Scripture and the Rosary Catholic Bible study lesson 23

Scripture & the Rosary:
New Testament Mysteries,
Old Testament Parallels

The Second Luminous Mystery

Lesson 23 You Have Kept the Good Wine Until Now
the Gospel According to John 2:1–11
the book of Exodus 17:1–7

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)*
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)*
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Rosarium Virginis Mariae (Rosary of the Virgin Mary)
ex libris (in our library)
cross references for Scripture & the Rosary
glossary for Scripture & the Rosary
next lesson: Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

This material coordinates with Lesson 23 on pages 88–91 in Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels.

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”
—the Gospel According to Luke 1:46–49

welcome to our in-depth study of Scripture & the Rosary
We invite groups and individuals to become acquainted with Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible studies through Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels, which has been granted an imprimatur. Although no longer available in print, the first six lessons can be downloaded from our website. The remaining 20 lessons are posted throughout the liturgical year along with their related online study pages. Click here to access Lesson 22 through Lesson 26. If you have a Bible-related question or comment, you can contact our authors using one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons on any online study page.

open with prayer
It’s always wise to begin any Bible study with prayer, whether reading the Scriptures alone or meeting with others in a discussion group. You can pray using your own words or use one of the opening prayers on our website. We especially like the following:

Lord Jesus, you promised to send your Holy Spirit to teach us all things.
As we read and study your word today,
allow it to touch our hearts and change our lives. Amen.

making connections—God satisfies our thirst
Lesson 23 in Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels looks at the Second Luminous Mystery, the Marriage at Cana. The New Testament text is taken from the Gospel According to John 2:1–11 . The Old Testament parallel text is the account of Moses striking the rock in the wilderness. It can be found in the book of Exodus 17:1–7. You can learn more about the wedding in Lesson 3 There Was a Marriage in Cana in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth. There’s additional information about Moses, including a description of events that led to him striking the rock, in Lesson 14 Manna from Heaven & Water from the Rock in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study You shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus. What Old Testament passage would you have chosen as a parallel to the Marriage at Cana?

let’s look at the new in the light of the old
Try to visualize the scene surrounding Jesus’ changing water to wine at the wedding in Cana. Now try to visualize the Israelites in the wilderness complaining of thirst. The following questions will help you to compare the two scenes. Additional in-depth questions can be found on pages 88–91 in Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels.

? What elements are the same in each situation?
? How do the scenes differ?
? How is God present and active at the wedding in Cana?
? How does this differ from the way that God is present and active in the Israelites’ passage through the wilderness?
? For what purpose might Jesus be performing the sign of changing water into wine at Cana?
? What significance might there be to the fact that this sign occurs at a wedding?
? In the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 10:1–4, Paul sees the Rock in the wilderness as Jesus Christ. How does this view reinforce the connection between the New Testament mystery of Jesus turning water into wine and the Old Testament parallel of water from the Rock in the wilderness ?
? How would the wedding guests have been likely to respond when Jesus provided wine for them to drink at their celebration?
? Compare that response with the way that the Israelites in the wilderness may have responded when they were provided with water to drink.
? In what way is Jesus’ sign of turning water into wine illuminating for Christians?
? What is the purpose of a sign?
? What is the most common form that signs now take in the Church?
? Consider how it is that people can recognize whether something is a sign from God.
? What reason might Jesus have had for choosing to use wine in the sacrament of the Eucharist?
? In what way does this sign of Jesus changing water into wine illuminate your own spiritual life?
? What is the most convincing sign that you’ve ever received from God?
? How did you interpret it?

supplemental Scripture
The second chapter in the Gospel According to John contains the only account of the Wedding at Cana, the first of the signs that Jesus performs in that Gospel. Familiarity with the entire Fourth Gospel will be helpful in understanding the wedding imagery connected with this Mystery of the Rosary, as well as a familiarity with the way that the Evangelist John focuses on signs instead of miracles. You can learn more in Lesson 3 There Was a Marriage in Cana in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth. The tenth chapter in the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians offers Paul’s extremely interesting perspective about water from the Rock. Familiarity with the account of the Israelites’ time in the wilderness as described in the book of Exodus also will shed light on the Old Testament parallel to the Second Luminous Mystery of the Rosary. You can learn more in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus.

rock—you could look it up in our archives
Paul’s interpretation of the Old Testament biblical text in this lesson is frequently overlooked as an exaggerated image. To learn more about how rock is used as an image in Scripture, read Lost in Translation, an online column in which Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps helps readers connect with ideas expressed in the original languages of the Scriptures. New Lost in Translation entries are posted on Mondays, and past entries are archived on our website. Contact us if you’d like to receive Lost in Translation by email every week.

do you know the spiritual fruit associated with the Second Luminous Mystery?
Hint: It directly deals with how we relate to the Blessed Virgin Mary. You can find out what it is in the “Fruits of Prayer” box on page 89 in Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels. In what ways might this fruit benefit you in your everyday life?

the best Catholic commentary about Scripture
To find out more about how Church teaching is supported by passages in Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels, check out the Index of Citations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Links to the primary Scripture passages in the lesson (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE*]) and relevant paragraphs in the Catechism are provided here. Not every passage in the biblical text for this study is referenced in a Catechism paragraph, however.

the Gospel According to John 2:1—paragraph 495
the Gospel According to John 2:1–11—paragraph 1613
the Gospel According to John 2:1–12—paragraph 2618
the Gospel According to John 2:11—paragraphs 486, 1335
the book of Exodus 17:1–6—paragraph 694
the book of Exodus 17:2–7—paragraph 2119
the book of Exodus 17:8–13—paragraph 2577

ways our glossary might prove helpful
In addition to providing extra information about geographical locations, our glossary also points out when a person or place is mentioned in the biblical text under more than one name or more than one spelling. If you can remember a name but aren’t sure in which lesson it shows up, you can find it in the glossary, which lists every proper noun that appears in the primary biblical text in Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels.

to learn more, read more Scripture
When you’re having difficulty understanding a passage of Scripture, it can help to read the cross references—but looking these up takes time. We’ve compiled the cross references from the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE)—the same translation that we reprint in our study books. The list can be found at the top of every online study page, and it includes links to cross references in the primary biblical texts for all of the lessons in Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels.

don’t forget about our indexes & extra online material
If you’re trying to locate information about a Scripture passage, you can look it up in the index at the back of the online version of this study. If you want to revisit a commentary, you can look it up by title in the topics index. If you want to learn more about another book of the Bible for which there’s a Turning to God’s Word study, you can read online commentaries and watch any accompanying videos by choosing a lesson from one of the study directories. (There are no lesson videos with Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels.) Finally, if you have a question or would like to make a comment about any of our studies, you can use the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” button to email our authors.

ex libris—Church documents & books about religious topics
Link to magisterial documents referred to in our Bible studies at ex libris—magisterial documents. This listing includes significant recent encyclicals as well as a number of historical Church documents. Recommended books related to Scripture study can be found at ex libris—main bookshelf.

wondering how to pronounce some of these words?
The following links are to readings from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. To listen, click on the audio icon above the printed text. Although not taken from the translations used in our study materials, the NIV readings provide an audio guide to pronunciation of words in this lesson’s primary biblical texts. A close online version of the translation of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in the United States as well as an audio guide for daily Mass readings for the current month can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

the Gospel According to John 2:1–11 (NIV)
the book of Exodus 17:1–7 (NIV)

close by praying the Second Luminous Mystery
Many of our study groups like to conclude discussions of Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels by praying a decade of the Rosary devoted to the Mystery that’s the focus of their lesson. A number of Catholics include a request for an increase in the spiritual fruit associated with the mystery. You can find out what’s associated with the Second Luminous Mystery in the “Fruits of Prayer” box on page 89 in Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels.

We invite you to pray along with Turning to God’s Word co-founder Tami Palladino and her daughter Anne Marie on their prayer video featuring the Second Luminous Mystery of the Rosary. The prayers and videos for all 20 mysteries are accessible year-round at how to pray the Rosary, and you can access a link to Tami and Anne Marie’s how-to video to learn what’s important about praying the Rosary. Clicking on the diagram (above) will take you to the website page with the Rosary prayers.

Lesson 24 Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit (the Third Luminous Mystery, the Proclamation of the Kingdom)—the Gospel According to Matthew 5:1–13, the Gospel According to Matthew 5:19, and the book of Exodus 20:1–20
Lesson 22 He Saw the Spirit of God Descending (the First Luminous Mystery, Jesus Is Baptized in the Jordan)—the Gospel According to Matthew 3:1–5, the Gospel According to Matthew 3:13–17, and the book of Exodus 14:21–29

you also may like our study of the book of Exodus
You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus, a 28-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, provides an in-depth look at how significant events in biblical history that occurred thousands of years ago to descendants of Jacob remain relevant and even critical for present-day Christians to understand. The deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and the giving of Ten Commandments are examined along with the development of Moses’ relationship to God. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.

start a Turning to God’s Word Bible study
Thank you for your interest in Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels. Information about beginning a Turning to God’s Word Bible study can be found at start a Bible study. Tami, Matthew, and I are available to answer your questions and to offer support. You may use this email to contact us directly if you’re interested in starting a Turning to God study or in having your study schedule listed with other TtGW study groups on our website. —Jennifer

*There are seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament—the Books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and First and Second Maccabees, as well as some passages in the Books of Esther and Daniel. Protestants usually refer to these works as “apocryphal,” a word that means “outside the (Protestant) canon” because they’re excluded from most Protestant Bibles. The word “deuterocanonical” means “second canon”; Catholics use that word to refer to any section of the Catholic Old Testament for which there are no extant, or existing, Hebrew manuscripts. All of the deuterocanonical books appear in the Septuagint, the earliest remaining versions of which date to the 1st century B.C. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was in common use by Jews at the time of Jesus. Learn more by reading How Do Catholic & Protestant Bibles Differ?

Turning to God’s Word printed Bible studies use the 2006 Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE) translation for all Scripture references except those to the Psalms, which are taken from The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published in 2020 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). All Scripture links for the digital version of Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels are to the 1966 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. The New International Version (NIV) audio recordings follow the same chapter and verse numbering as the RSV Catholic translations, but the NIV translation doesn’t include the deuterocanonical books and passages.

The 1966 RSVCE uses archaic pronouns and verb forms such as “thee,” “thou,” “didst” in the Psalms and in direct quotations attributed to God. The 2006 RSV2CE replaces these with more accessible English. The few significant translation changes in the RSV2CE include rendering almah as “virgin” in the Book of Isaiah 7:14 and restoring the term “begotten” in the Gospel According to John 3:16.

Numbering varies for some passages in this Bible study. Turning to God’s Word studies follow the numbering in the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSV2CE and RSVCE). Discrepancies in the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) are noted in the Index of Scripture Citations.

You can learn more about the Psalms by viewing a sample lesson from the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers. The second part of that study, Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, is scheduled for publication in 2025. Some verse numbers may vary in different translations of the Psalms.