Session 23: December 3, 2022

Scripture Reading: John 15:1-27

1 “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. 2 He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. He prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit. 3 You are clean already because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me—and I in him—bears much fruit because apart from me you can accomplish nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like a branch and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire and are burned up. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples.

9 “Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. 12 My commandment is this—to love one another just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I no longer call you slaves because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. 17 This I command you—to love one another.

18 “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you do not belong to the world, but I chose you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they obeyed my word, they will obey yours too. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name because 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 they no longer have any excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates me hates my Father too. 24 If I had not performed among them the miraculous deeds that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen the deeds and have hated both me and my Father. 25 Now this happened to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without reason.’ 26 When the Advocate comes, whom I will send you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me, 27 and you also will testify because you have been with me from the beginning.

Main Themes

The True Vine

Background

The fact that Jesus uses vine imagery should not surprise us. Indeed, there are several reasons why we should expect use of such an allegory.

Old Testament

In the Old Testament a vine or vineyard was a common depiction of Israel. Probably the most salient is Isaiah 5:1-7:

I will sing to my love—a song to my lover about his vineyard. My love had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He built a hedge around it, removed its stones, and planted a vine. He built a tower in the middle of it and constructed a winepress. He waited for it to produce edible grapes, but it produced sour ones instead. So now, residents of Jerusalem, people of Judah, you decide between me and my vineyard! What more can I do for my vineyard beyond what I have already done? When I waited for it to produce edible grapes, why did it produce sour ones instead? Now I will inform you what I am about to do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge and turn it into pasture, I will break its wall and allow animals to graze there. I will make it a wasteland; no one will prune its vines or hoe its ground, and thorns and briers will grow there. I will order the clouds not to drop any rain on it. Indeed, Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the people of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight. He waited for justice, but look what he got—disobedience! He waited for fairness, but look what he got—cries for help!

That is by no means the only use of the vine-Israel analogy in the Old Testament. Consider also Psalm 80:8-16:

You uprooted a vine from Egypt; you drove out nations and transplanted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took root and filled the land. The mountains were covered by its shadow, the highest cedars by its branches. Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea, and its shoots the Euphrates River. Why did you break down its walls, so that all who pass by pluck its fruit? The wild boars of the forest ruin it; the insects of the field feed on it. O God of Heaven’s Armies, come back. Look down from heaven and take notice. Take care of this vine, the root your right hand planted, the shoot you made to grow. It is burned and cut down. May those who did this die because you are displeased with them.

Finally, consider Ezekiel 15:1-6:

The Lord’s message came to me: “Son of man, of all the woody branches among the trees of the forest, what happens to the wood of the vine? Can wood be taken from it to make anything useful? Or can anyone make a peg from it to hang things on? No! It is thrown in the fire for fuel; when the fire has burned up both ends of it and it is charred in the middle, will it be useful for anything? Indeed! If it was not made into anything useful when it was whole, how much less can it be made into anything when the fire has burned it up and it is charred? “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Like the wood of the vine is among the trees of the forest that I have provided as fuel for the fire—so I will provide the residents of Jerusalem as fuel. [emphasis added]

This last quotation becomes relevant context for New Testament uses of the vine allegory. Notice that the wood from vines is good for nothing. The vine either produces fruit or it should be burned. There is no middle ground.

Vine Iconography During the Time of Jesus

The vine was such an important symbol of God’s people—the Israelites—that during Jesus’ time it even appeared on some coins issued by the Maccabees. There was also a large golden vine on the doors to the temple sanctuary. This vine was impressive enough that the Roman historian Tacitus wrote about it:

The Egyptians worship many animals and monstrous images; the Jews conceive of one god only, and that with the mind alone: they regard as impious those who make from perishable materials representations of gods in man's image; that supreme and eternal being is to them incapable of representation and without end. Therefore they set up no statues in their cities, still less in their temples; this flattery is not paid their kings, nor this honour given to the Caesars. But since their priests used to chant to the accompaniment of pipes and cymbals and to wear garlands of ivy, and because a golden vine was found in their temple, some have thought that they were devotees of Father Liber, the conqueror of the East, in spite of the incongruity of their customs. For Liber established festive rites of a joyous nature, while the ways of the Jews are preposterous and mean. (History 5.5)

Vines Were Widely Planted Trees

If the facts that the Old Testament called Israel a vine and that a gigantic golden vine was the portal to the temple’s sanctuary were not sufficient to keep such imagery on every Jew’s mind, their own gardens would have done so. The only trees that were widely planted in ancient Israel were the fig, olive, and vine. All three of these were drought resistant. Fig trees and olive trees needed little or no attention, but vines did.

Nearly every Jew would have been familiar with vines, how they grew, and how they were pruned. Jesus using vines as an allegory in ancient Israel would be like a modern teacher using potatoes in rural Idaho, cotton in rural West Texas, or corn in rural Iowa.

Pruning Vines

Let’s ditch theology for a minute and talk horticulture. Here is what an horticulture website tells us about modern day vine pruning:

The basic idea behind vineyard pruning is to eliminate excess old vineyard plant growth from the previous year so the vines can channel the energy into growing for the New Year. Vineyard grapevines produce fruit on wood that’s one year old, so the goal of pruning is to maximize the one-year-old wood on each vine. This process also helps train the vines to grow in an ideal way to produce high-quality wine grapes.

In the ancient world, much like today, vine pruning could take three different forms depending on the season. Early on in the season pruning was done by hand; later in the season pruning was done with a knife; and, old and dry shoots that could not be pruned with a knife would be cut off with an axe. As Craig Keener points out, these practices naturally lent themselves to moral analogies. (The Gospel of John: A Commentary, p. 996) One can readily see the poetic beauty and power of recognizing that people, like vines, can miss their potential because they were never pruned by the soft hand or the sharp knife, leading to the much more painful process of being cut by an axe.

Before we move on, I want to quote the aforementioned horticulture website on “pruning by hand,” which in modern day terms includes doing so truly by hand or with a knife:

Many vineyards around the country will swear by hand pruning, which has a range of pros and cons. Pruning by hand involves pulling leaves off grapevines to allow more sunlight to reach the grape and removing parts that have been affected by mold or disease. Pruning by hand retains most control over the vines and ensures that the finished wine expresses the grapes’ qualities in the most authentic way possible. Subtle imperfections can add to a wine’s unique character, a sentiment widely embraced in the wine industry. . . .

Winemakers prune different varieties by hand because of the different characteristics of the vines. Until artificial intelligence catches up, there is no substitute for a well-trained pruner. . . .

Hand pruning is very labor intensive, and not every vineyard has the capacity to complete the task manually. If insufficient crews are overworked or overwhelmed by the job, too many nodes could be left behind and result in vines that are over-cropped.

Most of us are so far removed from the cultivation of vines that we do not understand the connection between the pruner and the vine, the science and the art involved, the wisdom involved, the personal care required, and the fact that “there is no substitute for a well-trained pruner.” But to Jesus’ audience, this was clear. Jesus’ analogy depends and is deepened by these associations.

Back to the Text

The True Vine

Chapter 15 begins with Jesus’ shocking assertion, “I am the true vine.” Why is it shocking? Because Israel was the vine. Now Jesus is claiming to be not part of the vine but the true vine. What does this statement mean? Does it mean that Israel was a “false” vine? I do not think so. Consider a passage in which Jesus uses similar language:

Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. (John 6:32)

Was manna bread? Yes. Did it come from heaven? Yes. In chapter 6, Jesus is not denying that manna was bread from heaven. The point Jesus is making is that bread was a foreshadowing of what was to come—Jesus himself. The fulfillment of manna—its true version—would be much greater and powerful. Manna could only feed one’s physical body and keep it alive for a time, but anyone who ate manna would eventually die. The true manna can feed the soul and restore the body, and he who eats the true manna will never die. Similarly, Israel was the vine in an unfulfilled sense. It foreshadowed something much, much greater. Israel had great laws that reflected the character of God; the true vine is God himself. Israel spoke of promises of salvation; the true vine brings salvation. Israel could teach the way; the true vine is the way.

Takes Away or Prunes

In the parable, the Father is, to use the language of the horticulture website, the “well-trained pruner.” And notice that the pruner will choose between two and only two methods: take away or prune. What does taking away a branch mean? Well, all I can do is remind you of the passage in Ezekiel quoted above: “[W]hat happens to the wood of the vine? Can wood be taken from it to make anything useful? Or can anyone make a peg from it to hang things on? No! It is thrown in the fire for fuel . . . .” A branch cannot bear fruit by itself if it is cut from the vine, and that branch is certainly useless for anything else.

But notice that he who “remains” in Jesus does not get away unscathed. The “remainer” in Jesus is pruned. As explained above, pruning involves tearing and cutting with care and precision for the vine to produce its best fruit such that the “finished wine expresses the grapes’ qualities in the most authentic way possible.” I cannot help but admire the painful beauty of Jesus’ parable.

Verses 5 through 8 repeat the same themes discussed above, but they add a couple of details that are worth discussing.

Verse 6 continues the parable of the branch that is “taken away” or “thrown out.” It “dries up” and it is thrown “into the fire and [is] burned up.” Personally, the phrase dries up conjures a strong sense of poetic sadness. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He offers life abundant and everlasting. To be cutoff from the life will lead to losing even the bit of life the branch used to have. It is reminiscent of Jesus’ words in Matthew 13:12, “For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” The phrase “thrown into the fire” certainly reminds one of the lake of fire, like in Revelation 20:14, “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.” It clearly implies destruction. Notice, however, that just like Jesus is not a literal vine, a believer is not a literal branch, a nonbeliever will not literally dry up, there is no reason to think someone will be destroyed with literal fire. The point is destruction, not fire.

The Fruit

What is the fruit? Jesus is clearly the vine, and believers are clearly the branches. The Father is the gardener, and the pruning is the work of the Father in the believer. The end result is the believer bearing fruit and then bearing “more fruit.” To repeat the question, what is that fruit? One alternative is that Jesus is speaking of evangelism, like in John 4:31-36:

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” So the disciples began to say to one another, “No one brought him anything to eat, did they?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to complete his work. Don’t you say, ‘There are four more months and then comes the harvest?’ I tell you, look up and see that the fields are already white for harvest! The one who reaps receives pay and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together.

However, is that what the context suggests? The context speaks of obeying Jesus’ commandments, particularly to love God and one another. In chapters 13 and 14, Jesus repeats those themes time after time. The context is nowhere expressly concerned with outsiders—with evangelism. In other words, the fruit in the metaphor of the vine is moral in nature—it is a change in character and behavior. This is consistent with the use of fruit in the other gospels. For example:

Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance, and don’t think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones! Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:8-10)

Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will recognize them by their fruit. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven—only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. (Matthew 7:15-21)

Paul’s usage of “fruit” is also in line with this moral interpretation:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

To Remain

The final question regarding the vine parable is the meaning of “remain” or “abide.” In chapter 1, the apostles ask Jesus where he is “abiding” and whether they can “abide” with him. In chapter 4, Jesus “abided” with the Samaritans for two days. These are literal uses of the word to abide. However, in chapter 15 Jesus is departing. The apostles will no longer be able to “abide” with him in the most literal sense.

In chapter 3, we run into a different meaning of “abide.” “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36, emphasis added) The word remains is the same as the word translated abide. Another use of the word is found in John 5:37-38, “And the Father who sent me has himself testified about me. You people have never heard his voice nor seen his form at any time, nor do you have his word residing in you because you do not believe the one whom he sent.” (emphasis added) Consider also John 8:31, “Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, ‘If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (emphasis added) In this case it is the word translated as continue that is the same as the word abide.

So, to abide is to remain, to reside, to continue to or continue in. How do we do that? I think there are two answers which are, in a sense, one and the same. Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus demands one thing: faith.

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Do not let your hearts be distressed. You believe in God; believe also in me. (John 14:1)

But Jesus also demands another thing: love and obedience, which Jesus uses interchangeably. As I have mentioned in prior sessions, the Gospel of John allows no decoupling of faith and obedience. Chapter 14, the most relevant context to the vine parable, discusses obedience repeatedly:

If you love me, you will obey my commandments. (John 14:15)

The person who has my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. (John 14:21a)

If anyone loves me, he will obey my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him. (John 14:23)

The person who does not love me does not obey my words. (John 14:24a)

We can also not forget of the context immediately following the vine parable:

Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love. If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. (John 15:9-10)

Why do I say that Jesus demands two things which are, in a sense, one and the same? It’s like the sun and its rays. If there is true faith, there is obedience. To require one is to require the other.

Allow me to make a few pastoral comments, which I rarely do in this Bible study. To better “remain” in Jesus, sometimes it is better to focus on faith and sometimes in obedience. The two are so intimately connected that to improve one will almost always improve the other. Maybe your belief in Jesus is strong with little to no doubts; however, you feel disconnected and see no fruit. Are you reading the Bible, are you praying, are you attending church, are you giving generously, are you remaining sexually “pure” (i.e., within the confines of marriage), are you telling the truth, are you working diligently and honestly, are you “doing” obedience? This is not a legalistic appeal to earning God’s favor—it is unavoidably practical advice. Obey. Abide. Then the fruit will come from the true vine. The opposite is also true. Are you doing all the right things but are still feeling disconnected without fruit? Read a book about a great martyr, enjoy time with other believers, take an apologetics class. Reignite your love and faith in Jesus.

As one last note, notice that Jesus requires obedience, not results. I remind myself of this constantly. I am only responsible for obeying, the outcome is up to God.

The Love Commandment; The Obedience Commandment

The second half of chapter 15 sounds strikingly similar to the second half of chapter 14. The connection between love and obedience is equally as pronounced. I discussed that connection at length during our prior session, so I will not repeat it here. I will simply summarize the main points. In covenantal terms, to obey is to love. In other words, to follow the contract is to love the other party. From a non-covenantal standpoint, to obey is the natural outcome of faith. If I believe someone’s advice, I will follow it. If I don’t follow the advice, it is because I did not believe it.

Now I will focus on the additional information found in chapter 15 that is not in 14.

Peace and Joy

Jesus makes an explanation and a promise. “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11) Remember that Jesus leaves “peace” with us, “[his] peace [he] gives to us.” (John 14:24) The apostle Paul uses these two ideas as a benediction. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13) Joy and peace, if considered together, are strikingly close to the idea of shalom. Both according to Judaism and Christianity, shalom is one of the underlying principles of the Old Testament. Shalom means peace, harmony, welfare, and more. It is the restoration to which we look forward.

Love One Another as I Have Loved You

Verses 12 and 13 of the current chapter repeat the “new commandment” enunciated in chapter 13. Remember that this is the only “commandment”—that is, expressly referred to as a commandment—in the Gospel of John. That alone should give us pause. However, since we discussed it in prior sessions, I will move on.

You Are My Friends

Jesus tells the disciples they are friends (as long as they obey Jesus’ commandments); the disciples are no longer slaves. What does this mean? To understand what Jesus is saying, we need to understand friendship in antiquity. Friendship, believe it or not, was much more cherished in antiquity than it is today. Ancient writers wrote about friendship relatively often. That being said, not all in the ancient world shared the same conception of friendship. For our purposes, we should focus on the Roman and Greek conceptions of friendship. (As a quick disclaimer, by Jesus’ day there was substantial cultural interpenetration between the Greeks and Romans, so the concept of friendship cannot be so cleanly divided between the two groups. Consider this a discussion of the stereotypical views of each culture, which proved to be true often but not always.)

Romans conceived of friendship in more transactional terms. In the remaining literature, the most common usage of friendship was a relationship of political dependence on a royal patron. A “friend” of the ruler could speak frankly, as opposed to a servant who should simply flatter the ruler. Friendship could also apply to alliances among peoples and to relationships entered into for political expediency. We must notice that friendship did not imply social equality between the parties. Friendship was conditional, involving obligations and expectations.

The Greeks had a conception of friendship that would be more familiar to us. The term was often used of members within a guild or peer group, such as people of the same gender and relatively the same age. Hellenistic ideas of friendship emphasized loyalty, particularly during the toughest of trials. Friends would share their joys and sorrows. Indeed, friends might be said to hold all things in common.

Of course, Jesus was neither Roman nor Greek. He was Jewish. However, the way the term “friend” was used in the wider culture is informative as to how Jesus used the term in chapter 15. The context makes clear that like the Romans, Jesus is not abolishing the authority dynamics between him and the apostles. Just a few verses down, Jesus says, “Remember what I told you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” Jesus is not elevating the disciples to his equals. Notice what Jesus says: “I no longer call you slaves because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father.” (John 15:15) Again, this sounds like the Roman conception of friendship. Unlike with a slave, Jesus the Lord has open and honest communication with the disciples. Jesus will take the time to explain his plans to them and they are free to respond in earnest. The context of chapter 15 is full of the “obligations and expectations” that Romans understood as a part of friendship. Jesus ends his friendship discourse with “whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” (John 15:16) Again, this is emblematic of a political friendship. The disciples are friends of a king. They are welcome to enter his presence, speak their minds, and expect favor from the king. However, the king is still the king and the subordinate is still the subordinate. There is one very important aspect of Greek friendship in Jesus’ conception of friendship. The disciples must be willing to show the utmost loyalty to one another and to to Jesus. Jesus will die for them and they should do the same for one another. There is no greater love than this.

The World Hates You

The theme of political friendships continue as Jesus transitions to speaking of the world and the friends of Jesus. These are two rival factions. To be allied with one is to be opposed to the other. Notice that many of the core themes in the Gospel of John come together in verses 18 through 27.

Throughout the gospel, John has emphasized a duality. There is light and there is darkness. The darkness fails to overcome the light, which implies the conflict between the two. There are those from above and those from below. Those from below cannot understand from where those from above are coming or where they are going.

Throughout the gospel, John emphasizes that there is no middle ground. A person is either a friend (to use the language of chapter 15) or an enemy of Jesus. The friends are privy to a special knowledge of God brought upon by believing Jesus and eventually receiving the Paraclete. Those who do not believe cannot understand.

Throughout the gospel, John emphasizes the chain of command: from the Father to the Son to the disciple. The Son is a representative of the Father, and the apostle is a representative of the Son. To hate the emissary is to hate the one who sent him. So, those who hate Jesus hate the Father and those who hate the apostles hate Jesus.

Throughout the gospel, John emphasizes that although Jesus came not to condemn but to offer life abundant, his words would become the standard of judgment.

With these themes in mind, verses 18 through 27 are perfectly predictable. The world—those who are not friends of Jesus—hate Jesus. Since the apostles are no more than representatives of Jesus, they should expect hatred as well. In a sobering verse, Jesus even specifies that just as they persecuted him, the disciples should expect persecution. Why will the world persecute the friends of Jesus? Because they (the world) do not know from where Jesus has come. Will the world have an excuse for their behavior? No, because Jesus’ testimony—certified by miracles—will become the standard of guilt.

So, are we at a stalemate? The friends and foes of Jesus will hate each other. The gospel will go no further. No! Notice how the passage begins and ends. The world will hate the disciples. The world will persecute the disciples. Nonetheless, there is no indication that the disciples should hate the world or persecute the world. Sure, the disciples do not and cannot “belong” to the world. In that sense there is unavoidable enmity. There is no command or expectation of hate, however. So how should the friends of Jesus react. Testify about Jesus. This idea of testimony is forensic in nature. Imagine a court of law where prosecuting witnesses (delatores) accuse the apostles of treachery against their faction. The apostles, empowered by their knowledge of Jesus and the spirit of truth, take the stand and speak of Jesus. The tribunal may still condemn them. Indeed, sometimes it will. But the testimony will be powerful.