The Gospel According To JohnSample

Passover Celebration: John 2:13-4:54

The second section dealing with Jesus’ public ministry is oriented around a Passover celebration in Jerusalem. We’ll refer to this as the first Passover because it’s the first one specifically named in John’s gospel. 

This section begins with John’s account of Jesus cleansing the temple by driving out the merchants in John 2:13-25. And once again, the focus was on Jesus’ identity. Consider what the Jews asked Jesus in John 2:18:

“What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

Jesus responded by foretelling his own death and resurrection, which would be the greatest sign in all his ministry that he was the Son of God.

In his comments after this report, found in 2:21-25, John mentioned that Jesus also performed many other signs, and that as a result many people believed in his name, at least superficially.

Next, John reported Jesus’ amazing conversation with Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council, in 3:1-21. And again, the emphasis was on Jesus’ identity, this time as both the “Son of Man” and the “Son of God,” and on the saving role he had been sent to perform. 

In John 3:22-36, we find another account of John the Baptist. In this one, John insisted that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. And he said that Jesus had come to testify about God and salvation, but that almost no one was receiving him in faith.

In John 4:1-42, John reported Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman at a well in Samaria. Once again, the emphasis was on Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, also called the Christ—the one who would come and explain all things to his people. By insisting that salvation would come through the Jews, and particularly through himself, Jesus challenged her way of thinking, and called her to find in him the life and reality of God that she had always wanted. And many Samaritans responded to this teaching by trusting in Jesus.

Finally, in John 4:43-54, John reported Jesus’ second miraculous sign. Like the first sign, this one also took place in Cana. But this time Jesus healed a child without even touching or seeing him. And not surprisingly, the emphasis in this story is on the fact that the miracle was intended to validate Jesus’ authority, and that it led to faith in those who witnessed it.

One important theme that runs throughout the section dealing with the first Passover is faith. John reported in 2:11 that after the first sign, the disciples believed in Jesus. In 4:42, the Samaritans believed because of Jesus’ teaching. And in 4:53, the family of the healed boy believed. Later, in John 7:50 and 19:39, we find reason to think that Nicodemus also became a believer in Jesus. Jesus’ signs and profound teaching were powerful testimonies to his identity and the salvation he offered, and many put their faith in him.