Read and believe in Jesus

“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,” John 15:16

The Gospel according to John

REVIEW – Jesus is privately teaching his precious eleven disciples in the upper room. The time is short, and He has much to say. He emphasizes their loving Him and each other sacrificially. He stresses obedience to His words. He promises the Spirit of Truth, who will come and be with and live in them forever. He promises them extraordinary peace in the unknown things to come, and answers their prayers. And although He is going to die, He promises to see them (and only the believers) again when He is resurrected.

.

.

John 15:1-9.

And now, Jesus teaches those promises in an extended metaphor. Many times He has used agriculture in His teaching, mostly because that’s what the common people knew. Also, Jewish people were very familiar with the picture of “the Vine.”

The Old Testament scriptures used “the vine” to picture Israel.

Read Psalm 80 and Isaiah 5, if you can.

The Lord brought this “vine” out of Egypt, prepared a fertile place for it to be planted, cultivated, fed, protected it, and expected good grapes and delicious wine from it. Instead, it (Israel) brought forth sour grapes, bitter grapes, and let herself be overridden by boars and trampled. So the Lord let this vineyard fall into ruin.

But NOW, Jesus says that HE is the true “vine” chosen by His Father, the “vinedresser.” And the Father sees that it bears fruit by cutting away the dead branches (like Judas) and aggressively pruning the ones that remain (true believers) so they produce more “fruit of righteousness.” (Read Galatians 5:16-26)

Jesus tells the disciples how they can be fruitful branches. (NOTE: They are “already clean” by the Word Jesus spoke to them, vs 15:3.) But now, they must “abide” or “remain” in Him, to “stay around” and allow Him, by His Spirit, to abide in them.

It’s leaning on Him, trusting in Him, allowing Him to do His work of pruning, loving Him and others, and obeying His commands. This is what produces strong branches, fit for bearing heavy yields of fruit.

Oh… and remembering that apart from Him – doing things on our own, in our own wisdom and strength – we can not even produce a single withered raisin.

Jesus says that the Father is glorified when we bear the fruits of righteousness and of testimony. Bearing fruit proves that we are indeed His children, disciples of His Beloved Son. “And as the Father has loved Jesus, so Jesus loves us.”

“ABIDE, stay, IN MY LOVE.”

.

.

John 15:10-11. And Jesus tells us how.

“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.”

Abiding in Jesus’ LOVE is simply OBEYING Him.

And Jesus is the perfect example, having done (and will do ) ALL that the Father has ordained. And what is the outcome? No, not drugery, defeat, depression, but … JOY. It gave Jesus joy to obey His Father (even to die), and He wants this joy to be in His disciples too.

Yes, sometimes, it’s hard to obey. “Give your life for the cause of the Gospel. Give your money, your keys, your car, your home, your children to the LORD, for His use. Give it all. Take up your cross, and simply follow Jesus.

Joy?

Yep, if done in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ.

.

.

John 15:12-17

And Jesus says we are His FRIENDS if we do what He commands us. Friends, not slaves. Intimate friends. Jesus says, “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.”

And “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

Yes, Jesus was speaking to his chosen disciples from Galilee, but as we’ll see in chapter 17:20-21, He is speaking to true believers down through the years too.

“These things I command YOU, so that you will love one another.”

.

.