Background

Jesus frequently goes to every day
examples to illustrate a point. He talks
of shepherding, fishing, and now horticulture.
Vineyard imagery is very rich in the scriptures as it was a significant
role in the economics of Israel
and many would be familiar with it. The
process of producing a successful harvest is connected to the maintenance that
the vine requires. Old vines that have
already produced grapes will not produce good grapes again, they need to be
pruned so that the newer vines can receive all the nutrients the plant can
offer.

The allegory is simple: Jesus is
the vine, God is the gardener, and we are the branches that are to be pruned to
produce good fruit.

Grasping the text

Read John 15:1-4

Let’s study some other passages that use the same
illustration of a vine. Read Psalm
80:8-19, Isaiah 5:1-7, and Ezekiel 19:10-14.
Reflect on what you read.

Compare the passages that you read from the Old Testament
with this passage.

Contrast John 15:3 with 13:10.

What is the fruit that is produced? (See Galatians 5:22-23)

Applying the text

Describe the pruning process of God in your life.

How can we already be clean and God is still pruning us?

Explain the statement, “Remain in Me, and I will remain in
you,” as it applies to your everyday life. How do you do this?

Early you read the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians. Looking at the end of verse 4 in John, what
is the way that fruit is produced?

How can you today allow God to cultivate you better?

Journaling

Background

We now
continue studying the allegory of the vine.
As discussed previously, the vines had to be pruned so that the vines
energy could be put towards growing the fruit.
The old and dead wood was basically unusable. It was not strong enough to be used for
another purpose. It was really only good
for being thrown out and burned. Again, Jesus
is the vine, God is the gardener, and we are the branches that are to be pruned
to produce good fruit.

Grasping the text

Read John 15:5-8

Read Matthew 26:27-29.
What is the purpose of the fruit of the vine?

Compare this passage with Matthew 13:40-43.

Read Hebrews 6:4-6.
What happens when a person falls away?

Again Jesus comments that whatever we ask in His name, we
will receive. Find a couple of other
passages from John on prayer and comment on them.

Applying the text

How do we remain in Jesus?

Have you ever felt like you fell away? Why or why not?

How do we bring glory to God?

Does your life bring much glory to God in the way described
in today’s text? Why or why not?

Journaling

Background

Love. This is a concept that John discusses more
than any other New Testament writer.
Love God, love each other. This
word can be slippery for us, especially if we have never felt like we
experienced it or our experience left us soured. We see love as sacrifice in this passage,
that is obvious, but there is a different side to it as well, friendship. Jesus calls those who obey His commandments, which
He equates with loving Him, friends. In
all this love Jesus redefines our relationship.
We are no longer servants, we are friends. This relationship with Jesus has become more than
service that we do for Jesus, it is now a reciprocal friendship. Awesome.

Grasping the text

Read John 15:9-17

Often times the best commentary on one passage of scripture
is another passage. Read 1 John
3:16-24. Parallel here on this chart the
ideas and phrase similarities.

Another passage that reestablishes the concepts of our
relationship with Jesus is Hebrews 4:14-16.
Notice that in Hebrews, John, and 1 John, each one contains a comment on
prayer. Comment on your observations
about this.

Applying the text

Define love.

When have you seen love exhibited in your life in relation
to Christ?

Write down your DTR (Define the relationship) with Christ
here.

How do make those conclusions? Does your lack of relationship at times
change the status of your relationship with Him? Why or why not?

What has made us friends with God?

How can you today demonstrate your love to someone? Be specific.

Journaling

Background

Right after
spending the previous section on love, Jesus now goes directly to hate. What a contrast, we find love and friendship
in God and in each other, but everyone else hates us. It is easy for us to struggle with this
concept as our modern American society teaches us that all people are
essentially good and that the worst sin is not accepting someone. But here in John, Jesus promises us that
hatred is present in the hearts of those who do not accept Christ. Maybe you have experienced this in your own
life. Jesus logic flows like this: they persecuted me and hated me, I am sending
you, they will do the same things to you as they have done to me. Church history would prove this statement to
be true. They even hate Jesus without
reason. Surprising enough, I find a lot
of hope and comfort in this passage.

Grasping the text

Read John 15:18-25

Why does the world hate you?

Read Matthew 5:10-12.
Who are blessed?

How can that be a blessing?

Read Isaiah 6:8-10. How
can hearing the word of God make people guilty?

Contrast this idea with John 9:9.

Why did the world hate Jesus?

Applying the text

Write down a time that you feel that you were persecuted for
your faith.

Did you feel blessed when you went through that experience? Why or why not?

Read Psalm 69. See
that this is about Jesus and His reflections.
Relay Jesus’ feelings and thoughts in this passage with your own
experiences.

Are you in harm’s way regularly? Why or why not?

Journaling

Background

Again Jesus
is giving hope to the disciples. And
again, Jesus mentions the Holy Spirit in this context. Jesus has several times in the upper room
discourse talked about what is to happen to them. Each time He does it He tells them it so that
when it does happen, they might remember and trust Him. He is reassuring them in advance.

Grasping the text

Read John 15:28-16:4

Why does Jesus continually refer to the Holy Spirit as the
Counselor?

How many times is the Holy Spirit promised/discussed in the
upper room discourse (Chapters 13-17)?

Putting someone out of the synagogue was removing an individual
from both the spiritual and social systems in Jewish society. That person would become a despised and

Has anyone already been put out of the synagogue in the book
of John? Who was it?

Reflect on Acts 7:54-8:3, 2 Corinthians 6:3-10, and 2 Corinthians
11:23-29.

Applying the text

Are you prepared for what is promised in this text? Why or why not?

How can you prepare yourself?

There is boldness in approaching the Lord in prayer and
boldness in testifying about Jesus. How
do you develop that boldness within yourself?

Journaling

Chapter 15 Background

“Hang with me.” It seems that Jesus is reassuring His
disciples in every way possible in the section that we are in of John, the
upper room discourse, chapters 13-17. He
tells them what is going to happen to Him and them. He gives them hope that He will never abandon
them. He promises them heaven, the Holy
Spirit, relationship with the Father. He
tells them that persecution is coming and reminds them how to pray. “Hang with me, brothers.”

After an introduction to the
evening in chapter 13, and the heart of Jesus for His disciples in chapter 14,
Jesus now really starts to teach the disciples in 15. His heart is still with them, but His focus
is really now on the teaching that they will all need to survive. Chapter 16 is much of the same and 17 ends
the upper room discourse with a prayer.
Jesus, in chapter 15, focuses on remaining in Him, remaining together,
and understanding that that choice will cause the world to hate them.