John 2

₁Three days later Mary, the mother of Jesus, was at a wedding feast in the village of Cana in Galilee. ₂Jesus and his disciples had also been invited and were there.

₃When the wine was all gone, Mary said to Jesus, “They don't have any more wine.”

₄Jesus replied, “Mother, my time hasn't yet come! You must not tell me what to do.”

₅Mary then said to the servants, “Do whatever Jesus tells you to do.”

₆At the feast there were six stone water jars that were used by the people for washing themselves in the way that their religion said they must. Each jar held about a hundred litres. ₇Jesus told the servants to fill them to the top with water. Then after the jars had been filled, ₈he said, “Now take some water and give it to the man in charge of the feast.”

The servants did as Jesus told them, ₉and the man in charge drank some of the water that had now turned into wine. He did not know where the wine had come from, but the servants did. He called the bridegroom over ₁₀and said, “The best wine is always served first. Then after the guests have had plenty, the other wine is served. But you have kept the best until last!”

₁₁This was Jesus' first miracle, and he did it in the village of Cana in Galilee. There Jesus showed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. ₁₂After this, he went with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples to the town of Capernaum, where they stayed for a few days.

₁₃Not long before the Jewish festival of Passover, Jesus went to Jerusalem. ₁₄There he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves in the temple. He also saw moneychangers sitting at their tables. ₁₅So he took some rope and made a whip. Then he chased everyone out of the temple, together with their sheep and cattle. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and scattered their coins.

₁₆Jesus said to the people who had been selling doves, “Get those doves out of here! Don't make my Father's house a market place.”

₁₇The disciples then remembered that the Scriptures say, “My love for your house burns in me like a fire.”

₁₈The Jewish leaders asked Jesus, “What miracle will you perform to show us why you have done this?”

₁₉“Destroy this temple,” Jesus answered, “and in three days I will build it again!”

₂₀The leaders replied, “It took forty-six years to build this temple. What makes you think you can rebuild it in three days?”

₂₁But Jesus was talking about his body as a temple. ₂₂And when he was raised from death, his disciples remembered what he had told them. Then they believed the Scriptures and the words of Jesus.

₂₃In Jerusalem during Passover many people put their faith in Jesus, because they saw him perform miracles. ₂₄But Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and he would not let them have power over him. ₂₅No one had to tell him what people were like. He already knew.