledgling church.

John 2:13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2:14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.
2:15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.
2:16 And He said to those who sold doves. "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!

The Passover was an important Jewish feasts. All male Israelites, age 12 and older were required to attend this feast every year in Jerusalem. This meant that during the Passover week large numbers of people coming from all parts of Palestine, and even from distant lands came to Jerusalem. People were required to bring certain sacrifices. Also there was tax they were to pay yearly. For the convenience of those who found it difficult to bring their own animal, for the sacrifice, suitable animals were being offered for sale. These were bought and sold in the outer courts of the temple.

The big problem was that this buying, bartering and selling was being done in the Gentile court of the temple. It was not only the entrance to the temple proper, it was also the only part of the temple that Gentiles could enter. Thus giving a most unpleasant welcoming sight for those coming to worship.

Here all foreign money was exchanged for the coin of the sanctuary. Because a person had to have sanctuary money to buy a sacrificial animal, and pay their temple tax.
The money-changing gave opportunity for fraud and extortion, and it had grown into a disgraceful traffic, which was a source of revenue to the priests.

Interestingly, John says, Jesus FOUND this happening in the temple!
As a Jew, Jesus would have attended Passover every year since He was twelve years old. He had probably seen this take place many times before.

But Jesus was now embarking on His ministry. He, as the righteous judge was investigating, and FOUND things that were seriously wrong, misrepresenting God and salvation.

Though Christ never used His Divinity to make things easier for Himself, at this point when God's character and the temple's purpose were so flagrantly misrepresented, Christ's Divinity shone through.

Often we misunderstand the wickedness of Nazareth. Often we think of a place where God and religion is neglected, where there is temptation around every corner.

However, the wickedness of Nazareth came from their insignificance. Nazareth was a small Jewish outpost surrounded by much larger gentile villages and cities. Many ancient maps and village lists have been discovered and not a one of them lists Nazareth. We would not know of her existence save for the Bible and archaeological remains.

Because of the Bible the Jews were some of the most educated people in the world. A typical "illiterate Jew" usually had the equivalent of a two to four years of college. Disciples such as Peter James and John did not have their major education in religion, but very likely had the equivalent to a degree in business administration. They and their parents owned the large boats that went into the deep water and had employees dependent on them for their pay check.

Nazareth, on the other hand would have only had about 6 years of education. Those first 6 years was a study in reading, writing and reading the Bible text itself without the comments of the rabbis. The rabbinical schooling started in the 7th year. Nazareth was too far away from the towns that would have the continued education. The synagogue would have been the more conservative school of Shammai. Since it was so small and insignificant, and of the school of Shammai and not the more liberal schools, it is possible that the rabbi may have been a woman. We won't know unless we find a list of Nazareth rabbis, but the more liberal schools of the rabbis had for about 200 years been pushing for the job of rabbi to ONLY be open to men. The school of Shammai rejected this and continued to ordain woman rabbis until about one or two hundred years after Jesus. But do to the unpopularity of women rabbis they were usually assigned to these ultra small out of the way synagogues. (and whether male or female, a conservative rabbi would be uncomfortable with the more advanced school of the rabbis for their "liberal" ideas).

So you have a culture that tends to be educated, but a town that only has the 6 years of elementary education and unless you left, your education was done. These were hard working people would tend to feel inferior to other Jews, but at least they were Jews, the chosen people. They were not gentiles that they saw in the towns around them. But the news paper would never carry the headline "Local Boy Does Good"

Rabbinical students were told to study the Bible under fig trees. And that's where we find Nathaniel. This indicates that Nathaniel was studying for his MDiv or higher religion degree. The fact that he was aware of Nazareth shows that he knew a lot about the area. Jesus probably met many people who when they heard "Jesus of Nazareth" would ask "Jesus of where? Where on earth is Nazareth? I've never heard of it before." For Nathaniel it's "Hey, would you want to transfer from your program at the seminary and start studying with a hillbilly who has only a 6th grade education, " What good can come from that?

The wickedness of Nazareth was that the population thought "What can I do?" and as mentioned above the local newspaper was not expecting to carry the headline "local boy does good." and when that event happened, there was a discomfort among the people who had gone nowhere in life. A feeling that Jesus might have seen himself as better then them.

Coming home this guy who was making something of himself read the scripture than sat down. Now this was not like our churches where someone comes up and reads the passage and then returns to their seat to observe the rest of the service. No, the members would stand, the rabbi giving the service would sit down, and the rabbinical students would sit at the rabbi's feet. And the rabbi would teach from the seat. So we know that his home synagogue requested him to give the sermon.

So we have a group of people who have gone no where in life, handicapped by their education ending at the 6th grade, but at least they were Jews and not Gentiles. And what does Jesus use for his sermon, how much God loves the despised gentiles. It would have been similar as if in the early 1800s you had white trash living in the south, feeling that despite their low level in the scheme of life, at least they are not of African heritage. And someone among them ends up being a success, and comes to church and "What's Mr. Do You Think Your Better than me?" peaches on God's love for those despised from African heritage. Jesus talks about how God loves the despised "at least I'm not a gentile".

The wickedness of Nazareth was not a rebellion from religion with temptation around every corner. The wickedness of Nazareth was seeing themselves as inferior and insignificant and upset when one of them, with the same limited 6th grade education making something of themselves. Satan tempted them to see Jesus as all high and mighty Rabbi Hotsy Totsy, who does he think he is to become someone instead of going through life living in their obscurity and insignificance. Then becoming totally outraged when Jesus preaches about God's love for the "at least I'm a Jew and not a Gentile". people.

Now, despite their limited formal education, Nazareth was on the edge of the Jezreel Valley, they could look out and see, and a short walk away was the location of a large number of Bible stories. The people living in Nazareth could, if they wished, travel over to see where the story of Deborah took place and picture the events in their mind at the actual location, same with story after story. The residence of Nazareth had a set of the Bible Story available to them that was even better than Uncle Arthurs. Many of them could have taken their 6th grade, learning how to read and write and ability to read the Bible, and to walk to the location of the many Bible stories around them, and getting a knowledge of the Bible far superior to that of the rabbinical schools. And they could have been a light unto their gentile neighbors.

When Jesus went to Jerusalem for his Bar Mitzva, the rabbis were impressed as to his basic knowledge of the Bible, now if he would only continue to go beyond the 6th grade and start studying with the more advanced schools of the rabbis starting in grade 7. They would start to invite this promising child to leave behind uneducated hillbilly, what's the name of that town again, and to come into society for their education. This was the pressure that Mary would have been placed under. Would they stay in that town with a lack of education where they at most would study the Bible in it's geographical setting, or would they go where there was the rabbinical education advantages?

The wickedness of Nazareth was not a rebellion to faith, but a sitting around feeling sorry for themselves for their lack of education and soothing their "poor me" spirit with a looking down on their gentile neighbors and saying "at least I'm not one of them."