Reading Through John Devotionals – Week 12
See all Devotionals: https://graceforohio.org/category/reading-through-john-devotionals/
Day 78
John 15
If you’re reading a “Red Letter” Bible, this entire chapter is in red letters. That’s because every single word was spoken out loud by Jesus and then recorded by His disciple, John. It’s a part of John’s Gospel that is commonly referred to as “The Upper Room Discourse” (John 13-17) when Jesus gathered in an upper room with His disciples for Passover meal. You might know this meal as “The Last Supper”.
As you read today, you can imagine the disciples all gathered closely in that room, hanging on every word Jesus said. These were the things that Jesus wanted to communicate to them before He would be arrested later that night. Remember, this is mere hours before Jesus began his suffering which eventually concluded in His death on a Roman cross. This is just a few days before He walked out of the grave alive.
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
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. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 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. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 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. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 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. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
The World Hates the Disciples
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
The Work of the Holy Spirit
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
Day 79
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
About the Vine – Part 1
Jesus is the master of metaphor. He loved to explain things by leveraging tangible examples that His listeners understood. This time, it’s a vine, a gardener, branches, and fruit. A gardener who is growing grapevines is looking for fruit on the branches. That’s the whole point. As long as a healthy branch is connected to a strong vine, it should bear fruit. Otherwise, the gardener needs to prune it off. So, Jesus is the vine, people are the branches, and The Father is the gardener. But what is the “fruit”? (see Galatians 5:22-23 for a hint)
- What fruit are you bearing in your life?
- What is one way you can stay connected to “The Vine”?
Day 80
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. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
About the Vine – Part 2
In these verses, Jesus continues with his vine, branches, and fruit metaphor. He warns His disciples, and all of us, to “remain” in Him so that we will “bear much fruit”. It’s a strong warning too because He says if we don’t remain in Him, we’re being LIKE a branch that withers and is thrown into a fire. Yikes! Why would we want to be like that? That’s not what Jesus wants for us either. He actually says it’s “to my Father’s glory” that we “bear much fruit” which actually shows the world that we are his disciples! With that in mind…
- What do you think Jesus means when He says “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you”? We know that He isn’t just some cosmic genie. How does remaining in the “words” of Jesus impact what we might ask for?
- How does bearing lots of “fruit” show that we are followers of Jesus?
Day 81
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 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. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 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. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 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. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
In these verses, Jesus reveals what He’s been driving at with His “vine” metaphor. And guess what, it’s about LOVE! Remaining connected to Him really comes down to whether we remain in His love by loving Him and loving others. Love God and Love People. It’s simple. We show our love for God by doing what He says, which is to love each other. Jesus is not talking about mushy gushy love either. He’s talking about loving each other sacrificially… like He did for us by laying down His life.
- How can you show sacrificial love for someone today?
- What do you need to ask the Father for in the name of Jesus today to help you love more like Him?
Day 82
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’[c]
Jesus doesn’t sugarcoat things for His disciples. He knows that trouble is coming their way and it’s going to be more than they’ve ever experienced. They’re about to see their Master brutally murdered in front of them. Yes, they’ll get to see Jesus after His resurrection and many will believe… but many won’t. They’ll be hated and hunted. Many of them will die as martyrs simply because they’re followers of Jesus. He knows they’ll all have to count the cost and face the hate of others on account of Him. But following Jesus is still worth it. His disciples had joy in the face of hardship and the hope of eternity in the face of death. And guess what, if you are a follower of Jesus, you can have that same joy and hope as well!
- What is a situation or decision you’re dreading where you need to lean on the hope of Jesus?
- What is one way you can choose joy even when circumstances are tough?
Day 83
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
Jesus is reminding His disciples about the Holy Spirit who He mentioned back in chapter 14. Go ahead, go over to John 14 and re-read verses 16- 17 and 25-26.
Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “the Advocate”. The dictionary defines advocate as “a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, etc.” or “a person who pleads for or in behalf of another.” The Holy Spirit speaks and pleads in behalf of Jesus. If you’re a follower of Jesus, The Spirit is actually within you! It’s crazy to think about, but the presence of God is literally residing within your very being! He’s there to point us in the direction of Jesus and remind us of what He says. So, if we want to know what The Holy Spirit is saying, we have to know the words of Jesus.
I love quoting movies. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as dropping a Back to the Future quote into the perfect context… IF people have seen the movie. I heard it said that “The Bible is the movie the Holy Spirit loves to quote.” We won’t get the quotes if we don’t know “the movie”.
- Do you think you spend enough time in God’s Word to be able discern what the Holy Spirit is saying to you?
- What is one way you can take your Bible reading to the next level? Good news is by doing what you’re doing right now, you’re off to a great start!
Day 84
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
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. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 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. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 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. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 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. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
The World Hates the Disciples
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
The Work of the Holy Spirit
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
Vines, branches, and fruit… Remaining in Jesus… Loving each other… people hating us… The Advocate… Wow that’s a lot! What a truth-packed chapter and it’s just one chapter of the Upper Room Discourse (John 14-17). If you missed the last 5 days, you should definitely go back and read those too. So, assuming you’ve had this past week to digest it all…
Based on what you learned from John 15, what is one step you can take today to put it into practice?
What surprised you? What was new? Where did you gain deeper understanding?
Day 78-84 Provided by Grace Church.
See all Devotionals: https://graceforohio.org/category/reading-through-john-devotionals/