Verses 3-8

Jesus explains that he is our spiritual vine and we are his fruit-producing branches.

This image encourages meditation more than analysis.

Lesson From the Vinyeard

Plants grow better when they've been pruned.

God prunes unfruitful people from his vine.

What exactly does the word "unfruitful" mean here?

Outline of John 15

1. Jesus Is the Vine, We Are the Branches
   
2. Love and Hate, Multiple Perspectives
   

Come Now, Let's Leave

Jesus reminds his disciples that returning to the Father is a good thing.

It didn't seem like a good thing, though.

What good things do we mistakenly identify as bad?

Verses 25-27

Jesus says we now have the Holy Spirit and peace.

What more could we need?

Why do I sometimes feel like I have access to neither?

Verses 23-24

Jesus says:

If I love Jesus, I will obey. This is the original conditional statement.
If I do not love Jesus, I will not obey. The inverse is true.

This means that if I won't obey Jesus, then I don't love him.
And if I obey, then I love Jesus.

Obedience = Loving Jesus

Good Judas

The other Judas asks Jesus a question (v. 22), and I struggle to see how Jesus' reply answers him (vv. 23-28).

What do you think, dear Readers?

Verses 8-21

Philip follows up with a comment that clearly indicates he and the other disciples have missed a major point:

Jesus = God the Father

Oops.

Where Are You Going?

Doubting Thomas presses Jesus for details.

"Where are you going?"

Jesus explains that it doesn't matter, because he himself is the destination.

My Father's House

In verses 1-4, Jesus gives us a brief glimpse into heaven.

It's like a mansion "with many rooms."

This is a picture of abundance and has a very different feel than Matthew 7:13-14.

Matthew 5:1 describes Jesus' audience in Matthew 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount. Crowds follow him to experience his teaching. Jesus emphasizes the difficulty of getting through the narrow gate because his audience is the crowd.

In John 14, Jesus' audience is his 11 faithful disciples. Despite Peter's denials in a few hours and everyone else's desertion, Jesus anticipates their ultimate faithfulness and reassures them.

People on the road to heaven need reassurance. People on the road to hell need reality.

Jesus provides both.

Outline of John 14

Jesus: Everything will be OK.
Thomas: Are you sure?
Jesus: Yes.
Philip: But we need the Father.
Jesus: Same difference. And the Holy Spirit will help.
Judas: Why all the secrecy?
Jesus: We (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) have it covered.

Good Intentions

At the end of the chapter, Peter insists that he will be faithful to Jesus to the very end.

He's right.

But not until the second time Jesus leaves.

Verses 31-35

Loving is not a new command. Loving like Jesus is the new command.

Verse 30

"It was already night."

The night of the first Passover, nobody left during the first part of the night. That would have put the Hebrews in the path of the Death Angel. (Thanks for sharing this insight, Pastor David.)

Judas left at night, and he was as good as dead.

Verses 18-30

Jesus tells his disciples, in different ways, that Judas is going to betray him.

How did they misunderstand the bread?

Follow My Example

Be as humble a servant as Jesus.

Full Extent of Love

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the phrase, "Full extent of love?"

Unless you're already familiar with the story, probably not stinky feet.

Jesus does the unexpected, right up to his last night on earth before being crucified.

Outline of John 13

The Last Supper

1. Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet
   
2. Jesus Tells Judas to Do His Thing
   
3. Jesus Tell Peter He'll Mess Up
   

Whose Words?

Jesus was sent to speak his Father's words.

Jesus is God, but he didn't speak his own words.

Whose words do I speak?  And you, dear Reader, whose words do you speak?

Motivation

In verses 41-43, John reminds us that our relationship with God is heavily influenced by our desire for praise.

From whom do I seek praise?  How about you, dear Reader?

Verses 37-40

John explains in verses 37-40 that Jesus' rejection is predicted by Isaiah.

Unexpected

In verses 31-36, Jesus confronts his opponents with a surprising claim, that the Messiah would be "lifted up." This was a euphemism for death by crucifixion.

The crowd didn't ask Jesus what he meant, but immediately questioned Jesus' understanding of the Torah.

Their questions were not unjustified, simply misguided.

I wonder what confusion would be generated by the Church's contemporary views of scripture, particularly Revelation.

After this public disagreement, Jesus "hid himself." This seems like a smart move after such a significant disagreement.

Avoiding further argument with opponents is not always a mistake.

Verses 27-30

We learn in these verses that being crucified does not come automatically to Jesus.  He acknowledges how upset he is.

But Jesus tells the crowd that even if they are not comfortable with his fate, he is.

God's voice is for our benefit, not Jesus'.

What kind of faith would it take to be able to say, "Yeah, we all just heard God, but I didn't need that reassurance"?

Verses 20-26

Jesus compares his death to the growth of a seed into a plant.

A seed won't sprout until it is buried, like a corpse.

Jesus' full sacrifice will not come fully until after he becomes a corpse.

We must lose our lives to save them.

How does this lesson apply to my life today?

How does it apply to your life, dear Reader?

Verses 20-22

Some visitors from out of town ask Philip about meeting Jesus.

Philip goes to Andrew, who goes to Jesus.

Andrew is a connector, not a front-line kind of person.

Jealousy

In verse 19, we see the Pharisees complaining about Jesus' popularity.

How much damage does my jealousy cause? What trouble does your jealousy create, dear Reader?

Fickle

This feels like deja vu.












Again, as I read about Palm Sunday and Jesus' triumphal entry in verses 12-18, I'm struck by how enthusiastic the crowd is on this day.  And then I remember that on Thursday, Jesus is led away to slaughter.

Takin' Care of Business

In verses 9-11, we learn that Jesus' enemies plot to kill Lararus as well.

They want to leave nothing to chance.

No matter how much people resist God's will it will be done.

Deuteronomy 15:11

There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brother and toward the poor and needy in your land.

Verses 7-8

The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary writes, "His comment on the poor was not a justification for tolerating unnecessary poverty; but it was a hint to Judas that if if were really concerned about the poor, he would never lack opportunity to aid them."

I wholly agree with the first part of this quote, but I'm not convinced Jesus would waste a hint on Judas like this.

Verses 7-8

Jesus defends Mary's "waste" by reminding his disciples of his upcoming death.

What I find curious is Jesus' statement, "You will always have the poor with you."

Why does he say this?

I plan to pursue this question tomorrow.