Lesson 18 - John 15

 

I.          With each trip by Jesus to Jerusalem, we see growing antagonism and tension between Him and the religious establishment, including their plot to kill Jesus. His arrival into Jerusalem on the back of a humble donkey=s foal is an Ain-your-face@ reference to the Messiah from Zechariah 9:9 and the religious authorities got the message.

 

II.             Background to Chapter 15

 

A.        Old Testament use of the images of vinedresser and his vineyard illustrated God=s special care for the nation of Israel but when used in Isaiah 5: 1-7, it was a stinging rebuke.

 

B.        The Parable of the Vineyard from Matthew 21: 33-40.  Once again we are told that the religious officials knew exactly what Jesus meant.  Verse 45B AWhen the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus= parables, they knew he was talking about them.@ 

 

 AThe reason God planted the vine in the Promised Land B the reason anyone plants a vine B was to produce fruit.  Tragically, Israel failed.@  

(Charles Swindoll B Jesus B the Greatest Life of All)

 

C.        Jesus gathered His disciples together for a special meal and during this meal, Jesus summarized His teaching B giving guidelines for how His disciples (including us) ought to live out life in a world which is at odds with God=s Word. 

 

D.        At the end of chapter 14, Jesus says ACome now; let us leave.@  There is debate here about did they actually leave the Upper Room at this point.  No consensus about this.

 

III.             Chapter 15 begins: AI am the true vine, and My father is the vinedresser. . .@  Comparing this vineyard with the passages from Isaiah and Matthew, we find a dramatic recasting of images.  In John=s parable, Jesus takes the place of Israel.  Jesus claims to be authentic & healthy vine Israel had failed to become.

 

 AJohn 15 is the Fourth Gospel=s most profound theological relocation of Israel=s >holy space.=  Jesus is here revising Israel=s theological assumption about territory and religion.  He is changing the place of rootedness for the people of God.  Unlike the Synoptic parable that employs the traditional Old Testament categories of vineyard and vine, Jesus here says God=s vineyard has one vine, he is that vine, and attachment to God comes through attachment to him.  It is no longer a matter of possessing the vineyard; it is now a matter of knowing the one true vine. . . Jesus is thus pointing away from the vineyard as place, as territory of hills and valleys, cisterns and streams.  In a word, Jesus spiritualizes the Land.  He replaces the image of the vine and the promise of the Land held so sacred in Judaism.@   (Gary Burge B The NIV Application Commentary B John)

A.        Verse 2: Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 

 

ATypically, Christians assume that the production of fruit is their responsibility, something they must do in gratitude for what Christ has done for them.@ (Charles Swindoll)  

 

B.        The expression Ain Me@ represents what theologians call positional truth.   What this means is that when Christ Aabides@ in us, God treats us as He would Jesus.. . . Being Ain Christ@ puts us in right relationship with the Father. 

 

C.        The key word in this chapter is Aabide.@  It is used 11 times in verses 1-11. 

AThe picture of attachment to Jesus as a branch is attached to a vine is an apt description of the interior spiritual life Jesus has described since chapter 14.  Here, however, the key word is Aremaining@ or Aabiding@ (Gk. Meno), which is used throughout the discourse (15:4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10).  The growing disciple in whom the Father and Son live (14:20,23) through the Spirit (14:16, 25: 15:26) is one whose life is utterly dependent on Christ.  Discipleship is not just a matter of acknowledging who Jesus is; it is having Jesus spiritually connected to our inner lives.@  (Gary Burge)

 

C.        With the believer=s eternal destiny secure, Jesus now moves to the production of fruit.  The purpose of the branch is no different than that of the vine: to produce fruit.  Jesus said, Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away.

 

1.             Many versions translate a key term in this verse as Atakes away,@ Aremoves,@ or even Acuts off,@ but its primary definition is Ato lift from the ground.@  The word can and often does mean A to lift with a view to carrying, to carry off or put away.@  In keeping with the metaphor, Jesus most likely referred to the vinedresser=s practice of lifting a sagging branch and tying it to the trellis B a procedure called Atraining.@  (Swindoll)

 

2.              The vinedresser also carefully prunes the branches to encourage healthy growth. 

 

 AThe greatest judgment God could bring to a believer would be to let him alone, let him have his own way.  Because God loves us, He Aprunes@ us and encourages us to bear more fruit for His glory.@ 

(Warren Wiersbe B Be Alive, Be Transformed)

 

D.        Jesus did not identify in this parable what the fruit represents. 

 

1.             Some have suggested that the fruit of the vine (a believer) is another believer. 

 

2.             Paul used the image of fruit to describe the character qualities that mark a healthy, mature believer in Galatians 5: 22-23: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

 

3.             Swindoll says that we really don=t know what Jesus meant by fruit.  In biblical imagery, fruit provides unmistakable proof of identity and a tree that is loaded with fruit B that is a sign of good health. 

 

E.        John 15:4-5: In this passage Jesus is not commanding believers (branches) to produce fruit.  Fruit is the purpose of the branch, but not its responsibility.  Apart from the vine it cannot produce anything.

 

AThe focus of a Christian=s activity is not to work hard enough to make fruit, but to keep his connection in Jesus Christ clean and strong.@ 

(Charles Swindoll) 

 

F.         John 15:6 is the topic of much debate by theologians

 

1.             Some have suggested that the one who Adoes not abide in Me@ is a believer who has failed to be faithful and has lost his or her salvation.  But Jesus said that no one can be saved and then unsaved (John 1:27-29). 

 

2.             Others propose that the one who Adoes not abide@ was never a genuine believer B such as those who reject Jesus entirely or those who merely profess to believe but don=t.  But the context of Jesus= entire illustration is focused on and limited to believers.

 

3.             The point is simply this: The good vinedresser in the Middle East knows how to read the health of his vines.  Living branches are trimmed and dead branches are removed.

             

AThe principle is simple: Jesus (and the vine) are the source of life, to fail to have him is to fail to have life.  To refuse to >remain in Jesus= (15:6a) is to refuse the gift of life he offers. . .  He provides this analogy to talk about his essential, life-giving work, not to discuss the history of individual branches.@

(Gary Burge)

 

4.             Someone who fails to abide is someone trying to transform his or her own character in order to produce Christlike qualities without maintaining a connection to Christ.