Living in the Image of God M07S01
This bible study discusses interactions at the event of Jesus changing water into wine (John 2:1–12), to recognize and appreciate a child’s capability to understand an inexplicit parental request and a parent’s capability to understand a child’s inexplicit response to a parental request. The study begins a series on the Gospel according to John. At this event, the mother of Jesus asked him to recognize that the wine was finished, thus conveying an inexplicit request that he should do something about the wine supply. Jesus responded but did not explicitly agree or decline to do something. His mother recognized the manner of his response and advised the servants to be attentive and do whatever Jesus asked them to do.
The Banking Blessings Ministry 2026 program year will focus on understanding messages of human interactions and relationships contained in the Gospel according to John. The study begins with interactions at the event of Jesus changing water into wine, which illustrate an inexplicit request by Jesus’ mother Mary. Jesus recognized a need based on the parent’s information and provided an inexplicit response that conveyed to his mother a promise to consider doing something to alleviate the need.
As we discuss in a previous study under “Receiving Message from God through Parent”, God may alert a child to an opportunity by prompting the child’s parent to pass the information as parental instruction, advice, or request. The information could be delivered as part of normal parent-child interaction with neither the parent nor child recognizing at the time that the information contains a message from God to the child. The child will receive the message and progress toward the opportunity if he/she has a habit of listening to the parent with intent to understand and implement the parent’s information.
Two famous examples from the bible describe how a simple parental request sent a child to a mission of historical significance. In both cases, the parental request was explicit and the child understood the details and transitioned into the intended mission because of seeking to implement the parental instruction details. In one example, Jacob (also known as Israel) requested Joseph to go check on his brothers in the wilderness and report back. In the other example, Jessee requested David to go check on his brothers in the battlefield. Each child understood the instruction and was intent on completing the instruction. Seeking to complete the instruction put them in position to transition to the mission that God transmitted through the instruction.
The study is important to guide our understanding of a key parental responsibility in Family Training: i.e., training a child to understand parental instructions, advice, or requests. The parent should guide the child to listen to the parent with intent to understand and implement the parent’s information. Also, the parent should listen to the child’s feedback to be sure they understand the objective of a parent’s instruction, advice, or request.
Inexplicit Parental Instruction and Request
Inexplicit instructions or requests involve expanded responsibilities for the parent and child. In an inexplicit instruction or request, the parent describes a situation to a child but does not specify what he or she wants the child to do. The child understands the situation, recognizes a need based on the understanding, makes a judgment regarding the need, and commits to doing something to alleviate the need.
For example, Mary informed Jesus that the wine was finished but did not specify what she wanted him to do: “When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine’” [John 2:3]. Jesus recognized that his mother’s information contained a request to consider doing something regarding the wine supply [John 2:4]: “‘Woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My hour has not yet come.’” His response sounded like protesting his mother’s request but did not explicitly convey an acceptance or declination of the request. His mother understood but knew his son was capable of recognizing needs conveyed through parent’s information, whether stated explicitly or unstated. She recognized that Jesus understood her request and was considering the request. Therefore, she intimated the servants to be attentive to Jesus and obey his command, if any.