Milo

THREE RELATIONSHIPS
John 15

“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 15:4).

Christianity is not just a religion of beliefs: it is a religion of relationships.

Overview
Jesus’ people are branches, He is the Vine (15:1–4). As we remain in His love, we produce fruit (vv. 5–10). Jesus’ people are to love one another (vv. 11–13), and serve Jesus as friends rather than servants (vv. 14–17). And Jesus’ people are to expect persecution in a hostile world (vv. 18–25), but continue to testify about Him (vv. 26–27).

Understanding the Text
“I am the true vine” John 15:1. The vine is a frequent illustration in the Old Testament of God’s people. Psalm 80:8 speaks of Israel as “a vine brought out of Egypt.” The clearest use of the image is found in Isaiah 5. There the prophet says:

  My loved one had a vineyard
    on a fertile hillside.
  He dug it up and cleared it of stones
    and planted it with the choicest vines.
  He built a watchtower in it
    and cut out a winepress as well.

  And he explains,

  The vineyard of the LORD Almighty
    is the house of Israel,
  and the men of Judah
    are the garden of His delight. (Isa. 5:1–2, 7)

But Israel failed to produce the fruit of righteousness and justice that God looked for. And so Christ came, as the “true Vine,” that in and through Him believers might produce the fruit of true goodness (cf. Gal. 5:22–23).
Only through relationship with Jesus Christ, the “true [authentic] Vine,” can the moral qualities that God seeks in human beings be produced. Personal relationship with Jesus is the essence of Christianity.

“He cuts off . . . he trims clean” John 15:2. The gardener who prunes his vine works with extreme care. There is no threat here in the picture of God as the gardener who prunes His vines. There is no warning to “produce, or else.” Instead we’re assured that God, the gardener, actively tending His vineyard, is fully committed to bring us to maximum fruitfulness.
God’s pruning work benefits us; it doesn’t threaten us.

“Remain in Me” John 15:4–9. The dW¸ says, “Abide in Me.” The same point is made by both words: live in intimate union with Jesus.
The analogy itself tells us why. A branch draws its vital juices from the vine to which it is united. In the same way we draw the spiritual vitality that enables us to produce fruit from Jesus. Thus Jesus says clearly, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.”
The Christian life is a supernatural life, flowing from Jesus to us. It can be experienced only as we live in intimate fellowship with our Lord.

“If you obey My commands” John 15:10. Jesus also made it clear how we “remain in” Him. Jesus kept close to the Father by being responsive to His will: by obeying Him. In the same way we keep close to Jesus by being responsive to Christ’s will: by obeying our Lord (see DEVOTIONAL).
Jesus never abandons us. Any failure to abide in Him is our choice.

“He is like a branch that is thrown away” John 15:6. The wood of the grapevine is stringy and twisted. It can’t be cut into lumber. It can’t be shaped into furniture or utensils. It has value only when it lives in the vine, bearing fruit. So Jesus’ picture of the branch, thrown away and burned, is intended to emphasize uselessness of a branch that is not producing fruit.
Note that Jesus did not say the believer is thrown away and burned. He said that the believer who fails to produce fruit is like a discarded branch. You and I have been chosen by God, and called into relationship with Christ, that we might produce the fruit of true goodness, and display God’s character in our world. If we fail to abide in Jesus, the penalty is an empty and useless life—not abandonment by the Lord.

“That your joy may be complete” John 15:7–11. God is glorified by the Christian’s fruitfulness. But, as in all things, that which glorifies God benefits the disciple. Note the benefits you and I experience when we stay close to Jesus. We produce “much fruit,” and thus find a sense of satisfaction in fulfilling our destiny (v. 5). We gain power in prayer, asking “whatever you wish” (v. 7). We demonstrate our discipleship, showing the reality of our link with Jesus (v. 8). We remain in Jesus’ love, detecting a sense of closeness (v. 10). And, we experience a joy that bubbles up within us, despite difficult circumstances (v. 11).
Yes, God calls us to abide in His Son. But that calling is an expression of His great love; His desire that we might know fulfillment and joy.

“Love each other as I have loved you” John 15:12–17. The second great relationship that John 15 draws attention to is our relationship with one another. We are called to remain in Christ, and to live with each other in love.
Why the emphasis on community? Because how we relate to each other has such a tremendous impact on how we relate to Jesus. If our relationship with other Christians is marked by rivalry, suspicion, and selfishness, it will be hard to maintain an intimate, responsive relationship with the Lord. On the other hand, an experience of belonging, trust, and caring in the Christian community encourages our trust in and responsiveness to the Lord.
You and I can’t be solely responsible for how others in Christ’s church behave. But we can be responsible for our own relationships with our fellow Christians. We can set the tone of active love that Christ commands, and thus help others draw nearer to our Lord.

“If the world hates you” John 15:18–27. This is the third relationship explored in John 15. We have a relationship with “the world.”
The “world” in John’s writings is most often that complex of values, attitudes, and behaviors that shapes sinful human society. In his first letter John wrote that love of the Father and love of the world are in conflict: We cannot love both God’s ways and the ways of sinful man (1 John 2:15–17).
Because the world is hostile to God we can expect to experience persecution in it. A world which has no understanding of God (John 15:21) hated Jesus, because His life and character rebuked it.
There was no real cause for antipathy to Jesus, for Christ came to cleanse mankind from sin. Yet in the process His very presence exposes sin. Those unwilling to acknowledge their sin and trust Christ for cleansing become hostile. They are angry at being exposed as sinners.
There are times when Christians who live truly good and loving lives are hated for exactly the same reason. Their very goodness exposes the wickedness of those around them, and creates hostility.
But don’t stop doing and being good. The Holy Spirit is testifying through us—and our calling is to show others, as well as tell others, about Jesus.

DEVOTIONAL
Friend Jesus
(John 15:9–17)
I haven’t noticed it in any theology books. But that word, “friend,” is one of the most significant in Scripture to help us understand the Christian life.
The significance is seen in Christ’s analogy. A lord or master has the right to give his servants or slaves orders. It is none of their business why the master gives a command. Slaves are responsible only to obey—and they must obey, or else!
While Jesus is Lord, and thus has the right to give commands which must be obeyed, He has chosen to call His followers friends. This means first that He shares His purposes and motives with us when telling us His will. And it means, second, that we are given a choice not available to slaves. A friend may respond to a friend out of affection. But a friend does not have to obey!
Our Sarah is taking piano lessons. It’s her first year, and all too often we hear, “I hate the piano!” Pouting and miserable, she heads off to practice, but only because we tell her she has to. My two nephews, Stephen and David, are accomplished violinists. And they love to practice! Even their summer vacations are dedicated to playing in some orchestra, or heading off to a succession of music camps. What a difference between having to practice and wanting to.
It’s just this difference that Jesus implied—and that is the key to a successful Christian life. God doesn’t want Christians to go out, pouting and miserable, to obey Jesus because they have to. God wants Christians to be Jesus’ friends: to eagerly respond to His wishes and commands because we want to please Him.
We show that we are Jesus’ friends when we do what He commands. For God will not force us. Instead Jesus invites us to respond to Him, out of love.

Personal Application
Love God and do what you please. Love God, and pleasing Him is what you’ll want!

Quotable
“It is not a question of how much we know, how clever we are, nor even how good; it all depends upon the heart’s love. External actions are the results of love, the fruit it bears; but the source, the root, is in the deep of the heart.”—Francois Fenelon

TROUBLED HEARTS
John 14

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me” (John 14:1).

Jesus’ words of comfort and encouragement continue to relieve our troubled hearts.

Background
The Holy Spirit. These chapters, which contain the Last-Supper dialogue of Jesus, are filled with teaching on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Christians understand the Holy Spirit not as an influence or force, but as a Person, who with God the Father and the Son are united in Scripture’s one God. Here in John 14 the Spirit is given a personal name: Counselor. What ministries does the Holy Spirit have in our day? (1) He is the Source of believers’ spiritual power (John 14:16–17; 16:5–15; Acts 1:8). (2) He bonds us to Christ and to each other, making us one church and one family of God (1 Cor. 12:13). (3) He enables us to know God’s will and to control our sinful natures (Rom. 8:5–11). (4) He transforms our character and makes us more Christlike (Gal. 5:22–23; 2 Cor. 3:18). (5) He equips us for ministry, distributing spiritual gifts that enable us to contribute to the salvation and growth of others (1 Cor. 12–14; Rom. 12).
In a very real sense, the vitality of our Christian lives depends on the Holy Spirit, whose ministries Christ introduces in this and the next few chapters of John’s Gospel.

Overview
Jesus encouraged His disciples to trust (14:1–4), calling Himself the “way, the truth, and the life” (vv. 5–7). Jesus had fully revealed God the Father in His own person (vv. 8–11): He would enable believers (v. 12) and would answer prayer (vv. 13–14). He would also give the Holy Spirit (vv. 15–20), and those who obey Him out of love will experience God’s presence (vv. 21–24). The Spirit, who would come after Jesus left, would bring believers peace (vv. 25–31).

Understanding the Text
“Do not let your hearts be troubled” John 14:1. The disciples seem to have had reason to be troubled! The leaders in Jerusalem were plotting Jesus’ death (10:31; 11:45–53). Jesus Himself predicted He would die (12:23–28). Jesus had just said one of them would betray Him (13:21), and that Peter would disown Him (v. 38). It was undoubtedly a troubled group of disciples that huddled around Christ.
But Jesus had a solution for them—and for us. “Trust in God and in Me” (14:1).
However grim the circumstances that threaten us, trust in God and Jesus has the power to quiet the troubled heart, and bring us peace.

“In My Father’s house are many rooms” John 14:2–3. The image is in stark contrast to the “many mansions” of the dW¸ translators, who pictured manor houses on a hilltop, where aristocratic landowners lived in splendid isolation. In the Oriental house there were instead many rooms, frequently constructed around a central courtyard. There the entire family—the father, all his sons and their wives and their children—lived together.
This is an image of the experience that awaits us when Jesus returns. Not splendid isolation, but the warmth of intimate fellowship, gathering together as a family to share endless joys. Whatever troubles us these days, Paul says, is “not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18).
This is one defense of the troubled heart. We can look ahead, sense what lies beyond our experience in this world, and find comfort. Yet as Jesus went on, He showed His disciples other sources of comfort for the believer: comfort here and now.

“Lord, we don’t know where You are going, so how can we know the way?” John 14:5–7 Thomas is the disciple we all recognize: the pessimist. He saw the dark side of everything, and was sure to point it out! Yet before we criticize Thomas, we need to remember that even when he was sure Jesus and all His disciples would be killed if they returned to Judea to help Lazarus, Thomas said to the rest, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him” (11:16).
One of my good friends, the pastor of a church I attended for many years, is very much like Thomas. He can always be counted on to see, and to feel deeply, the dark side of things. Yet he is one of the few men I know who despite premonitions of doom is always ready to “also go” in any direction God leads.
How I admire the pessimist who sees danger everywhere, yet loyally follows where Christ leads. If you’ve been dismissed as a pessimist—and the pessimist is often criticized in our churches—take comfort. Thomas, a pessimist who remained totally loyal, provides an example you can follow.
Seeing difficulties is not the measure of a man. Being obedient despite them, is.

“Lord, show us the Father” John 14:8–11. The remarks of both Thomas and Philip seem to be interruptions that cause Jesus to digress from His main line of teaching. Yet Jesus’ answer to each disciple adds important truth. Jesus told Thomas that if he realized fully who Jesus was he would know the Father also (v. 7). Philip’s question led Jesus to expand on this thought. “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (v. 9).
Jesus so perfectly expresses the very person of God that to know Jesus is to know the Father. The individual who wonders what God is “really like” need only to look at Jesus Christ, and he or she will know.

“He will do even greater things than these” John 14:12. This is another of those puzzling verses of Scripture. How can a mere human being, even though he or she believes in Jesus, do “greater things” than Jesus did here on earth?
One suggestion is rooted in the observation that Peter, in preaching just one sermon (Acts 2), won more converts than Jesus did in His years of ministry! I think, however, that something more significant is implied.
The works Jesus did here on earth were in accordance with the will of the Father, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. They were special—but not amazing. After all, Jesus is God the Son and as God, not only knows but is in full harmony with the Father’s will, and is always receptive to the Spirit’s leading. You and I on the other hand are mere creatures, and sinful creatures at that. It is a far more amazing and wonderful thing when we act in full harmony with the Father’s will, and are receptive to the Spirit’s leading and His power. Our “greater works” are greater in wonder—in the awesome realization that God can use weak, sinful creatures like us to accomplish His purposes in our world.

“Whatever you ask in My name” John 14:13–14. The Christian’s power to do “greater works” is clearly rooted in prayer. We are not able to perform them: it is Christ in us who “will do” whatever we ask.
But note that we ask “in My name.” This means more than tacking “in Jesus’ name” to the end of every petition. In Hebrew thought the “name” expresses the essential character of the thing or person named. To pray “in Jesus’ name” is to make requests that are in fullest harmony with Christ’s character and His purposes. When we pray in this way, we can be sure our prayers will be answered, and that God’s power will flow.

“Another Counselor to be with you forever” John 14:16. Jesus would soon leave His disciples. Yet He would not leave them alone.
The word translated “counselor,” parakletos, means “a person summoned to one’s aid.” The word translated “another,” allos, means “another of the same kind,” in distinction to another of a different kind. Jesus would leave, but God the Father would send the Holy Spirit, who like the Son is God, to be present for our aid and comfort.
This Counselor is with us now, and forever.

“I too will love him and show Myself to him” John 14:21–24. These verses contain one of the most significant teachings on the Christian life. How do we experience the presence of Christ? No one can see Him, and yet in some mystic sense believers through the ages have known His real presence.
The principle Jesus laid down was: Love and obey. And the linkage between the two is that love stimulates obedience. In fact, the two are linked in an endless spiral. As love moves us to obey, obedience brings us closer to Jesus, which stimulates even more love. But a lack of love will lead to disobedience and a sense of unreality in our faith.
If Jesus seems unreal to you, look first to your love, then to your obedience.

“[He] will teach you all things” John 14:26. The Holy Spirit reminds us of what we have learned. The person who has made no effort to study and understand what Jesus has said will have nothing to be reminded of!

“My peace I give you” John 14:27. At best the world knows an uneasy peace, for the world’s peace depends on circumstances. An earthquake, an outbreak of war, the loss of a job, a sickness—these are just a few of the things that destroy the world’s peace.
In contrast Christ’s peace is independent of circumstances. It is rooted in the knowledge that God is our Father, Christ our Saviour, and heaven our home. Nothing that happens in this world can affect these realities.

DEVOTIONAL
Don’t Miss the Way
(John 14:1–6)
As my dad got older, his eyesight began to betray him. It wasn’t that he couldn’t see. It was just that he didn’t see as well—or respond as well to what he saw.
I’ll never forget the reaction of my two sons, Paul and Tim, after they took a rather wild ride with Dad in northern Wisconsin. He drove his camper—equipped truck along a narrow dirt road, tree branches whipping at its sides, as my two teens gripped whatever they could hold on to in the cab. “I’m not going to ride with Grandpa again!” they later announced.
I could understand. Whenever I flew into Detroit, I always arranged to drive the car home when Dad picked me up. It really is dangerous when people can’t see that way.
It’s dangerous spiritually too when people assume that there are many roads to God, and set off blithely down one of them, confident that it will ultimately lead them to Him. Jesus made it unequivocally clear that there is just one way that leads to God, and that He is the way.
His words, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me,” stake out Christianity’s most exclusive claim. Other religions offer paths to follow. Others exhibit moral insight. Others hint at a life after death. But only in the person of Jesus Christ can anyone find THE way to God, THE truth about the universe, and THE life that is eternal. Only through Jesus can anyone approach God.
My teens were right about not wanting to take a ride with my dad. And we’re right in trusting ourselves to no one except Jesus. Everyone else has missed the way.

Life Application
The road to God really is marked with “One Way” signs.

Quotable
You, my son,
Have shown me God.
Your kiss upon my cheek
Has made me feel the gentle touch of Him who leads us on.
The memory of your smile, when young,
Reveals His face,
As mellowing years come on apace.
And when you went before,
You left the gates of heaven ajar
That I might glimpse,
Approaching from afar,
The glories of His grace.
Hold, my son, my hand,
Guide me along the path,
That, coming,
I may stumble not,
Nor roam,
Nor fail to show the way
Which leads us home.
-Grace Coolidge

A NEW COMMANDMENT
John 13

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. All men will know that you are My disciples if you love one another” (John 13:34–35).

Love isn’t an option. It’s a commandment, and the mark of Christ’s new community.

Overview
Jesus shared a final meal with His disciples, at which He washed their feet (13:1–11). He required His disciples to follow His example of humble service (vv. 12–17). Jesus predicted His betrayal, and Judas left (vv. 18–30). Christ then gave His “new commandment” to love one another (vv. 31–35), and predicted Peter’s betrayal (vv. 36–38).

Understanding the Text
“He now showed them the full extent of His love” John 13:1. This chapter begins John’s treatment of Christ’s final hours before His crucifixion. In one sense, it is the journey Jesus now took to the cross that unveiled the “full extent” of His love. But probably John has in mind here what Jesus did and said at the Last Supper. The act of foot-washing related in this chapter, Christ’s teaching on the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 14; 16), His revelation of a Vine/branches relationship with Him (John 15), and His prayer for our sanctification (John 17), all uniquely unveil the extent of Christ’s love in the great salvation His death has won for us.

This first-century basin features a raised footrest in the center. A guest placed his foot on the rest, as a slave poured water on it to wash away the dust of travel. The task was assigned to the lowest menial. That Jesus, their Lord and Master, should stoop to wash the disciples’ feet, was a stunning example of humility (13:4–5).

“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power” John 13:2–5. John added, Jesus knew that “He had come from God and was returning to God.” And then John inserts a strange little word: “so.”
“So” Jesus got up, wrapped a towel around His waist, poured water in a basin, and began to wash His disciples’ feet.
Why the “so”? Because only a person who is truly secure in his identity can afford to take the role of a servant. Jesus knew who He was. He was the Son of God, and He could not be diminished by humbling Himself to serve His disciples.
It’s true for us today too. In the world people struggle to gain every social advantage, and to appear great. Insecure and aware of their vulnerability, they prop themselves up by pride of accomplishment. Many Christians are like this—competing with others to appear important. But the Christian who realizes the significance of his sonship, and of being deeply loved by God, will have none of the insecurity that generates competition.
You and I can stoop to serve others. The humblest of roles cannot diminish us.

“You shall never wash my feet” John 13:6–11. Peter was shocked by the inappropriateness of it. The One he called Lord, serving him! It just wasn’t right. Peter should serve Jesus, not the other way around.
John pointed out that Peter did not understand the symbolism of the act, or its power as an example of servanthood. Jesus must “wash” His followers, not just to make them socially acceptable, but to make them acceptable for the kingdom of God.
Many have suggested that here the “bath” (v. 10) represents the total cleansing of a person from sin that takes place when we put our trust in Jesus as Saviour. Foot-washing represents the cleansing of sins that we commit as believers—sins analogous to the dust a person would pick up after bathing, while walking home through a dusty Judean street.
We have been washed clean by faith in Jesus. But we stand in continual need of cleansing from the sins we still commit.

“You also should wash one another’s feet” John 13:12–17. Luke 22:24 tells us that as the disciples entered the room where the Last Supper was to be held, they were arguing about who would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
This bit of background from Luke helps us sense the significance of Jesus’ question, “Do you understand what I have done for you?” If Jesus, their Lord and Master, could stoop to serve, the disciples should not compete for greatness, but rather concentrate on servanthood. “I have set you an example, that you should do as I have done for you.”
In a few Christian traditions literal foot-washing is practiced. But Christ’s concern is not for the act, but for the attitude it displays. Humility and servanthood are necessary elements of Christian discipleship. If we are followers of Jesus, we must certainly follow this example.

“Jesus was troubled in spirit” John 13:18–30. It would be wrong to suppose that Jesus did not love Judas. The psalm Jesus quoted (v. 18) was a psalm of David, that laments the defection of a friend. A similar lament is found in Psalm 55:12–14, which captures the pain of a friend’s betrayal:

  If an enemy were insulting me,
    I could endure it;
  if a foe were raising himself against me,
    I could hide from him.
  But it is you, a man like myself,
    my companion and close friend,
  with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
    as we walked with the throng
    at the house of God.

If you have been abandoned by a friend, or betrayed by someone you loved, never doubt for a moment that Jesus understands.

“As soon as Judas took the bread Satan entered into him” John 13:27. The phrase does not mean that Satan took control of Judas against his will. Just the opposite! When Jesus offered Judas a bit of bread with meat from the main dish on it, Judas knew without a doubt that Christ knew Judas intended to betray Him. The other disciples did not understand, but Judas did.
This was the crucial moment. No one knew but Jesus. At that moment Judas could have changed his mind. Instead he took the morsel that Christ held out to him, in effect announcing his intent to complete his bargain with the priests.
It was when Judas made his irrevocable commitment that “Satan entered him.” In deciding to abandon Christ, Judas had opened wide the door of his personality to the control of an evil, spiritual force.
No one who makes such an irrevocable commitment against Christ finds freedom. He or she has simply exchanged submission to good for submission to evil. Submission to God for submission to Satan. And eternal life for eternal damnation.

“And it was night” John 13:30. Perhaps as Judas opened the door and went out John caught a glimpse of Jerusalem, lying in the deep shadows of Palestine’s sudden nightfall. All we know is that darkness closes in at this point—and that a dark, somber hue colors the subsequent events that lead inexorably to the cross. The pale of night now lies over Jerusalem, and will not be dispelled until Resurrection Day.

“I will lay down my life for You” John 13:36–38. Peter must have been a comfort to Jesus. Judas plotted to betray Him. But faithful Peter, ever eager and willing, truly was committed to his Lord. Even though Jesus knew that before many hours passed Peter would deny Him, Peter’s love still must have been a comfort.
It’s hard for us to realize that the people who love us are often as weak as well-intentioned Peter. People who love us don’t want to hurt us, any more than we want to hurt them. But we human beings are so weak.
I suspect that this is what we are to learn from Peter’s betrayal. Each of us is weak. And motives, while important, are no guarantee that we will not fall. How good to know that Jesus understands our weakness, and accepts us anyway. How necessary that we understand each other’s weaknesses, and be ready to forgive.

DEVOTIONAL
So What’s New?
(John 13:31–35)
That’s the problem with Jesus’ “new commandment.” Love? What’s new about that? The other Gospel writers inform us that Jesus identified love as the greatest of the Old Testament’s commands: Love God with all your heart, He’d said, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 19:19; 22:37–39; Mark 12:30–33; Luke 10:27). Whatever we can say about love, we can’t say it’s “new.” Love for God and others is woven into the whole of the Old Testament revelation!
The answer lies in the Greek word here, kainen. It does not imply “recent,” or even “different.” What it suggests is that there is something fresh and new in the love that Jesus commanded. And, looking closely at the text, we can see what that is!
First, the freshness is found in the new relationships Jesus creates (John 13:34). The Old Testament said, “Love your neighbor” (Lev. 19:18). Jesus was about to establish a new community, in which believers will be brothers and sisters—family, not merely neighbors. Love takes on fresh new meaning in the intimacy possible for members of the family of God.
Second, the freshness is found in the new standard Jesus applies. The Old Testament said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said to love “as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Just as Jesus’ love was self-sacrificial, and put our benefit before His own well-being, so we now have the opportunity to express, and receive, truly selfless love.
The next verse adds one more dimension to the love Jesus commanded. There is a fresh, new impact on the world, worked by Jesus’ kind of love. “All men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” The most compelling evidence we can present of the reality of Jesus Christ is our love for one another. When Christians love one another as Jesus loves us, all do know that we follow Him, and that He lives.

Personal Application
Love isn’t Jesus’ “new suggestion.” It is His “new commandment.”

Quotable
“People don’t go where the action is, they go where the love is.”—Jess Moody