Verse-by-verse Bible Study With Paul Woodley John 1 thru John 2:17

Hey, what's up guys? Paul Woodley here, and it's been a few years since I did a Facebook Live. And so partly what I'm doing today is practicing my Facebook Live, practicing video, getting into the word, and starting a new coaching program, by the way, for Christian business leaders. Um, today's Saturday. I was at church early today with, uh, my brothers in a men's Bible study. I wasn't a men's Bible study, but a men's group. And, uh, my brother, uh, Kedmeel, uh, had a great verse today out of John talking about us being, um, where Jesus says, I am the vine, you are the branches. Apart from me you could do nothing. And I was really meditating on that because that's one of my favorite verses. It is so true that we really can't do anything without Jesus. And when we start to think that we can do things outside of our own power, then we'll start getting a little delusional, in my opinion. So anyways, today I thought I'd start here with the video. I'm going to read some scripture. Feel free to hang, hang with me if you want. I'm doing a few tests here as well. I'll probably post this on my website at paulwoodley.com or on my YouTube channel. So that is, that is something that I'm also developing is my YouTube channel. I've had it since the beginning of YouTube, but I have no subscribers, ironically. So I want to see what the word can do. Obviously, the main point here is to get the word out. The parable of the seed and soils is, uh, this is the word, right? The Bible says that the seed is the word of God. So we're just gonna— we're gonna speak, and hopefully I'll speak life into somebody. I certainly am speaking life into myself. But I'm going to read out of the book of John, uh, probably do, uh, maybe John 1 only today, and then, uh, and then we'll just, uh we'll just end in prayer or something like that. Sound good? Okay, um, let's, let's begin.

John 1, chapter 1.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.

He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Verse 14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about him and cried out, This was he of whom I said, "He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me." For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

19.

And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?' he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, 'I am not the Christ.' And they asked him, 'What then?

Are you Elijah?' He said, 'I'm not. Are you the prophet?' And he answered, 'No.' So they said to him, 'Who are you?

We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?' He said, 'I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, "Make straight the way of the Lord," as the prophet Isaiah said.' 24. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, 'Then why are you baptizing if you are neither the Christ nor Elijah nor the Prophet?' John answered them, 'I baptize with water, but among you stands one who you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.' These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. Verse 29: The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me. I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel. And John bore witness, 'I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, "He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit."' And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.' Verse 35: 'The next day, John— the next day again, John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, 'Behold the Lamb of God!' The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, 'What are you seeking?' And they said to him, 'Rabbi,' which means teacher, 'where are you staying?' He said to them, 'Come and you will see.' So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the 10th hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah!' (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas!' (which means Peter). The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, 'Follow me!' Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47. Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said to him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!' Nathanael said to him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' Nathanael answered him, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God!' You are the King of Israel. Verse 50. Jesus answered him, because I said to you I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these. And he said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.

Amen. That's chapter 1 of John. I'm going to go on into chapter 2, the wedding at Cana.

On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. Verse 3, when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, They have no wine. Now guys, I'm going to start going in and out with my own observations, and this is how I do Bible study.

And when I do study groups, this is how I do it as well. So I share this with you because if you are going to do your own Bible study, you may want to do it the same way.

So what I do when I read the Bible is I'm trying to put myself into the story, so, and I'm trying to make observations. So here we already know, now we're in chapter 2, and we're seeing that this is the, uh, wedding at Cana where Jesus is going to turn water into wine, right? So I want you guys to pay attention to who is in the story now, right? So I want you to start asking yourselves the questions, and you can follow along if you have your own Bible. Okay, well, where are we? What time of day is it? Maybe who is in the scene, right? So this is what we know. We know that on the third day there was a wedding. So there was a wedding going on in a place called Cana in Galilee. And now we're introduced to Mary, right?

It says in verse 1, uh, the mother of Jesus was there is how we are— we see her introduced.

And then it says here in verse 2 that Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. So now they're going to this wedding, uh, and they're invited to the wedding.

So they obviously know the people.

And it goes on to say in verse 3, the mother of Jesus said to him—

to Jesus, her son—

they have no wine. Now, to this point, we have no miracles recorded by Jesus, but this is where things start to start. So Jesus says to her, his mother, interesting enough, he says this: Woman, what does this have to do with me?

And I don't know about you, but I don't know, I wouldn't call my mother woman. But it's very interesting that he calls her woman, right, instead of mom, so forth.

But now we're starting to see that there is a— Jesus is at a different point in his life where he can talk like that.

And we're going to start to see this as it evolves, as the story goes on through scripture.

But Mary is there and she's concerned. She's, you know, she, she sees that they've run out of wine. And she knows somehow that Jesus can do something about it. So she tells, hey, there's— they're running out of wine. So she says to him, they have no wine. And Jesus, verse 4, says, woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you.

That's verse 5.

Now verse 6 goes on. Now there were 6 stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons. So those are about 2 feet tall-ish, 3 feet tall. They're— they hold 30 gallons. And Jesus said to the servants, verse 7, fill the jars with water. And they fill them up to the brim. And he said to them, 'Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.' So they took it. Verse 9: When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine and did not know where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew, the master of the feast called the bridegroom— that's the husband— and said to him, verse 10: Everyone serves the good wine first, And when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.' Now, you probably heard this preached before or know this yourselves, but back then, according to the scripture here, that's exactly how they did parties. And maybe that's how they do parties to this day. It's like, let's put out the cheap wine first because it's expensive.

Let's get everyone filled up on the cheap wine before we start giving out the good wine, right?

So, but he's saying here, wow, this wine here is even better than the beginning wine. So verse 11 continues, this was the first of his signs Jesus did at Cana in Galilee and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him. So we see that as his first sign. Now we go on to verse 12. After this, he went down to Capernaum with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days. Verse 13. The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple, he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, 'Take these things away. Do not make my Father's house a house of trade.' 17. His disciples remembered that it was written, quote, Zeal for your house will consume me. Now we're going to end here today in verse 17. We'll pick it up at another time, maybe later today.

I'm going to change location because I'm playing with my camera here and my, my microphone, so hopefully you can hear me okay. Give me a thumbs up if you can hear me okay. Okay, I can see you guys in your comments as well, so we're testing camera as well. Um, but an observation, then we'll pray, and then I gotta go pick up my son.

Observation here is we see the emotion of Jesus. We see that Jesus is upset. And there are many, many people, even Christians, that feel, oh well, Jesus is just loving, lovey-dovey, loving, loving God. But we have to remember that Jesus, uh, yes, fully human, fully God, but full of emotion and has been angry and is recorded to be angry. And that's important because God does get angry at us, especially when it deals with unrighteousness and unrighteous behavior. And here's the first exhibit in chapter 2. We, we see here, according to verse 17, zeal for your house will consume me, is that the Son of God, Jesus, is upset that the temple has been turned into a trade house. All right, all right, so let's just end there, guys. I appreciate you. By the way, I'm reading, uh, out of the NASB today.

Um, I have other versions I'll read out too, but let's pray. I pray for all of you. I pray that you guys are doing well. Um, first time in many years I went live. Hopefully I will do more of these. So let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this time in your Word, and we know that your Word never goes out and returns to you void. I thank you, Lord, that you allow us here in America the freedom of speech, the freedom, the opportunity to read your Word in your Bible. We know, Lord, that there are many people in many parts of this world that don't have this opportunity, and it's a shame, Lord, that we take it for granted here in this country that we have the opportunity to read your Bible freely, yet many of us choose not to. We know that your word is truth, and we know that, Lord, if we can simply just embed that word in us and listen to it and try to understand it, that we would have a good future and a blessed life. But Lord, um, I just thank you for the listeners today, that they've heard your word, because just them hearing the word, we know that it's going to sanctify them and work, uh, what you want to work in them and in me. So, Lord, until we meet again, I just pray your blessings upon the hearer of this word, and I pray upon your church. I pray peace upon your church. I pray peace upon the world. I pray peace upon all of the stuff that's going on in Minnesota and all parts of the world. And, Lord, we know that you're in control. The government rests on your shoulders, and we have confidence in that. And we're not worried, Lord. We're not anxious because we know that you're in control. In the name of Jesus, I pray these things. Amen. Well, guys, you, uh, be blessed with the best. I'll see you next time. Thanks for joining me, and I'll see you, uh, a little bit later. Bye-bye.