# John 2 Jesus preached without performing miracles?



## Eoghan (Nov 8, 2011)

[BIBLE]John 2:1-12[/BIBLE]

The question is what event is Jesus waiting for? I would contend that it is John's arrest. The scriptures are clear that John speaks of Jesus "coming after him" - there seems to be an overlap but Jesus calls His disciples after John's arrest to be with Him and only then starts to perform miracles as part of His ministry.

The Pharisees only had to deal with one Prophet at a time. First John (the Baptist) _then_ Jesus.

What interests me is that Jesus has already undertaken a preaching tour in Galilee _*without*_ performing miracles! The significance of this should not be overlooked when discussing the likes of 'power evangelism' with our charismatic brothers


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## Jack K (Nov 8, 2011)

"My hour has not yet come."

What does this phrase mean? What "hour" is Jesus referring to? Some possibilities:

1. The time of public ministry.
2. The time of doing "signs," as John calls them, which both attest to his being sent from God and serve as markers as to what his larger purpose in the world is all about.
3. The time of his death and all that it ushers in. This is how the rest of John most often uses the terms "my hour" or "the hour."

I vote for a rich melding of all these. John chooses to report this exchange between Jesus and Mary because it tells us so much. This first sign, done at a wedding, shows that Jesus' purpose in the world is to restore fellowship between God and mankind. There's a bigger wedding in the works, and Jesus himself is the bridegroom (John 3:29). This will be accomplished, of course, through the cross. So the "hour" in John 2 is a marker preparing us for the "hour" of Jesus' arrest, death and resurrection spoken of often in chapters 7 and on.

It also happens that Jesus was not quite ready to start the meaty part of his public ministry. But the language he uses shows that he was, as always, thinking beyond that particular circumstance.


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## Eoghan (Nov 8, 2011)

In clarifying the chronology - Jesus seems to have waited until AFTER John's arrest. Did He do _*any*_ miracles prior to John's arrest?

(I was misreading 1:43 to be a preaching tour instead of traveling to the wedding.)


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## Jack K (Nov 8, 2011)

Eoghan said:


> Did He do any miracles prior to John's arrest?



Am I understanding your question correctly?

It would seem from the text that he cerrtainly did. There's not just the one in Cana, but also signs done during the Passover in Jerusalem (mentioned in 2:23 and referenced by Nicodemus in 3:2). John is still ministering after these things take place, according to 3:22. The text tells of a second sign in Galilee in 4:54, but clearly this is not the second sign overall, just the second one John chooses to tell about in detail and perhaps the second overall that takes place in Galilee.


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