JOhn 15
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Thus far in y’all’s study of John y'all have made it through the first 14 chapters.
Someone tell me what was John’s purpose in writing his Gospel.
What are the signs and statements that y'all have looked at thus far?
Signs
Water to Wine 2
Healing the official’s son 4
Healing the invalid 5
Feeding the five thousand 6
Walking on Water 6
Healing the man born blind 9
Raising Lazarus 11
I Am Statements
Bread of Life 6
Light of the World 8
The door of the sheep 10
The Good Shepherd 10
The resurrection and the life 11
The way the Truth and the Life 14
Today we are going to look at the last Statement of Jesus in John 15.
7. I am the True Vine 15
In the first part of this chapter Jesus uses a very familiar image of a vineyard to make one final I am Statement.
Read John 15:1-17
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
The Vine and the vineyard image were old and sacred images in Judaism. The vine represented the covenant people of God but now Jesus claims that the vine represents who?
In his final “I am” saying in this Gospel, Jesus declares that he is the true vine (15:1). Jesus is saying that now, he has taken the place of Israel as God’s true planting.
The new concept is that God’s vineyard holds one vine and Israel and us as his people must inquire if we are attached to him, the vine.
No longer is Israel automatically seen as vines growing in God’s vineyard. Men and women are now branches growing from one stock.
Abide / Love explain through drawing...
How do we know if we are a part of the vine? IF God’s love is in us and we are bearing fruit of love. Love God and Neighbor.
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’ “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
Parents are always giving us advice. Some of it is obvious advice, especially when we are leaving, right. What do they say, drive careful, well no duh. As Tim Hawkins says they are not going to say drive reckless and take chances.
Or when you get older they will say things like. If you get hungry stop and get something to eat. Or If you get tired pull over or get a hotel. I have heard this advice enough that now every time I get hungry while driving I think back now what did my mom tell me to do when this happens….
Now this is meant to be funny but in all seriousness our parents give us good advice all the time unfortunately we often times blow them off. But why do our parents tell us this advice?
· Because they have been there and know what is going to happen.
Jesus before his death was spending time giving his apostles lots of good advice and preparing them for the days and years to come following his death. Just like for us if we want to succeed we better be listening to our parents and taking their advice seriously but more so than that we better be paying attention to the advice that Jesus left for us.
In chapter 15 Jesus continues with his advice by anticipating three major issues that they would have to face once he left.
The first thing that the apostles and us will have to face if we follow Jesus is found in verse 18- 16:4.
Read. What does he tell us that we will have to face?
Has someone ever disliked you for some reason that you don’t know about. We’ll that kind of like what Jesus tells us here. People will dislike us not because of us but because of him.
· Vs 18 Jesus says when people hate you remember that they hated me first.
· Vs 20 Because we are disciples of Christ we can expect the same kind of treatment.
· Vs 21 Jesus tells us that the hatred that we will receive is not personal but rather it’s because we are his followers.
· Vs23 Jesus says that the people that hate both I and you also hate our father.
You see Jesus explains all this to them because He knew that the hatred that they would receive would not make sense to them. Jesus knew that there would not be a cause for their hatred. Vs 25.
You see although our situations will be different than the apostles we to need to remember these words of Jesus so that we can be prepared.
Thankfully for us currently we don’t face physical persecution but I believe the area that we face the most persecution is through social persecution.
How so?