Guide and Abide

Introduction:

At this point in Christ’s ministry His time is short and he about to go to the cross. He takes his disciples and eats with them one last time the Passover Meal. You can imagine the disciples all sitting around this spread of food reflecting on God’s initial deliverance of Israel thousands of years ago from Egyptian slavery. Maybe a small group of Roman soldiers walked by reminding them they still were under someone else’s sovereign rule; rendering the old covenant somewhat ineffective. None-the-less, with their Christmas like anticipation, they sat with Christ eating the Passover wondering what’s next; will this messiah deliver them for good. For the next five chapters Christ gives his last instructions to his disciples. In John’s account, this is the longest uninterrupted speech by Christ ever recorded.

1) Washes his disciple’s feet

2) Betrayal

3) New Commandment (Love)

4) I am the Truth, the Life, and the Way.

5) Promise of the Holy Spirit

6) I am the Vine

7) World will hate you

8) Work of the Holy Spirit

9) Sorrow to Joy

10) Final prayer

Who He Is:

“I am the vine and my Father is the gardener” ().

Jesus uses “I Am” language throughout this passage denoting his divine self. Here in chapter fifteen Jesus is saying “I Am” again, this time equating himself to Israel by saying I Am the True Vine. His disciples must have had a couple passages come to mind:

“A pleasant vineyard sing of it! I, the Lord, am its keeper; every moment I water it. Lest anyone punish it, I keep it night and day” ()

“Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard; My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it” ()

At this point it was clear Christ was in division with the Pharisees, the ‘Israel” of their time. He has spent the last twelve chapters and three years of his life opening rebuking the Jewish leaders of His day. He now thinks it necessary to make it clear Israel is not dead, just as the Prophecies and Law are not dead. Instead, Christ is the fulfillment of all these. In fact, Christ is the fullness of Israel, the law, the prophets, and the whole Old Testament. He was about to do what none of these could do in-and-of-themselves. In a real sense John is paralleling the opening of his Gospel with Christ’s incarnation.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” ().

This God in the flesh demonstrates this Word with such accuracy it probably seemed to John that the parchment got up and started living right in front of him. It would not be enough to say that Christ was emulating or personifying scripture, it seems that John thought all of scripture was trying to imitate him!

Christ was something that was bigger than the word itself; not as a replacement, but what all of the profits and fore-fathers were pointing to this entire time. He really was a fulfillment of the law (). This concept must have been so strong in John’s mind that The Word and Christ became synonyms: Christ’s eternal, so is the word; He created, so did the word; He was with God, so was the word. This same truth is being explained here, “I am the vine and my Father is the Gardener.” He is making himself the embodiment of a much larger idea. In our passage He is Israel.

Application: This concept would have been immense and challenging for the Disciples to understand that night, and I am not sure they believed it entirely having not understood it. However, they also would have been very encouraged with the thought that they were the remnant of the ‘True’ Israel. The would have identified with many of the OT prophets that felt like cast outs such as Elijah and even King David before he takes the throne yet is ordained by Samuel to do so. There are many times in our story where we are the underdog, the outcast, the minority. In this story Christianity’s population was eleven! There must be some joy God takes in doing this because he does it over and over again. Paul puts It like this;

“God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord” ().

So, no matter how minority Christianity becomes, we still hold THE Truth, and we are still grafted into THE True Vine! Rejoice in who Christ is and place your faith in Him; not in an idea, or a concept, or a church, or a systematic theology. Place your faith in the living vine, Christ.

Who you are:

“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. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.” (,).

Christ’s message starts off dim with talk about being thrown into the fire and being cut off. This contrast is necessary to create the effect of being clean. This would raise questions in any person mind, “Am I getting cut off, am I being cast out?” Just like the disciples asked just before Judas Iscariot left the dinner that night, “Lord, who is it” ()? The disciples were always wondering how Christ’s words applied to them. We should do the same. When Christ speaks, we should be asking how does this change me?

This time Christ doesn’t even give them a chance to start asking their questions, “Already you are clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” This grim reality of being cast off from the true vine does not apply to them. In other words, Christ says I am not talking about you. I’m sure they probably immediately thought back to Christ washing their feet that night before supper.

“He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus replied, ‘You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’

‘Then, Lord’ Simon Peter replied, ‘not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!’

Jesus answered, ‘Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean” ().

Application: The relief the disciples must have felt to be clean in Christ’s eyes. As we know, this concept of being forgiven is paramount to our identity in Christ. Without this cleanliness, we could not have a relationship with God! Our paramount identity as a Christian is redeemed through Christ work on the cross.

“Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in the hope of the glory of God” ().

“For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit” ().

“By the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body” ().

Believe first in who Christ is, but then believe in who he says you are! One of our men in our small group, Forest, gave a small testimony and said this profound truth, “God’s word created the heavens and earth. Therefore, I trust it to tell me who I am.” If we cannot believe both realities as truth, who Christ is and Who we are, we cannot grow in our faith. It is not enough just to know who God is, but to believe you are known by God too. Paul says, “The one who loves God is known by God” (). In other words, if our faith is in that we know God but never loved him, we run the risk of him saying, “I never knew you, depart from me” (). Part of believing in Christ, is believing what he says about you, and you are clean! I came across this poem by Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was a German Pastor during WWII and was anti-Nazi describing this great need;

"Who am I? They often tell me

I stepped from my cell's confinement

Calmly, cheerfully, firmly,

Like a Squire from his country house.

Who am I? They often tell me

I used to speak to my warders

freely and friendly and clearly,

as through it were mine to command.

Who am I? They also tell me

I bore the days of misfortune

equably, smilingly, proudly,

like one accustomed to win.

Am I then really that which other men tell of?

Or am I only what I myself know of myself?

Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,

Struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing

My throat, yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds,

thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness,

tossing in expectation of great events,

powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,

weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,

faint, and ready to say farewell to it all.

Who am I? This or the Other?

Am I one person to-day and to-morrow another?

Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,

And before myself a contemptible woebegone weakling?

Or is something within me like a beaten army

Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely question of mine,

Whoever I am, Thou Knowest, O God, I am thine."

Let Christ’s definition of you become your identity. Let it wash away your guilt, anxiety, worries, and all other distracting and disabling fears that cripple your relationship with Him and with others. Let’s believe what Christ said about us before we believe what we think about our self; whether that be good or bad.

Let Christ’s definition of you become your identity.

What to do, Abide:

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the Branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 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.”

If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” ().

‘Meno,’ the Greek word for, ‘Abide.’ This word has many unique qualities to it, one of which John’s prolific use of it throughout his gospel and epistles. The word means, “Remain; stay; reside; to remain; to stay; lasting to continue; persist.” The use of this word brings out two unique aspects. One, this is a commitment, not a decision. So often we are focused on our relationship with Christ as a decision that happened years, months, weeks, or moments ago. This is not wrong and certainly true but being grafted into the vine is relational and continual not just a single transaction, and that has more of a connotation of commitment to follow or abide than a single choice. The other unique aspect this word carries with it is its endurance. It is as though John implies by using such a strong word for stay, that something or someone is going to try and get you to leave. This commitment is not a passive one that will never be challenged. Christ’s use of the word abide is a call to endure what is coming. For the disciples, that challenge was almost a failure.

Peter ends up denying Christ, the rest of the disciples are scattered and hiding. Some go back to their old jobs. The shepherd had been struck indeed and the sheep scattered (). The call for endurance could not have been more needed!

This passage shouts to us to hold our ground, stand firm, keep the faith! Just like the disciples, what we initially believed in; for Peter on the beach when he first met Christ, or Nathaniel as he was under the tree and his brother came and got him, or even Paul being confronted on the road to Damascus, is still worth believing in. Remember, the disciples thought Christ was going to concur and secure Israel’s boarder as a king, but instead he died upon the cross next to two common sinners. The letdown of the crucifixion could not have been larger for the disciples. Today we face that same constant doubt to stop believing in the Christ we found our faith in, but the call to abide, endure, stay is just as strong today as it was then.

The effects of this are fruits.

The effects of this are to be fruitful. This is a natural, organic if you would, process that emerges from someone who believes in Christ. Just as the disciples didn’t set out to be filled with joy, peace, longsuffering, ect…but they did set out to live their relationship they had with Christ, and that relationship was founded on love. If you find yourself lacking fruits, don’t try harder, look to get more involved, or drowned yourself with self-help books. Sit down with God and his word and fall in love with Him. Start doing that, and fruits be more no more difficult to conjure than an apple tree bearing apples.

Those that are not grafted into the vine whither away and die. What else could you expect? If you are not plugged into life than how can you live. Those on life support don’t scoff at the idea they are going to die if taken off. Neither should we be shocked at the idea we cannot live without the life giver. Often, we think of God’s judgement as though He chooses our judgement in a moment of rage, but more frequently we see God’s judgement as a last resort to our hardened hearts. Christ prayed, “take this cup from me,” () and God’s silence is to say, “there is no other way.” How much more of an exception should we have? I’m not putting hand cuffs on God as to say this or that is impossible, but the indisputable fact is God is life and apart from Him there only can be death. This is the reality Christ is explaining to his disciples through a vine metaphor.

Application: I’m sure you feel the pressure to put Christ away, stop believing in your silly fairy tales. The same let down of the cross is a threat to all those who believe today. Society as a whole think that Christianity is an outdated, mindless, religion that has no place among the thinkers or the rational. We are bombarded to believe we are mentally ill or obsolete, but Christ is sitting with you today at the same Passover table, not saying come onto me, but stay with me, ABIDE in me, continue to believe in me! This is what he was saying the disciples that night.

Application: I’m sure you feel the pressure to put Christ away, stop believing in your silly fairy tales. The same let down of the cross is a threat to all those who believe today. Society as a whole think that Christianity is an outdated, mindless, religion that has no place among the thinkers or the rational. We are bombarded to believe we are mentally ill or obsolete, but Christ is sitting with you today at the same Passover table, not saying come onto me, but stay with me, ABIDE in me, continue to believe in me! This is what he was saying the disciples that night. And that belief in Him will propel your life into a life full of fruit and love.

The Result, Love:

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 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” ()

Inseparable union between obedience and love. John parallels these concepts with a trinitarian like unity; one cannot be without the other. It’s a working Love, a functional affection, a living command. Love is not a feeling it is an action!

Inseparable union between obedience and love. John parallels these concepts with a trinitarian like unity; one cannot be without the other. It’s a working Love, a functional affection, a living command. Love is not a feeling it is an action! Christ demonstrated this everywhere he went. If confrontation was the need, he met it. If someone needed healing, he healed. If someone needed to be taught, he taught them. I was not concerned with making people like him, but he was extremely concerned with giving them what they really needed. One of the hallmarks of love is its genuine concern for the other person. You don’t care if they like or dislike you in the end or if you are getting something out of it. A decision made in love always does it for the genuine best interest of the other person, even if it is detrimental to yourself; not always, but at times.

Why:

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” ().

One of the greatest statements in this entire passage is verse eleven. God cares about your happiness! He wants your joy to be full and real. Many times, it seems that God is depicted as a Glory hog just wanting the praise for running this ship really well. That self-awarded ‘boss of eternity’ honor is hardly genuine glory. We should not confuse our definitions of words with God’s intended meaning and use of them in his word. Part of God’s glory is your joy, your happiness, you! In this passage, Christ’s entire intent for the disciples to abide, love, and have that secure identity in him is for their Joy.