Scripture reading: John 15:1-15.

Sermon text: John 15:16-27.

I once read the story of a pastor who visited a wayward church member. The member had skipped church several Sundays. When the pastor arrived, the member invited him to sit in front of the fireplace. The 2 men sat silently for several minutes before the pastor took the poker iron and moved a small piece of wood away from the fire. The burning wood soon died down to a small ember. The pastor then moved the ember back to the fire, where it immediately sprang back to life. The church member said, “Preacher, point made. You’ll see me on Sunday.”

When Jesus gave the disciples the teachings in today’s chapter, He revealed the Father’s plan for humanity in general and for the Church in particular. God always intended for us to live with Him, in companionship with our Creator. As St. Augustine wrote in the Confessions, “Thou movest us to delight in praising Thee; for Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee” (I.i). We fulfill God’s plan for us when we live by His commands, attached to the “vine” through Jesus, Our Lord.

Jesus opened this passage with a common picture: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” The disciples had seen vineyards before; practically everyone in Judea and Galilee had walked by a vineyard at some time. The disciples had seen “vinedressers” walking through the vineyards, checking the vines and supervising the workers as they pruned and cared for the vines. Jesus used this picture to describe how the Father cared for those who believed in Him.

The Father constantly cares for those who believe in Jesus. He had already told the disciples they were “clean” (John 13:10), but they must “abide” in Jesus to “bear fruit” for the Father. The word for “abide” here refers to a constant state; Jesus’ disciples must remain in the will of Christ to bear fruit.

The Father cares for the vine by removing “branches” who do not bear fruit and by pruning those who do. This process should comfort us by insuring us God will do nothing in our lives that will not improve our service to the Church. On the contrary, everything God does in our lives will help us both in this life and the life to come.

It is important that we remain in Jesus, i.e. that we keep ourselves in His commands and will for our lives. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” We can accomplish nothing in the Church if we try to do so apart from Jesus. Every plan we make, every program we try to implement must come from the Vine, Jesus Himself.

Do you remember the promise Jesus made the disciples in chapter 14? We find it again here: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Here we find the secret to asking for God to do something for us: We must remain in Jesus and let His words “abide” in our hearts.

What words must abide within us? “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 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.” It’s difficult for us to overemphasize the love of the Father for us; likewise, we cannot overemphasize the importance of our love for one another and for everyone the Father places in our lives. As I reminded you last week, you’ve never met a “mere mortal;” everyone you meet or know will live forever. Jesus loved them enough to die for their sins and rise again for their victory over death. We, too, must love them as He has loved them and as we know He loves us.

When we demonstrate Jesus’ love, we find that His “joy” remains with us. We do not simply enjoy the pleasures of life; we have true joy that comes only from abiding with our Creator.

At this point, Jesus changed His relationship with His disciples. Notice the transition: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

Disciples in the first century never expected their master to treat them as “friends,” or as equals. Jesus would now treat His disciples as friends, not as servants or pupils. Jesus told His disciples what He expected of them: “do what I command you.” Again, the command to love each other gives us an ability to enjoy friendship with Jesus.

“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 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.” Jesus would die within only hours of this discourse; He had already warned His disciples and given them instructions beyond those of mere students.

Jesus also reminded the disciples of an important fact in their relationship: The disciples did not “choose” to follow Jesus; we find no evidence that any disciple in the room that night had asked to follow Jesus. Instead, Jesus “chose” them. Don’t let this word take you down the wrong trail. Jesus didn’t use the word that refers to predestination; instead, this word simply means “to chose.”

This makes sense when you think of it. Jesus selected 12 men, 11 of whom would remain on earth after He ascended back to heaven. These 11 men, joined by other followers of Jesus, would receive power through the Holy Spirit to carry the message of Jesus throughout the world. Jesus chose these men that they would “bear fruit;” as they bore fruit, i.e. carried the gospel through the world, they asked the Father for His help in their mission, knowing He would provide the help they required.

Jesus’ words would not always find a receptive audience. Even as Jesus spoke to the disciples, the Jewish leadership sat only a few blocks away and plotted His death. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” The powers that control this world will never accept Jesus’ message of redemption and love. “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.” As Jesus faced persecution and would face death, so would the disciples.

It gets worse; the very persecutors of Jesus were those who should have recognized Him by the prophesies. Instead, “They do not know him who sent me.” The Jewish leadership had become so enamored of their privileges and power they refused to accept their Messiah. Their own law would condemn them; they would hate even “the Father,” the God who had predestined Israel as His people. “But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’”

Jesus now turned to the one who would empower the disciples to remain in His words. “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” Jesus had already spoken of the Holy Spirit (14:16-17, 26). The Holy Spirit would “bear witness” about Jesus. Everything the Holy Spirit does will point someone to Jesus. The Holy Spirit will never do anything that does not bring notice to Jesus, a point some in the Church would do well to remember.

All these words point us to 2 incredible truths.

First, God loves you! I know that many people in the world today look at their lives and see only sin and failure. These people honestly believe God doesn’t love them because no one else loves them. Even worse, some people honestly believe God can never forgive them of their sin. God didn’t send Jesus, His only Son, to die for lost causes. God can forgive every sin you’ve ever committed because He loves you enough to do so.

Secondly, we can really enjoy a full relationship with God. Everyone who believes in Jesus (John 3:16) will join the vine. When we abide in Jesus’ commandments to love one another, we enter a relationship with God that transcends a master-servant relationship; we can truly become “friends” with Jesus, God Himself. We demonstrate this friendship in our lives by abiding in His commandments, finding that His commandments lead us to fuller lives as the Holy Spirit indwells us and guides us in our lives. This doesn’t spare us from the sorrows of life, but it does give us the assurance that anything that happens to us proves God’s pruning in our lives.

Do you want to live as a friend of Jesus? Abide in the vine; follow His commandments to love God and one another, and enjoy the privileges of friendship with the Creator as you were created to do.