OneBook: The Gospel of John
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IntroductionWelcome to the OneBook Daily-Weekly
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Week One - Jesus Changes Water into Wine and Clears the Temple CourtsWeek One: Introduction
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Week One: Day One - Wedding Faux Pas
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Week One: Day Two - Saving The Best for Last
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Week One: Day Three - Trailing Clouds of Glory
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Week One: Day Four - Temple Tantrum
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Week One: Day Five - A Temple Raised in Record Time
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Week One: Gathering
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Week Two - Jesus Teaches NicodemusWeek Two: Introduction
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Week Two: Day One - Night Vision
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Week Two: Day Two - Twice Born
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Week Two: Day Three - Lifted Up
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Week Two: Day Four - Love's Gift
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Week Two: Day Five - Final Verdict
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Week Two: Gathering
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Week Three - Jesus Talks with a Samaritan WomanWeek Three: Introduction
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Week Three: Day One - Oh, Well
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Week Three: Day Two - Thirst Quencher
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Week Three: Day Three - All Will Be Revealed
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Week Three: Day Four - Food for Thought
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Week Three: Day Five - The Test of Testimony
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Week Three: Gathering
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Week Four - Jesus Heals a Man Born BlindWeek Four: Introduction
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Week Four: Day One - Born Blind
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Week Four: Day Two - Holy Spit!
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Week Four: Day Three - Prophet and Loss
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Week Four: Day Four - Passing the Buck
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Week Four: Day Five - Redeemer to the Rescue
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Week Four: Gathering
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Week Five - The Good Shepherd and His SheepWeek Five: Introduction
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Week Five: Day One - Sheep-Stealing
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Week Five: Day Two - Calling Them by Name
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Week Five: Day Three - Abandon Doubt, All Ye Who Enter Here
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Week Five: Day Four - The Owner Versus the Hired Hand
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Week Five: Day Five - Other Sheep Not of This Fold
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Week Five: Gathering
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Week Six - Lazarus Raised from the DeadWeek Six: Introduction
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Week Six: Day One - A Dire Situation
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Week Six: Day Two - Martha Confronts Jesus
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Week Six: Day Three - Mary, Did You Know?
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Week Six: Day Four - An Heir-Raising Incident
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Week Six: Day Five - The Plot Thickens and Sickens
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Week Six: Gathering
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Week Seven - Jesus' Triumphal Entry into JerusalemWeek Seven: Introduction
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Week Seven: Day One - A Prophetic Anointing
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Week Seven: Day Two - When Love Comes to Town
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Week Seven: Day Three - The Greeks Come Calling
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Week Seven: Day Four - A Voice from on High
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Week Seven: Day Five - Crowd Control
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Week Seven: Gathering
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Week Eight - The Last SupperWeek Eight: Introduction
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Week Eight: Day One - Prime Time
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Week Eight: Day Two - Peter Puts His Foot in His Mouth
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Week Eight: Day Three - The Imitation of Christ
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Week Eight: Day Four - "Lord, Is It I?"
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Week Eight: Day Five - Simon Says
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Week Eight: Gathering
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Week Nine - Farewell DiscourseWeek Nine: Introduction
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Week Nine: Day One - The Genuine Divine Vine
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Week Nine: Day Two - The Love Command
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Week Nine: Day Three - Hate Crimes
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Week Nine: Day Four - The Advocate
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Week Nine: Day Five - Unbearable Truths
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Week Nine: Gathering
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Week Ten - The Death of JesusWeek Ten: Introduction
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Week Ten: Day One - The King and the Governor
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Week Ten: Day Two - The Son of Abba and the Son of God
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Week Ten : Day Three - No King but Caesar
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Week Ten: Day Four - The Title and the Robe
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Week Ten: Day Five - The Last Will and Testament of the King
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Week Ten: Gathering
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Week Eleven - Jesus' Resurrection and AppearancesWeek Eleven: Introduction
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Week Eleven: Day One - Tomb Raiders
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Week Eleven: Day Two - Mary, Mary Extraordinary
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Week Eleven: Day Three - The First Sunday Night Appearance
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Week Eleven: Day Four - Just Another Sunday Night, Until...
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Week Eleven: Day Five - The Purpose of This Good News
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Week Eleven: Gathering
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Week Twelve - Jesus' Appearance by the Sea of GalileeWeek Twelve: Introduction
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Week Twelve: Day One - Let's Go Fishing
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Week Twelve: Day Two - The Light Dawns
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Week Twelve: Day Three - Breakfast by the Sea
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Week Twelve: Day Four - Do You Really Love Me?
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Week Twelve: Day Five - Don't Look Back
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Week Twelve: Gathering
Week One: Day Three – Trailing Clouds of Glory
John 2:11–12 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. 12After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
Understanding the Word. The culmination of the story tells us that this was the first of Jesus’ semi-public sign miracles, revealing his glory, and that it was the disciples themselves who believed in him. We must be careful not to download all of the later Christian faith into the word believe when we hear something like verse 11. Here it likely means they came to believe what Mary already knew—namely, that Jesus could perform miracles. Throughout this gospel there is not only a crescendo of the miraculous, but there is also a crescendo of confessions of who Jesus is. The resurrection of Jesus is the climactic miracle (foreshadowed by the last sign narrative about the raising of Lazarus) and is followed finally by a confession of “my Lord and my God” by Thomas, which matches up with what the prologue in John 1 says about Jesus. Ironically it is only unbelieving Thomas’s confession after seeing that proves to be a fully adequate confession of who Jesus is.
Verse 12 is interesting because it suggests that we are in a period of overlap between the time that Jesus was still at home with his family as an adult, and when he left his family behind and traveled with his disciples. This then would be a story from very early in Jesus’ ministerial career. Notice it is Capernaum (or more properly, Kefer Nahum—the village of the prophet Nahum) where they go. Capernaum was to become Jesus’ base of operations, probably based in the home of Peter’s mother-in-law (which can possibly be seen today underneath the modern Franciscan church at Capernaum). This story should be compared to Mark 3:21, 31–35, where Jesus distances himself from his physical family because they not only fail to understand him; they are even worried (based probably on the exor- cisms) that Jesus is playing with fire, or as the text suggests, is not in his right mind. The story of Jesus and his relationship with his brothers is even more problematic than that with his mother. As John 7:5 will inform us, Jesus’ brothers did not believe in him during his ministry. This did not mean they didn’t believe he could do remarkable miracles, like the one at Cana. It meant that they didn’t think that he was the Messiah, the Savior of the world. It was only after Easter, and because of an appearance of the risen Jesus specifically to his brother James, that this situation seems to have changed (see 1 Cor. 15:7). Acts 1:14 tells us there is a happy ending to this story, for we find Mary and the brothers in the Upper Room, praying in preparation for Pentecost with the other disciples. This is the last direct reference to Mary in the Gospels and in Acts, and perhaps the last one in the whole New Testament.
Questions
- What do you make of Jesus’ relationship with his brothers? Compare it to the relationship of Joseph with his brothers in Genesis.
- What does “believe” seem to mean in John 2?
- The term “glory” comes up a good deal in the Fourth Gospel (see, for example, John 1:14—“we have seen his glory”). What do you think it refers to?