Revealed Authority

The past few weeks at ALIVE we have studied Jesus’ calling of some of His twelve disciples. We saw how John the Baptist had previously proclaimed Jesus’ identity as the Messiah to these men, and they immediately followed His calling in their lives. In this past week's lesson, we glimpse Jesus’ first miracle that causes His disciples to believe in Him. In the lesson to come for this coming Sunday night, we see that not only is Jesus the Messiah because He can perform miracles that no one else can but because He is the source of new and eternal life. Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus clearly expresses Jesus’ power to save.

The passage of scripture we studied was John 2:1-11

Biblical Truth/BIG IDEA - 

Jesus’ miracles revealed His divine authority and glorified God.

Learning Goals

• Explore: Understanding that Jesus’ miracles revealed His identity as the Messiah and glorified God.

• Transform: Beginning to know that we can trust God to work in our lives for His glory.

Importance:

This passage of Scripture is important for us because it shows the authority and glory of Jesus’ divine nature. By miraculously turning water into wine, Jesus demonstrated both His concern for others and His ability to meet any need at any time!

Like Mary, we must take our concerns to Jesus, trusting He will always do what is right and best. Then, we must leave the outcome to Him. Have you tried to dictate how God should meet a need you had? What was the result? Jesus changes things. Just as He changed the water into wine, He can change an old life into a new life. This was the main reason He came to earth: to open the door to abundant and eternal life that comes only through faith in Him. How has Jesus changed your life? What else does He want to change about you?

The miracle Jesus performed caused His disciples to put their faith in Him and commit to follow Him completely. His miracle exhibited His glory as God in human flesh. Though some have believed in Him because of what they’ve seen, Jesus said that people are “blessed” who believe in Him as Christ even when they have not seen Him nor seen His miraculous signs. What first caused you to place your faith in Jesus as God’s Son? How has your faith been confirmed and strengthened as you’ve followed Him since that initial experience?

1. We can trust Jesus to act for the glory of God alone (John 2:1–4).

Jesus’ actions during His life were not meant to make certain religious or political groups happy. He also did not live for the purpose of making His followers happy. Jesus kindly reminded His mother that He was not interested in appeasing people but rather that He lived for the glory of God alone. Jesus lives and presently acts for the glory of God. In turn, these actions are the best for those who follow Jesus but are primarily in God’s timing for God’s glory.

Jesus does not act in accordance to our own timetable or according to our own selfish wishes and desires. We can rejoice in the truth that we do not serve a God whose actions are determined by His followers. Rather, we can trust in a God who acts in the best interest of all by acting to make His glory known to all people.

2. We can trust Jesus to meet our needs for God’s glory (John 2:5–8).

Jesus cares about people and has compassion for their needs. Jesus knew of the social consequences that would happen to the newly married couple if they had run out of wine. He cared about their position. We can trust that Jesus is concerned about the needs that we have and will meet those needs in a way that will bring glory to God.

We can trust the truth that Jesus cares about our needs. He is concerned about our physical, spiritual, emotional, and social well-being. He will meet our needs in a way that brings God the most glory.

3. We can base our faith on Jesus as the revealed Messiah (John 2:9–11).

Jesus is not an imposter. Although He met a practical need for the wedding couple, His primary purpose for the miracle was to reveal Himself as the Messiah. He is the true Son of God and Messiah. We can trust in a Savior who is not false but has proven Himself as the revealed Messiah.

We do not place our faith in a false religion or in a false savior. We base our faith on Jesus as the true Messiah, and we can place our full faith on this truth. Through His miracles, Jesus showed complete evidence that He is the Messiah.

Conclusion: 

While meeting a practical need, Jesus revealed His glory to His followers.

Jesus began His public ministry by meeting a practical need. Beyond meeting a need, however, Jesus intended to show Himself as the Messiah to His followers. Because of His obedience to God, Christ’s followers believed in Him. We follow Jesus as the Messiah—the one who can save us from our sins. He has established Himself as the Messiah, and we can fully place our trust in Him.