RebeccaMallinson

I think it is over-analysing the miracle to wonder why it was a behind the scenes miracle. It is clear that this miracle sprang from Mary’s suggestion, not fore-thought on Jesus’s part. If he was trying to protect anybody (and I am not sure that he was) it was Mary’s feelings. She knew his capabilities and had faith that he could help with an immediate human problem of social embarrassment. The quantity of wine tells us of God’s generosity to us. The quality of the wine tells us that God will always give us the best of everything. There are no half-measures. Both speak of God’s love for us. You do not ask, but I think ‘saving the best till last’ was a very important message in the story. We can read it as showing that the best is to come for us all if we have faith, as Mary did.

I think alcoholics often grasp at straws to support their status quo as it is extremely hard to beat addiction. Drunkenness is wrong, not wine-drinking. Jesus mentions elsewhere that he is accused of being a glutton and drunkard, which shows us that he liked to drink, even if ‘drunkenness’ was probably an exaggeration. As well as drinking himself, he uses vineyards and grape vines in his parables without any condemnation. Most importantly he asks us to commemorate his death with bread and wine. We can avoid excesses by bearing in mind Jesus’s teaching that a man cannot love two masters. In that instance he was referring to money, but he could equally have been talking about any other excess, such as sex, fashion or addictions to alcohol or drugs. These can all become forms of idolatry. We need enough money to eat, to be clothed and we should enjoy the things that God created. He gave us the ability to make wine and, as mentioned, wine is referred to many times in the Bible in positive terms. Problems start if we become obsessive about anything as this creates false gods.

I think even though there is no mention in any of the Gospels, during the previous 30 years Mary must have witnessed Jesus’s miraculous powers otherwise she would not have appealed to him in this way. She knows that he can help. Her words are appropriate to any person of faith who puts their trust in Jesus. However I don’t think she knows the enormity of his mission or that he is about to start the most important phase of his time on earth. I don’t think his response is a rebuke. I think he must have seen a purpose in the miracle or he would not have done it. In Christian terms, I believe this passage shows us that even Jesus suffered the conflict between family and religious mission.

There are different reasons we are sometimes too busy for family and relatives, both negative and positive. On the positive side, we should always prioritise God’s work ahead of human work. This can even mean moving away from family altogether (as Jesus advises his disciples to do). On the negative side, we should avoid reasons for being busy that are purely selfish. Love should be the bedrock of the reasons either for spending time with family or doing God’s work elsewhere instead. Jesus’s presence at the wedding tells us that he didn’t consider that his mission had started yet. He was still very much a part of his human family. He did know that it would happen at some stage as is pointed out when he said to his mother, ‘my time has not yet come’. A time will come very shortly when his ‘Father’s business’ with take precedence over all else and his human family will feel neglected. To apply this learning to our own lives we have to analyse whether we are doing God’s business or our own, totally material business and prioritise accordingly. Jesus does not ignore his family completely (notably by making provision for his mother when he was dying on the cross), but he does have very clear priorities.

It is not exact. Daniel saw Christ at the right hand of the Father. Jesus predicts that Nathaniel will see angels coming and going between heaven and earth. Both passages show the glory of his relationship with God the Father. It is an eternal ministry, so there will be no end, even after Judgement Day.

He praises him as a ‘true Israelite’ and when Nathaniel asks how Jesus knows this about him, tells him that he saw him under a fig tree. This must relate to an important incident in Nathaniel’s life, because it is enough for Nathaniel to realise that Jesus really is the Messiah. The nature of the miracle is the ability to know something about Nathaniel’s life which could not be known under normal circumstances. Nathaniel calls Jesus the Son of God and King of Israel.

Andrew introduced his brother Simon Peter to Jesus. Simply bringing someone to church is unlikely (I think) to bring someone to Jesus, unless maybe they had been Christians who were being brought back and simply reminded of what they had left behind. I think a much better way to introduce Jesus to act in a truly Christian spirit in our lives and in our dealings with others. Taking someone to church will be a very different experience from meeting someone on their own ground. I can’t think of any similarities.

I can only guess why Jesus didn’t tell his would-be disciples where he was staying. I think it was possibly so that they would come with him immediately (striking while the iron was hot and their enthusiasm fresh). Sometimes if we have too much time to think we make excuses for ourselves and don’t follow our impulses. It was important for the disciples to be with Jesus as they had been told of his coming by John the Baptist and that he was the actual Messiah. ‘Being with’ Jesus today means following his example and living our lives according to his word, not the ways of the world.

John the Baptist made the recommendation. It cost him his disciples, but he did not see this as a negative thing. He had told everyone that he was there to prepare a way for the Lord. Now he was pointing people directly towards the Lord, so his role was now fulfilled.

John the Baptist’s baptism differs in being a cleansing of sins and a drawing of a line from the past sinful life to a new penitent life. The baptism Jesus brings is one in which we are armed with the Holy Spirit to be able to go out and set an example to others of Christ-like living and preach the message of salvation. A baptism of the Holy Spirit implies, like John’s baptism, a whole new and unblemished life, but with the gift of the Holy Spirit added. We may not all speak in tongues. I think the main gift is the gift of courage to do what we could never previously have done.

I think the title Lamb of God tells us two things. Firstly that he is spotless and without blemish and totally innocent. Secondly that he is to be the ultimate sacrifice, because of this extreme purity and that he is ‘of God’. He came to take away the sins of the world, not just the Jews, but everybody. This is puzzling to me as it contradicts other parts of the Gospels (including John 1:11) that state that he came firstly to Israel and only when they refused to acknowledge him did he go to the Gentiles. Jesus fulfils Isaiah 53 perfectly and goes into a great deal of detail about how he is the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Outwardly he is like an ordinary person (‘no form or majesty that we should look at him’) He was despised and rejected by men. The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all (in other words he was sacrificed for the sins of us all). The analogy with the sacrificial lamb is there, emphasising that he made no protest.

John baptised to cleanse people from spiritual impurity. They had to be willing to repent of their sins first. The immersion in water symbolises washing, but in a spiritual rather than physical sense. It would represent a marker in a person’s life that they would draw a line and lead a new and righteous life from that point on.

I am not sure if ‘hassled’ is the right word. I think it was a purely fact-finding mission. Religious leaders are supposed to lead and make sure that the faithful do not go off track, even more so when they are also responsible for the judicial system. There are records of other religious movements at that time, such as the Sadducees and the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls (name?). Some were more acceptable to the religious authorities than others. If they were worried about anything, it was the start of a new sect. They might even have been willing to believe that John the Baptist fulfilled the prophesies. Their difficulty later on proves that their belief would have to be on their own terms. John understood his own message as to be the herald of the Messiah. As far as I can see the only conflict he faced was due to the type of people who came for baptism. These were often the poor and marginalised ‘bad’ people. As far as I know from the Gospels, he was not persecuted for this. His arrest and execution were due to his outspokenness against a practice which was totally opposed to Judaic law, so the religious authorities had no hand in it at all.I am not sure if ‘hassled’ is the right word. I think it was a purely fact-finding mission. Religious leaders are supposed to lead and make sure that the faithful do not go off track, even more so when they are also responsible for the judicial system. There are records of other religious movements at that time, such as the Sadducees and the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some were more acceptable to the religious authorities than others. If they were worried about anything, it was the start of a new sect. They might even have been willing to believe that John the Baptist fulfilled the prophesies. Their difficulty later on proves that their belief would have to be on their own terms. John understood his own message as to be the herald of the Messiah. As far as I can see the only conflict he faced was due to the type of people who came for baptism. These were often the poor and marginalised ‘bad’ people. As far as I know from the Gospels, he was not persecuted for this. His arrest and execution were due to his outspokenness against a practice which was totally opposed to Judaic law, so the religious authorities had no hand in it at all.

I think ‘Only God’ means that Jesus is fully divine. ‘Only begotten God’ means that this fully divine person was conceived and born (took flesh). Yes, John does make a distinction by saying that Jesus ‘made God known’, almost as though he is a separate being. Jesus also often places himself as subordinate, for example as sitting at the right hand of the Father. At this stage of the Gospel we hear a very clear outline of the unity and separate being of Father and Son. This is very helpful to our understanding of the nature of the Trinity. All that is required now is the addition of the Holy Spirit, who is mentioned in St Luke’s Gospel at the time of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth, in other words right from the beginning of Christ’s incarnation.

God becoming flesh is extremely important to Christians because it demonstrates how much God cares for us all. If Christ’s life were a pretence our faith would be misplaced. It helps me personally, knowing that God has experienced first-hand the problems of life, including physical pain, temptations and the problems of human interaction. As mentioned in a previous questions my life was utterly changed by God’s compassion following a very difficult time in my life. I wept bitter tears and He turned my life around completely.

To receive Jesus is to accept and welcome him into our lives. To believe in Jesus is to realise that he truly is God, not just a prophet. Those who receive and believe in Jesus become Sons of God by adoption. They are therefore close to Him and live spiritually rich lives, abandoning material lives as far as possible. Those who do not are blinded by the material world. This is extremely sad for their souls. We are called to try to awaken them as an act of mercy.

Q2: What did it mean that John was sent to testify to the light? John the Baptist came as a herald, to point people towards the ‘light’. Hence, when he saw Jesus, he said to his own followers, ‘Behold the Lamb of God.’ People tried to stir up competition between John and Jesus but John was pleased when people left him to follow Jesus. In what sense are you put here with the purpose of testifying to the light? As Christians we are all expected to testify for the light and against darkness. Depending on which church we come from this can be through vows made at adult baptism or confirmation. I was told to be a ‘soldier of Christ’. We are expected to use all our talents, heart, soul and mind for this purpose. How are you doing in this regard? I have improved slowly over the years, although I am clearly a fallible human and there will always be an internal battle of light against darkness. When I was confirmed as a child of 11, I was terrified at the responsibility and it took a great many years of thought, church attendance and gradually becoming more involved in voluntary work for marginalised people of various types. These marched hand in hand with increased discipline in my personal life as I tried to give a more ‘Christ-like’ example to my family. What happened to John the Baptist? John the Baptist paid with his life. ‘Darkness’ caused his death. What might happen to you if you testify clearly? I am going to write about my own past experience. England is a bad place for Christians as atheism becomes more and more prevalent. A few years ago I faced (for me) the ultimate horror. Despite my attempts to bring my children up as Christians they decided to believe all the scoffers and lost all faith and respect for me as their mother. They turned their backs on me. As a result I lost my family. I was even unable to see my small grandchildren. The bottom dropped out of my world. I then had a vision telling me to go to the Third World as a volunteer. As a result of the ‘darkness’ I faced before, I was rewarded with a wonderful new life. It turned out that God wanted me to work on removing barriers of various types and preaching the love of God for all. It is uphill work, but I believe that God meant me to have the terrible difficulties I faced earlier, for the experience and strength it gave me. I am in the position of mother to children who are in far greater need than my own children. I love them dearly and I have never received so much love in return as I have from these orphans. I testify to them all the time. There is a lot of darkness in South Sudan, which needs to be overcome with love of neighbour (other tribes and religions). Life here is far less predictable than in England. My wonderful new life could cause my death. To me this does not matter. I am extremely grateful for my chance to change my life and get this wonderful opportunity to testify to the light. In case you are feeling sorry for me, don’t. A miracle happened during my first year in Sudan. My children’s hearts were softened and they are no longer out of communication. There has been forgiveness all around. I pray that the miracle will continue so that they have a Damascus experience to bring them back to Christ. What might happen to the people to whom you testify? The people to whom we testify are given a wonderful chance that will not otherwise occur. They will have the joy of walking in the light rather than the violent, selfish and miserable darkness. Whatever troubles life throws at them they will have spiritual comfort. Yes, it is possible that they will suffer for their faith, but if that faith is strong, they will be rewarded richly. When they die, they will be with God.

According to John is Jesus fully God? Yes, he makes it very clear that Jesus is a part of God (the Word was with God and the Word was God’) and all things are made ‘through him’. It is not therefore possible to separate God and Jesus although they are at the same time distinct from each other. What does it mean that Jesus is the Word? In the beginning God spoke and the world was created through his words. The actual words spoken gave life where before there had been nothing. This was an entirely supernatural event. Our own words are just so much hot air and have no means of doing anything without actions to back them up. This is not the case with God, whose own words are life. I once read that it is not surprising that Jesus rose from the dead because he is the Word, which is life itself. It was therefore impossible for him to be killed permanently. What does this say about him and his ministry? Jesus’s ministry, unlike the ministries of the prophets before him, has total authority as he is God himself. It is therefore a divine ministry. The message is of Salvation and Eternal Life, which is very fitting as his Word is life itself.

Hi, my name is Rebecca. I am a British volunteer living in South Sudan where I live at an orphanage. I also teach English in their primary school. I am the only Catholic living at an Evangelical institution. I spend a lot of my time trying to break barriers between types of Christian and tribes. I am often asked to lead early morning devotions at the orpphanage and have also started a weekly Bible study session for the children. I have found JesusWalk very useful for this, along with my own experiences and church teaching. I have always loved the St John's Gospel and look forward to this study.