JESUS TURNS WATER INTO WINE AND CALMS THE STORM
MEMORY VERSE
John 20:31, ESV
but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
DAY 1
JOHN 2:1-5, NIrV
1 On the third day there was a wedding. It took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Dear woman, why are you telling me about this?” Jesus replied. “The time for me to show who I really am isn’t here yet.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do what he tells you.”
BIBLE STUDY
At a wedding party with some of his disciples, Jesus’ mom let him know, “They’ve run out of wine to drink!” Mary wasn't asking her son to run to the store to pick some more up. Instead, it sure seems like she wanted Jesus to use his Son-of-God miracle power to solve her party problem! Jesus told her, “My hour (or time) has not come yet.” What did he mean? Jesus came to earth on a rescue mission. One day, he would use his miracle power to show the world he was the special savior sent to save us from sin. But this wine-less wedding wasn't the right time to reveal his secret identity.
+ Where did this wedding take place? (vs. 1)
+ What did Mary say to the servants? (vs. 5)
DAY 2
JOHN 2:6-8, NIrV
6 Six stone water jars stood nearby. The Jews used water from that kind of jar for special washings. They did that to make themselves pure and “clean.” Each jar could hold 20 to 30 gallons.
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the top.
8 Then he told them, “Now dip some out. Take it to the person in charge of the dinner.”
They did what he said.
BIBLE STUDY
The time wasn't right for Jesus to let the world know about his secret identity. Still, he got to work solving his mother's party problem. He ordered the wedding servants to fill six large jars with water. This was enough water to fill two whole bathtubs! When they finished, Jesus told them to lug those enormous water jars over to the person in charge of the wedding party. You might be thinking, "Uh, Jesus? I think you made a mistake. Mary asked for wine, not water!" But Jesus was not a man who ever made mistakes. Instead, he was a man about to do the very first of many mighty miracles!
+ What were these stone jars normally used for? (vs. 6)
+ Where did Jesus tell the servants to take the jars of water? (vs. 8)
DAY 3
JOHN 2:9-11, NIrV
9 The person in charge tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He didn’t realize where it had come from. But the servants who had brought the water knew. Then the person in charge called the groom to one side. 10 He said to him, “Everyone brings out the best wine first. They bring out the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink. But you have saved the best until now.”
11 What Jesus did here in Cana in Galilee was the first of his signs. Jesus showed his glory by doing this sign. And his disciples believed in him.
BIBLE STUDY
The Bible doesn’t tell us when, but by the time the person in charge of the party tasted it, the water in the jars transformed into wine. This was no ordinary wine, either. The party master gave it two thumbs way up! Jesus had secretly turned six jars of water (enough to fill two bathtubs) into the best-tasting wine. It was his very first miracle and no one but the disciples and the servants saw it! The book of John calls it a “sign.” Turning water into wine was a sign that Jesus was no ordinary man. Such a wonder showed he was the Son of God. After seeing it, his disciples believed in him!
+ Besides Jesus and his disciples, who else knew about this miracle? (vs. 9)
+ Why was Jesus able to turn water into wine?
DAY 4
MARK 4:35-38, NIRV
35 When evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” 36 They left the crowd behind. And they took him along in a boat, just as he was. There were also other boats with him. 37 A wild storm came up. Waves crashed over the boat. It was about to sink. 38 Jesus was in the back, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him up. They said, “Teacher! Don’t you care if we drown?”
BIBLE STUDY
Jesus and his disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee, a lake famous for sudden, scary, swirling windstorms. It was evening and the sky was getting darker every minute. That sounds scary, but four of Jesus' disciples were fishermen. They’d spent half of their lives on boats. Sailing across the sea was easy-breezy for them. However, they were struck by a sudden storm unlike any they had seen before! The wild wind whipped the water into waves. Their boat rocked and began to fill with water. Soon, it would sink and the only one in the boat who wasn't scared was snoozing like a baby!
+ Why were the disciples afraid? (vs. 37)
+ What did the disciples say to Jesus when they woke him up? (vs. 38)
DAY 5
MARK 4:39, NIRV
39 He got up and ordered the wind to stop. He said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down. And it was completely calm.
BIBLE STUDY
Perhaps you wondered, “How could Jesus possibly snooze during a scary storm?” Was he simply super sleepy? Or maybe he wasn’t worried because he trusted his Father (God) to take care of him. The Bible doesn’t give us an answer to that question. But it does tell us exactly what happened after the disciples woke Jesus up from his nap. Like a dad shushing a noisy child who was supposed to be sleeping, Jesus told the sea, “Hey! Be quiet!” Yes, you read that right: he talked to the sea! Even crazier, the Sea of Galilee obeyed! At once, the wind stopped blowing and the waves stopped rolling.
+ What did Jesus say to the sea? (vs. 39)
+ Why did the Sea of Galilee obey Jesus’ command?
DAY 6
MARK 4:40-41, NIRV
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Don’t you have any faith at all yet?”
41 They were terrified. They asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
BIBLE STUDY
After speaking to the sea, Jesus had something to say to his disciples, too. "Why are you so scared?" he asked. "Don't you have faith?" Why would Jesus ask a question like that? It's pretty obvious to anyone why the disciples were scared – they had been moments away from sinking to the bottom of a stormy sea!
For Jesus’ question to make sense, we need to understand the word “faith.” To have faith is to believe or trust in something or someone. When you sit on a chair, you need to have faith. When you sit down, you trust that it will hold you up and not break apart. When a skydiver jumps out of a plane, they need to have faith. They need to trust that their parachute will keep them from splatting into the ground!
Jesus’ question tells us why the disciples were so scared. They didn’t have faith. They didn’t believe or trust that God would keep them safe and sound in the storm. They didn’t have faith that Jesus, the miracle-working man snoozing in the back of the boat, could rescue them from the swirling Sea of Galilee.
At this point in the story of the New Testament, the disciples had seen Jesus perform many miracles. They watched as he turned water into wine. They looked on as he healed the legs of a man who couldn’t walk. They saw him send away demons, heal the sick, and even raise a child from the dead. Jesus’ many miracles were signs saying, “There’s something special about this man!”
After seeing Jesus speak to the sea and send it to sleep, the disciples asked each other, “Who is this guy? Even the wind and waves obey him!” The answer to that question is easy: he’s Jesus, the Son of God. Of course the Sea of Galilee listens to him. Jesus was the one who created it!
The miracles of Jesus are some of the most interesting stories to read in the Bible. But we should always remember that Jesus didn’t do these things just so we’d have a good story to read. Every miracle was a sign showing us his secret identity: the Son of God, sent to save the world from their sins!
Turning water into wine and calming a storm were impressive, no doubt! But Jesus saved his greatest miracle for last. After dying on the cross to pay for our sins, he raised himself back to life again on the third day. After seeing that amazing sign, there should be no doubt in our minds: Jesus really was the Son of God!
So, what should you and I do after seeing all the signs showing who Jesus was? Simple! We should have faith. We should trust that Jesus, the one who speaks to storms, is strong enough to save us from our sins!
+ What did the disciples say to each other after Jesus calmed the storm? (vs. 41)
+ Jesus’ miracles are signs he was no ordinary man. What do they tell us about him?
© 2023 Andrew Doane. All rights reserved.