Can't Do Without You | Reflections on John 15 | Part 2

This is the concluding part of the 2part Blog Post. For PART 1 please click here

PART 2

Verse 12-13  ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 

Why is there this switch as it were, a shift in focus from our relationship with Jesus to our relationship with one another? He knew if He asked us to just love Him that would be easy. He asked us to love each other! He knew that was another story!!  The test of our love for Him is in our obedience to this command; to love each other.

Remember this is a few hours before his arrest. He knew what was ahead and that they were going to need each other in the new chapter in their faith. They could not be in competition with each other nor in constant comparison.

 He wanted them to know the importance of being connected to Him first. It is from that prime connection that they get their identity and not from each other or in relation to each other. Nor do they get it from what they do or don’t do.

 You can almost sense the urgency in Jesus’ voice as HE is trying to get this truth across to a very distracted lot of disciples.

Jesus knew that this would not produce the fruit He was looking for in their lives. 

Also I looked at the other Gospels. Here is what I found in Luke 22: 24-27

²⁴ A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. ²⁵ Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. ²⁶ But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. ²⁷ For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.”

Did this prompt the Master to wash the feet of His disciples as an object lesson so that they would never forget? He could see what had the potential to destroy the early church – pushing for power, position, and prominence. He had to get them to understand that that would get them nowhere. It would not produce the fruit He was looking for. 

To paraphrase chapters 13 to 16. “ Hey, guys stop all this fighting amongst your selves. Stop secretly thinking about how you can get forward and leave the others behind. It does not work that way. Jealousy and competition and grabbing won’t get you anywhere. You need it each other.

Trust me, it is going to get crazier than you think. The politicians and religious rules are going to come after you. Some of you will pay with your life. You need to watch each other’s backs. You will not be able to do the stuff I want you to do if you do not stay close to each other and me. It’s just like the grapevine and the branches. They are connected. If it is not, it will die and not bear any fruit.

I want you guys to succeed. I am giving you the Holy Spirit for that reason. I will be praying for you. Your unity is so important. More than you can ever imagine. Trust me, this will only work if you get it together.

 I love you deeply. Just like my dad loves me. I love each of you. See I do not treat you like servants. We are friends. All of us.Together. Do you get it? Together! Its not going to work any other way.  Not one of you is more important than the other. Get rid of that thinking. It will destroy you. When you do this, people will realize that you have been with me and this is something powerful.

So stop fighting like kids about who I love more or who will get the most important jobs todo. It just does not work like that. Get rid of that Roman thought. Think like me. I didn’t have any issues washing your feet because I am secure in who I am and my dad’s love for me. I know who I am. I do not get my identity from the stuff I do. Neither do you. Do you know who you are? You are my friends. You don’t  need to prove anything. Therefore, get rid of those hang-ups. You have a  whole world to tell all that I have taught you. In addition, none of you can do it on your own. So can you cut all this out and learn to work together? You have to learn to really love each other”

~ Jesus.

Intrinsically linked to our fruitfulness is our loving one another. Jesus deliberately intertwines the vine and branches. He knows of our tendencies towards self-glory and independence that He worked it in a way where we can’t do without each other.

Verse15 -17  ^“ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

Jesus is dealing with Core issues here. He knows that we cannot do the above until we have understood this vital truth. That is, who we are – branches connected to the vine. We are to be ones connected to Jesus Himself, getting our identity from Him not in a slavish way. He calls us friends. He establishes my worth. But as if this is not enough. He establishes WHOSE we are. 

 He establishes my belonging and my connection. When this is settled, we are able to love one another to the point of death, to the point to preferring others, thinking of them more highly than ourselves, to the point where it does not matter who gets the credit or the attention. ( Phil 2:2-4).

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴ For as in one body we have many members,^[e] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Romans 12:3-5.

You see this as a recurring them even through the epistles. Paul is constantly asking the believers to live in love and unity.

When this happens, we will bear lasting fruit (verse16). We can have many kinds of fruit in our lives. Jesus is looking for one particular kind – the lasting kind.

I realize that nothing about the kingdom is temporary. Everything has a bearing in eternity; whether it is being a mum, wife, businessperson, employee, etc. etc. If I am a kingdom person, then everything I do is in the kingdom. It is all from my place of being in the vine, in Jesus. I do not straddle two disconnected worlds. My life in its entirety is in Jesus. It is in “For in him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28

 What I get from this passage is that it all about my relationship with Jesus and the other branches – my fellow Christ followers. It’s not about keeping a set of rules and regulations. 

As I said earlier the Pharisees were very good at it. It was cold and calculated to the last dill and cumin.  Love was something they did not understand. They understood religious rituals and not a relationship, which was always in the heart of God; that we would desire Him deeply.  Hence, they misunderstood Jesus. They never understood his compassion that caused him to smash Sabbath rules to heal the cripple.

Religion can snuff out and replace relationship so subtly that we can fail to recognize this shift in our hearts. We need the Holy Spirit, to help keep us in check, and connected.

As I crossed the 50 mark, I have become more and more aware that I want the second half of my life to count even more. I want to make an impact, leave a legacy, and change the culture around me to reflect more of more of His Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.

All this is possible with lasting effect when I function from a place of knowing Jesus intimately and as in verse17 Jesus once again emphasizes “love each other”.

As I end my reflections I am more convinced than ever that being connected to the vine is not about “spiritual disciplines” ( and there is a place for that) but rather my relationship with Jesus and each other.

As Paul eloquently puts it If I have not love, I am nothing!!! (1Cor 13:2).  I do not want to be just hot air and a lot of noise with no substance. I want to love and serve and have fruit that will last.

Dealing with the Doing | Reflections on John 15 | Part 1

Would you consider the last words of a dying man important? You might say it depends on who and for whom. Absolutely right!! The last words of my father mean a lot to me but not of a stranger.

Connection gives weight and meaning to words. Those words can affect the rest of our lives for example, if it’s the last will and testament bequeathing everything to long-lost relative or son.

The chapter divisions in the Bible are not always helpful as I find in this case. As I was reading John 15 I realized there are RED letter words preceding John 15. Therefore, this is a continuation of a talk Jesus is having with His disciples.

Where did it begin? I trace it back to John 13, which is another pivotal chapter: the great chapter on servanthood and it ends in chapter 17 with what we call Jesus’ great “High priestly prayer”.  Soon after that he goes to the garden of Gethsemane and is then arrested. So the last words of Jesus to his disciples start in chapter 13 and end with chapter 17. These must be very, very important things that he is talking about. These are Jesus' last instructions His disciples before He goes to the cross.

To summarize:

Chapter 13 is a very important chapter because it’s about the Passover meal Jesus shares with his disciples before his crucifixion; commonly referred to as the “Last Supper”. He talks to them about serving each other, Judas’s betrayal, Peter’s denial. This is heavy stuff.

 He goes on in Chapter 14 to comfort them with the future hope of being with him forever. Once again he is telling them is  HE the only way to the Father. He is now being more clear about who He is. He is giving them the promise of the Holy Spirit.

We then come to Chapter 15 where he transitions from talking about the intense union between the Father and himself to the intense union between Jesus and us and then with each other.

Therefore when we are in close union with Jesus, we are in close union with the Father ( because the Father is in Jesus, and Jesus in the Father ( John 14:10). 

 Chapter 16 He explains more about the working of the Holy Spirit and what they can expect to happen after his death, resurrection, and ascension.

Chapter 17 is the great high priestly pray once again praying for his disciples and all of us who were yet to come to faith. He is praying for our protection and the unity (John 17: 20- 23)

CHAPTER 15

Jesus tells us who the actors are in this story. The Father is the Gardner, The Vine is Jesus, We are the branches. He is now getting more specific about how we ought to relate to himself, one another; and how this threesome are supposed to work together.

As I was reading this, I was struck by a few verses that made me stop to think. Here are some of my reflections.

verse 1. “I am the true vine”. This opening statement is a bullseye shot. It means there are many vines that I could be a part of and they are not the true vine. However, the only true vine is Jesus.  A good question for all of us to ask is  "am I in the true vine? Do I belong to Jesus? Have I made Him the center of my life, my Lord, my Saviour?"

Verse 5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”

No branch can have life without being connected to the main branch. All the branches draw their sap, sustenance from the main branch. It gets its nourishment, strength, fruit-bearing ability, it’s very DNA from the main vine.

 A branch on an orange tree does not look like a branch from a coconut tree. They have a distinct identity and characteristics unique to their species. Therefore it looks like, behaves and produces fruit like the rest of the vine.

 Here the Vine is Jesus. Therefore, if I am well connected to Him; I should behave, look like and produce fruit that is Jesus like!

Therefore staying in connection is crucial. Fruitfulness is linked to my relationship with Jesus.  It is not about how well I administer or create programs; it is not connected to my slick Sunday service. None of those trappings of modern day Christianity have anything to do with my connection to Jesus.

It’s so simple to the point that we actually ignore it or miss it altogether. It’s about me “being” and not “doing”.

In this picture, the only one working is the Father. He is doing all the vine dressing, the cutting and pruning. The branch has one job: stay connected. It sounds too simple we would argue. For a Martha like me, I find this very hard. My hands need to be doing something all the time. Sitting down in silence is not second nature to me.

This verse tells me that I bear fruit from abiding. I bear fruit as my relationship with Jesus grows. The more I draw from the main branch, the more fruit I bear. This means my relationship with Jesus is really important. In a world where fruit/success is measured by performance, this is so hard to understand. I also get my Identity from being connected. Why is this important?

I stop to think: Can my relationship with Jesus become a religious duty? Obedience alone that is dry and faithless won’t produce healthy fruit. 

Jesus says that “Apart from me you can do nothing”. That seems like a strong statement. Some might even say an exaggeration. Well since these are Jesus word I would be wise to pay close attention. What is this nothing! I think he goes on to explain himself further down this passage. We can’t do anything that Jesus is looking for ,i.e which is of eternal consequence or significance if we are not firmly connected to HIM.

Verse 9 ⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love”

Here Jesus tells us about the Father’s love for him and His own love for us. Jesus says obedience in an indication of love. What kind of obedience and to what?

The Pharisees were obedient. Was that an indication of love? Jesus spells out what this obedience is about in verse 12 and 13. ( for PART 2 click here)