John 15 - The Secret to True and Lasting Joy!

Click Here to Read or Listen to John 15

Vineyards were all over the area where Jesus and his disciples lived, so it would make sense for Jesus to use this metaphor of the Vine and the Branches. Jesus was a master teacher, so he always took examples from nature to teach spiritual truths. I.e. The Sower and the Seed, The Mustard Seed, Yeast in the Bread

In this case Jesus calls himself the "True Vine". Once again Jesus is making a claim to be God. In the Old Testament, Israel was the "True Vine" of God. They were God's instrument to make his will known. Jesus is the True Vine and the Father is the Gardener. 

Importantly, the purpose of a vine is to bear fruit. The purpose of a Christian is to bear spiritual fruit. So you can see the connection. Jesus says the key to being a fruit-bearing Christian is to stay connected to the Vine, which is Him. The natural outcome of staying connected to, or abiding in Jesus, is to bear fruit. We don't have to try and make fruit on our own effort. We bear fruit through Jesus' presence and power in our lives. I.e. We are a new creation in Christ. 

Jesus also makes a promise. He says if we will remain in Him, He will remain in us. It is a symbiotic and reciprocal relationship. Just like a branch can't bear fruit without remaining in the Vine, we can't bear any fruit apart from our relationship with Christ. 

The most often quoted verse in the Lutheran Confessions is John 15:5, "Apart from me you can do nothing!" Humbling but true. 

The flipside of abiding in Christ is not abiding in him. Instead of bearing fruit, the person who is disconnected from the Vine, withers and dies. We unfortunately see this with Christians who fall away from Christ and bear no spiritual fruit in their lives. Very sad! The other benefit of staying connected to Jesus is the power of prayer. 

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 

Finally, Jesus says the surest way to show the world you are a disciple of Christ is to bear fruit. Christians can talk about being a Christian, but if they are not "walking the walk" it will actually have a negative effect on the people we are trying to reach. 

Jesus also says that as we remain in him, we will remain in His love. He equates keeping his commands with remaining in his love. It doesn't mean if we disobey a commandment that God doesn't love us anymore. What I think he is saying is that when we love others with the love Jesus has given us, it is the surest sign of our relationship with God. 

Then, he gives two very important promises related to abiding in this love and showing it to others. 

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

As you know, joy is different than happiness. Joy is deeper and more reliable than happiness, which can be taken any moment by the circumstances around us. When we experience Jesus' joy, it can never be taken from us because it comes from the inside through the Holy Spirit. See the Fruits of the Spirit Galatians 5:22 

Love is the key, and God showed us his deep love for us by sending Jesus to come to the world to love us. In Jesus' deep love for the world he went to the cross so we could be forgiven of our sin and live forever. There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for a friend! Jesus has that kind of love for you. This is different than any other religion and much more personal. 

Jesus says, 

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.

We did not choose Jesus, He chose us. Though someone might say they made a personal decision to accept Christ, Jesus accepted them long before they accepted him. Jesus chose us before the begining of time. Importantly Jesus says he appointed or called us to bear fruit that will last. 

What we do for Jesus by loving others like he loved us is not only valuable in this life, but it makes an eternal difference. We don't love to get others to love us, but we love to show them God's love in us and lead them to that love. 

The World Hates the Disciples

Though the disciples would show the world they were Jesus' disciples by their love, it didn't mean that everybody would accept them. In fact, they could expect similar treatment to what Jesus received, because of their association with him as his disciples. But he reminded them that they are not of this world, and that he had chosen them OUT of THIS WORLD!

Jesus sums up their allegiance to him and what it might entail by saying, 

‘A servant is not greater than his master'

A servant is probably the best synonym for being Jesus' disciple. A servant is one who has given up his or her rights. It is the same word as "slave", but we don't use that word because of the modern day connotation of that word. But we serve others out of obedience to our master. 

Jesus said, "You can't serve two master. You will grow to love the one and hate the other." For instance, you cannot serve God and money among other things. 

The Work of the Holy Spirit

Jesus then begins to teach about the Holy Spirit, who he will have much more to say about in chapters 16 and 17. We see the Trinity when Jesus says, 

"When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me." 

You can see all three persons of the Trinity twice in this verse. The word for "Advocate" is the same word as "Counselor" as a description of the Spirit's role. The idea is Holy Spirit comes alongside of us and helps us to carry out God's will as we abide in Christ. The Holy Spirit, is the Spirit of Christ, which he will send to the disciples on Pentecost, 50 days after he has risen from the dead!

Are you abiding in or staying connected to Jesus? What does that look like for you? Prayer, bible reading, fellowship with other belivers, worship ???

Does the way you love others reflect your abiding in Christ so that the world will know you are Jesus' disciple?  Are you willing to lay down your life for your friends like Jesus did?