š Heavenly Father ā Thank You for Your Word. Your Word has the power to bring us eternal life in a restored relationship with You. There is nothing more worthy to pursue than Your truth. Guide us in the study of Your truth tonight. Amen.
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
14 āDo not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Fatherās house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.ā
Points to Ponder: Where did we leave off?Ā Jesus has just washed His disciplesā feet and revealed His knowledge of their upcoming betrayal and denial. Judas has left and Jesus has commanded His disciples to love one another as He has loved them. Now Jesus begins an intimate discussion with His disciples, often called the āUpper Room Discourseā.Ā He begins with a message of comfortā¦ they cannot follow Him now but will laterā¦ to a place that He is preparing just for them, promising to return for them. There is power in a fulfilled promise ā it teaches a child to hope.Ā Broken promises hardens hearts ā they hurt us as children and in turn we hurt others with our broken promises.Ā Jesus teaches us to live differentlyā¦ Godās promises, from Genesis forward, are all being fulfilled in this Age of Grace ā this time between Jesusā birth and His return.
Jesus the Way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, āLord, we donāt know where you are going, so how can we know the way?ā
6 Jesus answered, āI am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.ā
8 Philip said, āLord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.ā
9Ā Jesus answered:Ā āDonāt you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.Ā How can you say, āShow us the Fatherā?Ā 10Ā Donāt you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?Ā The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority.Ā Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.Ā 11Ā Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.Ā 12Ā Very truly I tell you, whoever believesĀ in me will do the works I have been doing,Ā and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.Ā 13Ā And I will do whatever you askĀ in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.Ā 14Ā You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Points to Ponder: The 6th divine identity ā I AM the way and the truth and the life.Ā Sometimes, I can only grasp the beginning of what this section means, it is all too wonderful.Ā This sections just hints at the concept of ābelongingā to something so much greater than we can imagine and āaccomplishingā things more than we dare dream.Ā āGreater works than theseā, what could this possible mean?Ā When Jesus was performing signs and miracles, He urged the people not to become fixated on them but just accept them as testimony to His divine identity.Ā Our great work is found in maintaining unity with God to lead His children to eternal life, through faith in Jesus, (way), the one who was sent by God, the Father, to redeem His people out of their slavery to sin. (truth)
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
15 āIf you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you foreverā 17 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. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.ā
Points to Ponder: What a wonderful, comforting, and intimate promise Jesus gives His disciples here.Ā He promises the Spirit, so they will not be alone after Jesus returns to the Father.Ā Before His crucifixion, He promises His love and companionship will continue ā they are not orphans, they belong to His family forever.Ā Spiritual rebirth allows us to see the world as being governed by lies and deceit that lead to death.Ā (It was actually the fervor of the original disciples and early church that led to martyrdom that made me reexamine scripture as ātruthā. I was compelled to examine what all those believers claimed to be truth.)
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, āBut, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?ā
23 Jesus replied, āAnyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone 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.
25 āAll this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, 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. 27 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.
28 āYou heard me say, āI am going away and I am coming back to you.ā If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
āCome now; let us leave.
Points to Ponder: Obedience to Jesusā teaching is a demonstration of our love for Him. In the chicken/egg or faith/works debate, the negative statement in v24, is clearer to me than the positive in v23.Ā Our learning and maturity will continue throughout our lifetime with the help of the Helper, the Holy Spirit. KNOWING this, we have peace.Ā The end of this section tells us that Jesusā sacrificial death on the cross was voluntary. He knew beforehand and submitted in accordance with Godās redemptive plan for humanityā¦ there is much to learn from what He says about love and obedience ā even obedience to death on a cross.
The Vine and the Branches
15 āI am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 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. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also 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.
Points to Ponder: The 7th divine identity ā I AM the true vine. The metaphor of a vine that is rooted in the ground, climbing and spreading where available, then producing branches that bear leaves, fruit, and seeds is used to show us our position in Christ.Ā God the Creator, revealed in the nature He created, is also the one with authority to govern over His creation. Ā He is the gardener, far removed and superior to the plant! He can cut off undesirable branches and He can prune those to make them stronger, healthier, etc. to be more fruitful. The purpose of a vine is to produce āfruitā.Ā V3, you are already clean, think āalready prunedā, but the command then is to āremain in Himā.Ā Fruit doesnāt just happen, fruit doesnāt grow by itselfā¦ this is the lie of creation being the result of evolution or some cosmic explosion.Ā Godās kingdom grows in an orderly fashion by redeemed men and women who grow in the vineā¦. Branches in Jesus.Ā Our fruit is evidenced in our behavior in the world, including our response to our āpruningā. The fruit of the Spiritā¦ Gal 5:22 ā Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
5 āI am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Fatherās glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Points to Ponder: Repeating the command to remain in Him, this section shows us the pros/cons of being obedient to this command and being faithful to our relationship with God. Apart from Him, we can do nothing ā rejecting and leaving Him, we are thrown into the fire.Ā Remaining in Him, with His words, we can ask whatever we wish. Just as a grape vine doesnāt bear pumpkins, this vine will not produce āsinā only Spiritual fruit. (Gal 5:19-21)
9 āAs the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Fatherās commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down oneās life for oneās friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his masterās business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruitāfruit that will lastāand so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
Points to Ponder: Jesus demonstrated obedience to His Fatherās commands and so remains in His love, something that humans could never do, ever!Ā He teaches us that giving up the worldās definition of love and life, and learning from Jesus, not as a servant but as a friend, will bear good fruitā¦ abundant fruitā¦ eternal fruit.
The World Hates the Disciples
18 āIf the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: āA servant is not greater than his master.ā If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: āThey hated me without reason.ā
Points to Ponder: What does LOVE look like Jesus-style? Love is a choiceā¦ a willful decision to look out for the well-being of another person compassionately, righteously, and sacrificially.Ā The world hates this. Our culture promotes self: self-sufficiency, self-care, self-esteem, self-worth, self-determination, self-help.Ā We want to cancel others. Independence is seen as ALWAYS good, but that is clearly not what the vine metaphor teaches. Ā Loving others as Jesus did, will not make you popular, prosperous, powerful, or protected.Ā Cultural opinions will not be an excuse for your sin.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
26 āWhen the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Fatherāthe Spirit of truth who goes out from the Fatherāhe will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
Points to Ponder:Ā A direct message to the disciples from Jesus about their mission. A preview of the Pentecost momentā¦ and ALL the books in the New Testament! The Spirit ā the āsapā running through the vine ā sent from the Father to help all the branches bear fruit and testify to the truth of Jesus.
Summary: After all the previous chapters covering about three years of Jesus ministry, John pumps the brakes hard as Jesus gathers His disciples and says, ‘Lean In’! I find myself reading a sentence and wanting to see how that plays out in Revelationā¦ or how that relates to the creation narrative in Genesisā¦ I know Iāve read where Peter or Paul has said more about these topicsā¦ and I know how in our culture, there are evil attacks against what Jesus says hereā¦ BUT, if I believe Scripture, and I do, I take seriously, the warnings and the commands that Jesus gives here and pray for the strength to be obedient. And I remember, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
š Heavenly Father ā we are so thankful for Your Word that has the power to bring life. With such great power, we know we have great responsibility – even if that responsibility is to remain in You to bear the fruit You desire. We thank You for Your Spirit to guide us in all Your ways. Amen.