John 15:1-4

Jesus and His eleven disciples have left the Upper Room and as they walk toward the Mount of Olives, He continues to teach them. Here He makes His final “I Am” statement:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15:1-4)

This is such a well-known analogy that Jesus uses here. Just as He is the only true way to the Father, here He affirms that He is the only true vine. Jon Courson, in his Application Commentary: New Testament, argues that Jesus uses the word “true” here to affirm to the disciples that it is NOT Judaism or any religion, it’s Him! He is the true vine. The disciples would soon be barred from the synagogue and persecuted by the Jewish leaders. They needed to know that being connected to Jesus, the true vine, was the only relationship they needed.

Jesus tells them that every branch that does not bear fruit will be “cut off” by the Father. I had heard this before, but I was glad to read it in Jon Courson’s commentary as well: the Greek word airo, translated “cut off,” has four meanings: lift up; pull up; raise up; take away. Courson says it is used in John 11:41, where Jesus lifts up His eyes to heaven, and in Luke 17, where the people lift up their voices. The Greek word translated “prunes” is kathairo, which is usually translated as “cleanse.” Courson’s point in making these distinctions is that often branches that were so heavy with fruit that they would be laying in the mud. The vinedresser needed to lift these branches up, give them support, and cleanse them of the mud.

Courson writes: “In this analogy, in keeping with the flow logically, what Jesus is saying is, ‘I lift the downtrodden branch; I wash the contaminated fruit. How? Through the Word.’ You’re clean through the Word. Gang, how do you bear more fruit? ... How do w get our live cleaned up? How does more fruit come? Fruit comes by a commitment to the Word, and by staying in the Word.” (Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: New Testament, P.563)

There are other references in the Bible to our being washed or cleansed by the Word (Psalm 119, Ephesians 5). The idea is that it is only by staying in God’s Word, Jesus that we are lifted up, cleansed, and bear more fruit. Many of you could testify to the fact that your life has been completely transformed through your study of God’s Word. This is really the point of this chapter!

Jesus is trying to prepare these disciples for what is ahead. He emphasizes the absolute necessity of staying connected to Him, the only true vine, by remaining in His Word. It is what feeds our spirit and changes us. When you are faced with challenges, where do you go to seek counsel? Do you get it from your coworkers or girlfriends who are not Christians? Do you seek advise from the latest self-help books or from Oprah or Dr. Oz? As disciples of Christ, our first place to seek counsel must be God’s Word itself. It is the only place where we are guaranteed to find Truth! Even well-meaning believers can offer us advise that is skewed (think of Peter trying to dissuade Jesus from going to Jerusalem).

Tomorrow we’ll talk about the fruit that Jesus speaks of here. Don’t you want to be more fruitful? Me, too!  

John 14 Recap of the Promises

I just can’t leave this chapter without reviewing all that was promised here. Just as Jesus meant to encourage and prepare His eleven disciples with these words, they have surely encouraged us! So let’s look back at the highlights of this Upper Room discourse. Jesus started and ended this discourse with the command, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” How would that be possible?

First, because He was going to to prepare a place for them/us. Heaven is a PLACE. It is not a state of mind, nor a warm fuzziness within you. It is an actual place that is promised to Jesus’ followers. And even now Jesus is setting up our personal place and role within it.

He’s coming back! Jesus promised in this chapter that He would return to take us to heaven to be with Him. That may happen collectively at the Rapture of the Church, or it may happen individually at the moment of our death. Either way, He’s coming for us!

He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life - the ONLY way to the Father. He’s also the way where there seems no way. He is the answer to our marital problems, to our heartaches, to our financial burdens, to everything that so easily besets us! His words are Truth, because they come from the Father. We can trust His promises! Where we were dead in our sin, He has given us new life.  We are new creations in Christ.

Because He returned to the Father’s right hand, He has sent to us the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comforts, counsels, leads us into truth, convicts us of sin, brings God’s Word to life in our hearts, and brings it to mind when we need it. He empowers us to live the life of obedience that is the evidence of a true believer. He changes us from the inside out, showing us where we need to check our attitudes and enabling us to do so.

Jesus gives us a peace that passes all understanding in the midst of great turmoil and sorrow. It has nothing to do with our circumstances. In fact it is steady in spite of our circumstances, because it is supernatural. Oh, the riches that are ours in Christ! Hallelujah! What a Savior!
 

John 14:28-31

Jesus ends this Upper Room discourse much like a good coach would. You can almost see them all huddled in a circle while the coach gives His final inspiration and charge! Note His final words in this chapter:

“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.  I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.  I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me,  but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. 


“Come now; let us leave.” (John 14:28-31)

Jesus assures the disciples that His leaving them is actually a good thing. He lets them know that His return to the Father is part of the plan, because the Father’s plan is much bigger than anything they could conceive. How gracious Jesus was to prepare these men for what was coming that very night. It would appear to many, including the dejected disciples, that Satan had won when Jesus hung on the cross. But Jesus declares here that his death was imperative to show the world His great love for the Father and His commitment to obedience in all things.

Paul writes of our need to imitate Christ’s attitude by emptying ourselves of our own desires and serving others with humility:

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,  then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 


Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  


Who, being in very nature God,
 
    did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 
but made himself nothing,
 
    taking the very nature of a servant,
 
    being made in human likeness.   
And being found in appearance as a man,

    he humbled himself

    and became obedient to death —

        even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:1-8)

Jesus began this evening with the disciples by washing their feet - being the example of the humble servant-leader. He ended it with a charge, “Come now; let us leave.” This is where the coach and the team put their hands in the center of the circle in unity and raise them with a shout out. “Okay, now - let’s get out there and do this thing!”

I feel like Jesus has been telling me all week, “Get your eyes off of your circumstances. Keep them focused intently on me and just do what I ask of you.” Several of you have encouraged me with some great verses or messages of love this week! Yesterday, my dear friend Pammie (Royce’s grandmother), sent me an email urging me to read Psalm 37. I could not believe it! It is the perfect message just for me (read it!). Pammie did not know that I have always called Psalm 37:3 my “mental health” verse, because it states the very thing we need to do when we are discouraged or in a pit of depression: “Trust in the LORD and do good.” In other words, know and believe that God is still on the throne. He sees what is happening, so you can cast that burden on Him, then get out there and start serving others - because it’s NOT ABOUT YOU! :)

I’m pumped after this great encouragement from my LORD! Jesus is saying, “Come now; let us leave.” Leave the doubt; leave the anger; leave the hurt; leave the fear - whatever it is that is plaguing you - and get out there! I’m ready, are you? :)  

John 14:25-27

My heart has been very troubled this week, so I felt like I’d just been bathed in comfort when I read this morning’s verses:

“All this I have spoken while still with you.  But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:25-27)

Having had three years living with and learning from Jesus in person, can you imagine how difficult it was for the disciples to hear Jesus tell them that He was leaving them? I can feel the panic and despair and inner turmoil. “What will we do now?” “I didn’t sign up for this - leaving everything and everyone behind just to be abandoned!” How scary that uncertainty would be for them. But Jesus was promising them in these verses that they would NEVER be abandoned! The Counselor, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit would be coming to live with them and IN them!

And the Holy Spirit would continue to teach them “all things,” and would bring back to their minds everything Jesus had said. He would confirm every promise of God over and over to them. Therefore, Jesus could assure them that He was NOT leaving them in turmoil. They would know peace! Specifically, His peace would be nothing like what the world parades as peace (financial security, marriage, lack of conflict, bliss). His peace would be steady and ever-present in the midst of trials and persecution that they had yet to experience.

I like the tie-in of peace to the promise that the Holy Spirit would remind the disciples of everything Jesus had said while with them. The Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to bring us peace in the midst of trials. It’s in the heart of trouble when we are reminded of and cling to God’s promises that have been tucked away in our hearts or that are given to us through others. I have been astonished this week by the verses that have been coming at me through posts on facebook or through devotional emails that I’ve received! Over and over God has confirmed in my heart that He is with me, that He is in control, and and that He loves me!

He has also made it very clear where I need to believe Him. I need to relax in the peace His promises give me.

I know that many of you are also in the midst of great turmoil. Everything around you is filled with conflict, uncertainty, or betrayal. Maybe your marriage seems like it’s dying a slow and painful death, and you are ready to give up. Believe what Jesus said. He is the resurrection and the life. He can give new life to your marriage. Maybe you have a child who has wandered from God, and you are filled with anxiety. Remember that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who will leave the 99 to find the one! Reread the story of the prodigal son and trust God to have His way with your child.

I have been strengthened in my spirit this morning by Jesus’ command to me that comes with the promise: Do not let your heart be troubled, Sally. Do not be afraid.  Fear is the opposite of trust. My peace I give to you. It’s the peace that comes from the Holy Spirit who lives within you. I see what you are going through, and I am in control! Thank you, LORD!  

John 14:21-24

“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” 


Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 


Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."  (John 14:21-24)

Prior to these specific verses, Jesus had been speaking directly to His disciples. Remember that in verse 15, He said, “If you love me...” Here, in verse 21, however, He widened the scope with “Whoever.” Anyone, Jew or Gentile, who loves and obeys Jesus’ commands is the one who truly loves Him. Anyone who would truly love Jesus would be loved by the Father and the Son - and Jesus was promising here that He would reveal Himself to such people. This is done through the work of the Holy Spirit, as Paul wrote, “... no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:3) There’s the Trinity at work!


When Jesus said He would show Himself to those who obeyed Him, the “other” Judas wondered why Jesus was not planning on revealing Himself to the whole world at this time. Judas was hoping that Jesus would step forward as the conquering king, as he had envisioned the Messiah would do. But Jesus refocused Judas to the greater work that would be done to conquer the hearts of men: the indwelling of God. Jesus also told Judas that not everyone would obey Him. This revelation of Christ would be just for those whose hearts were open to loving and obeying Him.

Jesus has made it very plain in these passages that it is not just the study, even intense study of Him and His Word that makes us His disciples; it is our obedience to what we learn from our study that makes the difference. This is what demonstrates our love for Him - not only to Jesus Himself, but to the world that is watching us. And the promise is that God Himself will come to make Himself at home in our hearts when we commit to following Him.

I don’t know about you, but God is speaking very clearly to me this week, in the midst of terrific opposition, that I need to keep my eyes on Him and obey what He has taught me about praying for others, loving and forgiving others, and trusting in His sovereignty rather than my own strength or wisdom. I have had to force myself each morning for the past few weeks to open my Bible and dig in. I have not FELT like it! But I have also known each morning that I need it and that He commands me to obey. Each day I have found that I have also desperately needed to draw from the strength His promises have given me! I’m so grateful that, because He lives in me, He not only prompts me to do the right thing, but He also enables me to do it if I lean on Him!  

John 14:15-20

Friday we looked at the one verse in which Jesus tells His disciples that loving Him means obedience to His commands. Love and obedience must go together. Because we love God, we want to obey Him. But it is so hard! In fact, sometimes, it is downright impossible! When we’ve been told to forgive seventy times seven (in other words, we need to keep on forgiving), but someone has betrayed us yet again, how can we do it?? We can’t! But God can. With Him nothing is impossible. So what is the secret? Jesus tells His disciples in today’s passage:

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—  the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.  On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (John 14:15-20)

In the King James Version, the word used for Counselor is Comforter. The Greek word is parakletos, which means “someone who comes alongside.” The Holy Spirit, promised here by Jesus, is the One who comes alongside us to comfort, to counsel, to lead us into truth. He is the One who reveals to us who Jesus is (“...I am in the Father...”) and He is the One who assures our hearts that Jesus is in us and we are in Him. (vs. 20)

When we receive Christ as our Savior, we also receive the Holy Spirit. He comes to live with and in us - FOREVER. We are not helpless in this world. We are enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit to obey what God has asked us to do. What seems impossible to us, is possible through the Holy Spirit. When someone has hurt us, it is the Holy Spirit who gives us the power to forgive. It is the Holy Spirit who speaks to us and reminds us to let go of all pride and be reconciled.

Where do you need to see the power of the Holy Spirit in your life? In your marriage? At your job? As a parent? Where do things seem absolutely impossible with no hope? Take heart! You have the power of the Holy Spirit living in you. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is within you and will enable you to overcome. He comes alongside you to strengthen and encourage you. I experienced that help on Friday, which began horrifically, but ended in victory and with glory to God.  The Holy Spirit was with me and enabled me. Ask Him to do that for you today!  

John 14:15

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)

This morning I am only going to look at this one verse. I went back and reread this chapter and highlighted the “ifs” in this chapter. “...if it were not so...” (vs. 2); “if I go...” (vs.3); “If you really knew me...” (vs. 7); “If you love me...” (today’s verse); “If anyone loves me...” (vs. 23); and “If you loved me...” (vs. 28). These are all conditional statements that speak to important truths Jesus is trying to get across to His disciples. In particular, “if you love me...” indicates that there is a definite way to prove our love for Him. In this morning’s verse He tells the disciples that loving Christ means obedience to His Word.

This indicates to me that what Jesus is looking for in His relationship with us is not warm, fuzzy feelings from us. We have to remember that Jesus is the initiator of this relationship. We love Him because He first loved us! (I John 4:19) “Love” is a verb of action. What Jesus is looking for from His own is action that springs from our belief in Him. If we are truly His disciples, we will be sitting at His feet, learning from Him, then DOING what He asks of us.

And He’s not asking us to obey Him to lay a burden on us. He already loves us beyond anything we can imagine. Our obedience doesn’t make Him love us more. He asks us to obey Him, because He knows that disobedience wreaks havoc in our lives and stumbles others. As a teacher I set certain standards of behavior in my classroom. It isn’t because I love to control 5th graders or because I want to lay as many rules as I can on them. It is because I want to establish the best learning environment for them. It doesn’t matter to me whether or not they “love” me - I want them to learn as much as possible. The highest form of respect they can pay me is to obey the class rules. In the same way, we show our love for Christ when we carefully listen to His teachings and set our minds and hearts to obey.

For instance, one of Jesus’ commands is that we love our enemies and do good to them (that’s love in action). When Jesus asks us to do this, He’s not asking us to “feel” anything; He’s asking us to obey through our actions. So, when someone has betrayed me, even though my first instinct is to become defensive and gather my little gang of support through gossip, Jesus tells me to love that person instead. This would be impossible for me to do in my own strength!

I fight this battle a lot, and frequently have an initial fleshly response to attacks. Yes, I gather my little group of supporters and drag them into the battle with me!!! If left to my own power, there is NO way I could act in a loving manner toward someone who hurts me. How could I “do good” - respond with patience and kindness and respect? It’s NOT possible!

So is Jesus asking the impossible? Yes! But He has just told His disciples that where there is NO way, HE is the WAY! And He has provided the help we need to obey His commands. In our next passage we will see how He has made that way for us to obey when everything in us wants to go in the opposite direction.

Are you facing an impossible situation which requires you to just believe and obey? I am this very morning! I’ve been betrayed yet again by someone, and I want so badly to just march up and down with a poster screaming out to the world what was done. But that is NOT what Jesus wants me to do. So instead, I’m praying for a way to deal with the situation in kindness... LORD, help me!