Visit our new blog. It lists all the new things that we are doing and what new material has been added to our site. We even list new missionaries who sign up with us for technical support so you can pray for them. FCM News
The Vine and the Branches
1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts
off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that
does bear fruit he prunes[1] so that it will be even more fruitful.
3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
4Remain in me, and I will 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 a man remains in
me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can
do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch
that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown
into the fire and burned.
John 15:1-6
Explanation: Jesus Calls the Disciples to Remain in Him,
the True Vine (15:1-17)
We now come to one of the most powerful descriptions of the eternal
life to which John is bearing witness. Jesus has spoken of the cleansing
of the disciples (13:10-11), the coming intimacy with him and his
Father (14:20-21, 23), the coming of the Paraclete (14:16-17, 26)
and the love command (13:34-35). Each of these themes, among others,
is further developed in chapter 15. Jesus begins with the themes
of intimacy and cleansing using the figure of the vine (15:1-6),
and then he interprets and applies that teaching, tying it in with
themes found throughout the farewell discourse (vv. 7-17).
Jesus Declares He Is the True Vine and His
Disciples Are the Branches (15:1-6)
Jesus begins with the Gospel's final "I am" saying. The
earlier sayings had focused on Jesus as the life-giver and had included
an invitation to come to him and to believe in him (6:35; 8:12;
10:9; 11:25-26; 14:6). Now, however, Jesus is speaking to those
who have already come to him, and so his charge is that they remain
in him (cf. Michaels 1989:271). The earlier theme of life is now
developed in terms of intimate union with Jesus, a sharing in his
own life. Thus, this is a fitting conclusion to the "I am"
sayings.
The image is not a parable, since it is not a story, but rather
an extended metaphor (Carson 1991:513), that is, basically an allegory,
for all the details have significance. The main point of the image
is clear enough: the intimate union of believers with Jesus. The
disciple's very life depends on this union. As branches, believers
either bear fruit and are pruned to bear more fruit or do not bear
fruit and are thrown away and burned.
The image of the vine, and the closely associated term vineyard,
were commonly used throughout the Mediterranean world (cf. Barrett
1978:472; Brown 1970:669-72). Most significant for our passage is
their frequent use in the Old Testament and in Judaism to symbolize
Israel (Barrett ibid.; Brown ibid.; Behm 1964:342). Isaiah has an
extended use of this image in his "Song of the Vineyard"
(5:1-7), and there are many other less developed uses (for example,
Jer 5:10). The image of the vineyard frequently shifted to the vine,
as here in John (for example, Jer 6:9). On the temple there was
a "golden vine with grape clusters hanging from it, a marvel
of size and artistry" (Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 15.395),
and the vine was used to represent Jerusalem on coins made during
the first Jewish revolt (A.D. 66-70), so the vine was clearly a
symbol of Israel.
Furthermore, even the notion of a true vine shows
up in the Old Testament: "I planted you as a fruitful vine,
entirely true [alethinos]. How have you become a wild vine, turned
to bitterness" (Jer 2:21 LXX). Here, as also in Isaiah's Song
of the Vineyard, God, the gardener, cared for his vineyard but got
sour grapes. Consequently he will destroy the vineyard. This theme
of judgment accompanies virtually every use of this imagery in the
Old Testament.
Therefore, when Jesus refers to himself as the true vine (v. 1)
he is once again taking an image for Israel and applying it to himself.
Jesus himself is true Israel (cf. Hoskyns 1940b:560; Pryor 1992:124-31).
This claim corresponds to his break with the temple at the end of
chapter 8 and his forming a renewed people that began in chapter
9 and came clearly to the fore in chapter 10. Israel's place as
the people of God is now taken by Jesus and his disciples, the vine
and its branches. This is not a rejection of Judaism as such, but
its fulfillment in its Messiah. The identification of the people
of God with a particular nation is now replaced with a particular
man who incorporates in himself the new people of God composed of
Jews and non-Jews. Israel as the vine of God planted in the Promised
Land is now replaced by Jesus, the true vine, and thus the people
of God are no longer associated with a territory (Burge 1994). Jesus'
corporate significance has been included throughout the Gospel in
his use of the term Son of Man, so it is perhaps significant that
the image of the vine and that of the Son of Man are identified
together in Psalm 80:14b-16: "Watch over this vine, the root
your right hand has planted, the son [ben; cf. LXX: hyion anthropou,
`son of man'] you have raised up for yourself."Given this strong
association of the vine with Israel, when Jesus refers to himself
as the vine that is true he signals a contrast between himself and
the official Judaism as represented in the Jewish leaders who have
rejected him and thus cut themselves off from him and his Father.
The role of the Father as the gardener (v. 1) continues the theme
of Jesus' dependence on and subordination to the Father (cf. 14:28)
and also emphasizes again the contrast between Jesus' relationship
with God and that of his opponents. The specific focus, however,
is on the branches, who are in intimate contact with Jesus (v. 2).
There is no real parallel to this specific use of the image of the
vine and the branches elsewhere (cf. Behm 1965). This passage, then,
uses imagery that speaks of Jesus' identity over against official
Judaism, but it uses the imagery to address issues within the new
community rather than between the community and their Jewish opponents.
The new community has been established and now must bear fruit for
God, in contrast to Israel and its fruitlessness. As among the people
of Israel, so among Jesus' disciples, there are those who bear fruit
and those who do not (v. 2). What is this fruit? Some scholars suggest
Jesus is referring to the fruit that comes from bearing witness
to Jesus, that is, converts, the fruit of evangelism. At least twice
in John the image of bearing fruit is used with something like this
meaning (4:35-38; 12:24). Other scholars interpret this fruit as
being the ethical virtues characteristic of the Christian life (for
example, Morris 1971:670). But something more basic, something that
underlies both missionary work and ethical virtues, seems to be
intended. The development of the image in the next section (vv.
7-17) suggests that bearing fruit refers to the possession of the
divine life itself and especially the chief characteristics of that
life, knowledge of God (cf. 15:15) and love (15:9-14). Jesus says
when they bear much fruit they demonstrate that they are his disciples
(15:8), and elsewhere he states love the evidence that one is a
disciple (13:35; 14:21, 23) and is in union with God and with one
another (17:21-23). Thus, the image of fruit symbolizes that which
is at the heart of both Christian witness and ethics--union with
God.
As it is the Father who draws people to Jesus (6:44), so it is the
Father who cuts off (airei) those who do not bear fruit and who
prunes (kathairei, "cleans"; cf. the NIV footnote) those
who do bear fruit. In a sense, these two activities summarize chapter
13, with the cutting off of Judas (13:21-30) and the cleansing of
the disciples (13:10; cf. Michaels 1989:271). All judgment is in
the hands of the Father, both among Christ's disciples and those
outside that community. Indeed, some would see the persons referred
to in verse 2 as ones outside the community of Christ. Those who
believe that "true disciples are preserved to the end"
(Carson 1991:515, citing Jn 6:37-40; 10:28) assume that the disciple
in verse 2 is not a true disciple, since a true disciple will persevere
to the end (Carson 1980:97-98). "Many are reckoned by men's
opinions to be in the vine who in fact have no root in the vine"
(Calvin 1959:94). But Jesus does not say "those who appear
to be in me" but every branch in me. It will not do to collapse
the antinomies of Scripture. "How a man can be `in Christ,'
and yet afterwards separate himself from Him, is a mystery neither
greater nor less than that involved in the fall of a creature created
innocent" (Westcott 1908:2:198). The believer's assurance is
not in the decision to follow Jesus, but in the graciousness and
faithfulness of the Father and the Son (see comment on 6:37). Though
God allows us to reject him, his own disposition toward us is love,
a love that continues to pursue even those who reject him (see comment
on 13:26).
Those who are worried about the assurance of their
salvation should find comfort in the character and actions of God.
Our fretting over ourselves is itself a preoccupation with self
that must be pruned away, for it inhibits our relation with God,
our bearing of the fruit of eternal life.
Since fruit refers to sharing in the life of God and the activities
that naturally come to expression when that life is present, this
cutting off follows by definition. It is impossible to be united
to God and remain ignorant of him and not manifest his own characteristic
love. In such a case the branch is cut off and cast out to be burned
(v. 6). The reference to being cast out (eblethe exo; thrown away
in the NIV, v. 6) may point to excommunication from the community,
but the actual practice in 1 John does not seem to present active
excommunication on the part of the community--the antichrists seem
to leave on their own (1 Jn 2:19). Obviously they would not leave
without reason. Most likely John showed clearly the errors of their
ways and wanted them to accept his teaching, but they eventually
withdrew instead. Thus, the way the cutting off appears to take
place in the Johannine community is the same way the judgment takes
place in the Gospel, namely, the light shines and does its own work
of separation.
Jesus' disciples have been cleansed by his word, and they will be
cleansed in the future (15:2-3). This word refers to all that Jesus
taught, his entire message (logos), conveyed by both word and action.
This revelation centers on the same two foci mentioned with regard
to bearing fruit--knowledge of God in the Son and the love command--the
foci being united, for God is love. This knowledge and this love
do not characterize the disciples right then, but will "on
that day" (14:20-21), after the glorification of Jesus. But
something related to this later state must now characterize them
since Jesus has already said they are all clean except Judas (v.
3; cf. 13:10).
Indeed, if they were not clean, they could not come
into the divine presence, yet it is said that they are in Christ.
Perhaps what they have is the vague outline of this knowledge and
love, which will later be filled in by the Spirit. They certainly
believe Jesus is come from God, even though their continued ignorance
is quite evident here in the farewell discourse. More obvious is
their love for Jesus, mostly evidenced in their willingness to lay
down their lives for him. That they came to Jerusalem is evidence
of this willingness (11:16), and it is stated explicitly by Peter
(13:37). They are not yet capable of such love when things get bleak,
but at least they have the desire to be loyal. Such adherence to
Jesus on a social level is analogous to the coming internal co-inherence
referred to in this figure of the vine. Their humility in accepting
Jesus, along with his cryptic sayings and deeds, and their willingness
to die with him, even though this willingness is weaker than they
realize, manifest the love that is crucial for remaining in Jesus.
They still have much in their lives that is not in keeping with
the life of God. Such false growths need to be pruned away so God's
eternal life might grow and increase in their lives. Part of the
good news is that the Father undertakes such pruning in the life
of each disciple. The discipline may be painful (cf. Heb 12:4-11)
as the life of self and rebellion is cut away, but the result will
be untold blessing for the disciple and for others through him or
her. The Father's pruning is for the sake of growth, which suggests
the eternal life is a very dynamic reality.
Jesus stresses the impossibility of producing this fruit apart from
him (vv. 4-5). People are able to produce much without God, including
converts, good deeds and even prophesies, exorcisms and miracles
(cf. Mt 7:22-23; Ridderbos 1997:517). But the divine life such as
we see in Jesus is dependent on God's own character, power and guidance
at work in the life of the disciple. Jesus did not will nor speak
nor act from himself; neither is the branch capable of bearing fruit
"from itself" (v. 4, aph' heautou; NIV reads by itself).
Hence Jesus' command to remain in me (v. 4).
The second part of this sentence is probably also a command. The
Greek simply says, "Remain in me, and I in you"; the verb
is left out of the second half. The NIV supplies a future and I
will remain in you, which is a valid option. But the parallelism
in verse 5 suggests that here also the two sides are balanced, and
thus the dwelling of Christ in the believer is also an imperative
(Barrett 1978:474). "In one sense the union itself, even the
abiding of Christ, is made to depend upon the will of the believer"
(Westcott 1908:2:199). At this point the vine imagery breaks down,
since branches do not have consciousness and will. But the point
is clear enough, for throughout this Gospel the human and the divine
work together. The Father prunes and cleanses, and the Son has cleansed
by his word, showing the Son's oneness with the Father (cf. Chrysostom
In John 76.1). But the disciples themselves must make an effort
to remain. Remaining is not simply believing in him, though that
is crucial, but includes being in union with him, sharing his thoughts,
emotions, intentions and power. In a relationship both parties must
be engaged. The divine must take the initiative and provide the
means and the ability for the union to take place, but it cannot
happen without the response of the disciple.
The consequence of remaining is the bearing of much fruit (v. 5),
but the consequence of not remaining is being cast out, withered,
gathered and burned. This may be a reference to eschatological judgment
(cf. 5:29), using imagery common in the Old Testament and Judaism
(cf. Lang 1968:936-40) and in the Synoptics (for example, Mt 3:10
par. Lk 3:9; Mt 7:19; 13:40; Mk 9:43; cf. Lang 1968:942-46). Ezekiel
15 is especially relevant because it speaks of God's judgment against
Jerusalem, his vine. The wood of the vine is useless except as fuel
for a fire (Ezek 15:1-8). As Ezekiel shows, the image can refer
to God's judgment whenever it takes place, not just at the end of
time. Since John does not use such imagery elsewhere to refer to
the final judgment, the reference here is probably not to the final
judgment and hell (Beasley-Murray 1987:273). For John "it was
punishment enough to be separated from Christ and God and therefore
exposed to `withering' and death" (Schnackenburg 1982:101).
The casting out "happens simultaneously with the cessation
of the vital union with Christ. It is not a future consequence,
as at the last judgement, but an inevitable accompaniment of the
separation" (Westcott 1908:2:200). Such separation from God,
the source of all light and life and love, is the essence of all
judgment, whether eschatological or not. The ones who are so judged
in this passage are those who have refused to remain in Christ.
Like the opponents throughout the Gospel, they have rejected Jesus
and thereby turned their backs on God and thus life itself. Their
former intimacy with Jesus, such as it was, makes their rejection
all the more worthy of judgment.
7-17
7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you
wish, and it will be given you. 8This 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. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love,
just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.
11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your
joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I
have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay
down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what
I command. 15I 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. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you
to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will
give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love
each other.
John 15:7-17
Explanation: Jesus Applies His Teaching on the Vine and
the Branches (15:7-17)
Jesus now explains more of what it means to remain in him (v. 4).
This section forms a chiastic pattern (Brown 1970:667), with Jesus'
teaching (vv. 7, 17) and the promise of answered prayer (vv. 7,
16) forming the two ends and Jesus' joy at the midpoint (v. 11).
Themes from throughout the farewell discourse are woven together
within this carefully constructed exposition of the image of the
vine (Brown 1970:666).
The first section (vv. 7-10) draws out once again the relation between
love and obedience (cf. 14:21, 23-24) and views this relation in
light of the theme of mutual indwelling. Jesus' dwelling in the
believer is now referred to as his words remaining in them (v. 7).
If they remain in him and his words in them, Jesus promises their
prayers will be answered (v. 7; cf. 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23-24, 26).
To have his words remaining in them means to share his mind and
his will. They are to be caught up into his own focus on the doing
of God's will. Accordingly, they will pray for his purposes rather
than for their own selfish desires. Jesus' purposes have been to
reveal God and share his life and love so people will be brought
into union with him in his new community. Such will be the concerns
also of the disciples who have Jesus' words in them, and God will
answer their prayers as they live according to their life in Christ
and his life in them.
They bear the fruit of this shared life, which is evidence that
they are Jesus' disciples (v. 8), unlike others who claim to believe
but do not (2:23-24; 8:31). Since the fruit refers to the knowledge
and love of God, it follows that as the disciples produce fruit
the Father is glorified (v. 8; cf. 13:31-32; 14:13; 17:1, 4). The
glory of the Father is Jesus' chief delight and has been the focus
of all he has said and done. Since the disciples are now going to
live in union with Christ, the Father's glory will be the goal of
their lives as well.
The other side of the mutual indwelling is the disciples' remaining
in Christ (vv. 4, 7), which is now described as their remaining
in his love (v. 9). Jesus describes this love as like the love with
which his Father has loved him (v. 9; cf. 17:23). The Father is
the source and pattern of all love, so, as always, Jesus is doing
that which he receives from the Father. Jesus' disciples must remain
in his love (cf. 13:1, 34; 14:21), and they do this by obeying his
commands (v. 10). In part this means they are to remain in Jesus'
love for them, but further it means they must remain in his own
love for the Father. Jesus' own love for the Father was seen in
his obeying the Father's commands and remaining in his love (v.
10). For the disciples to remain in Jesus' love for the Father,
therefore, they must share in Jesus' obedience. Their obedience
is itself the fruit of their remaining in Jesus because it is a
characteristic of his love (1 Jn 2:5-6).
Jesus has spoken about love and obedience that they might share
in his own joy (v. 11). As his word remains in them through their
obedience they are actually sharing in his life with the Father,
which is characterized not only by obedience, but also by joy. The
Jewish delight in God's law (Ps 1:2; 119:14) is here fulfilled in
sharing in Jesus' own obedience to the Father. Indeed, the joy in
God's salvation, both in past events and in the future, ultimate
salvation, referred to in the Old Testament and later Jewish texts
(Conzelmann 1974b:362-66), finds its completion here in Jesus' joy.
But joy is not what springs to mind for many people when they think
of obedience.
They see obedience as conforming to rules, which produces
drudgery or chaffing. Rules often induce guilt in those not keeping
them and a prideful delight in those who do obey. But the obedience
Jesus is talking about is an obedience not to societal rules, but
to the Father who is all love. To obey him is to conform one's life
to the very pattern of God's own life. Such obedience shares in
his life, which is characterized by harmony, grace, goodness and
beauty. We are in intimate union with him and swept up into his
dance for which we were created and which brings the deepest fulfillment
and deepest joy to our lives. Jesus' joy came from such intimacy
with the Father and his delight to do that which pleases the one
who is all love and goodness. Jesus is showing how our joy may be
complete. If we have no joy in obeying the Father, then we should
consider whether we know him as Jesus knows him and whether we understand
his will as the description of our true freedom (8:31-36) and joy.
Indeed, we might ask ourselves what does bring us
joy. The answer will reveal to us our own hearts.Jesus loves just
as the Father loves (v. 9), and he commands his disciples to love
one another just as he has loved them (v. 12). Thus, the community
is characterized by divine love. If this love were just a feeling,
such a command would be impossible to fulfill. But the love Jesus
refers to is an act based in a certain state of heart. Specifically,
it is the laying down of one's life based on willing the good of
the other. By God's grace we can indeed choose to will the good
of the other, and we can choose to act accordingly. This is the
love Christians are called to in Christ, for Jesus says we are to
love one another just as he has loved us, which he immediately defines
in terms of laying down of one's life for one's friends (v. 13;
cf. 10:14-15, 18; 13:34, 37; 14:31).
The word for friends, philoi, is related to a verb meaning "love"
(phileo) and conveys a greater sense of intimacy than does our modern
use of friend, though our word is actually related to the Anglo-Saxon
verb freon, "to love" (Brown 1970:664). The idea that
one should lay down one's life for one's friends was well known
in the ancient world (for example, Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics
9.8; cf. Stahlin 1974:153). Jesus reveals that this human ideal
is in accord with the divine ideal. It might be thought that laying
down one's life for one's enemies is a greater love. Jesus does
indeed have such love for his enemies (see comments on 5:5; 6:51;
13:21-26), but the focus in the present setting is on the disciples
and their change of status from slaves to friends.
Jesus says his friends are those who obey him (v. 14). This is not
a definition of friendship itself, but it follows in this instance
given who Jesus is; just as love for the Father and the Son involves
obedience, so does friendship.
All this talk about obedience seems more fitting for
a master-slave relationship, but Jesus no longer calls them slaves
(douloi) but friends (v. 15). This does not mean that the relation
of slave is not also appropriate for Jesus' disciples (cf. 13:16;
15:20). Paul refers to himself as a slave (doulos) five times, though
he also notes that in some senses the Christian is no longer a slave
(Gal 4:7). Even the worshipers in the heavenly city at the end,
who will reign for ever and ever, are called God's slaves (Rev 22:3,
6). So although the idea of slave is valid, it is limited. Jesus'
point here is intimacy.
His disciples are his friends because he has made known to them
everything he heard from his Father (v. 15). The disciples thereby
fulfill the ideal of Abraham and Moses. Abraham was called God's
friend (2 Chron 20:7; Is 41:8), and he was one from whom God did
not keep secret his plan for Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18:17). Moses
likewise was God's friend, for "the Lord would speak to Moses
face to face, as a man speaks with his friend" (Ex 33:11; cf.
Deut 34:10). The opponents in this Gospel have exalted ideas of
Moses and Abraham (chaps. 5, 8), based in part on such texts. But
such intimacy with God is now open to all in Christ. For Jesus fulfills
the role of Wisdom, which "passes into holy souls from age
to age and produces friends of God and prophets" (Wisdom of
Solomon 7:27).
Jesus says he has kept nothing hidden (v. 15), an important claim
for the all-sufficiency of Jesus' revelation of the Father. All
that belongs to the Father belongs to Jesus (16:15; 17:10), and
he has passed it all on to his disciples. There is nothing more
to be known about the Father apart from Jesus and his revelation.
We await no new revelation to reveal more of God, nor do we need
to search the world's religions and philosophies to fill in gaps
in Jesus' revelation. Study of other religions and philosophies
can be valuable, but all the truths of God present in them, such
as the ideal of self-sacrifice just noted, are recognized to be
true by their congruence with Jesus. Here we have the exclusivist
claims of Christianity at full strength.
Jesus has been discussing love and intimacy, but that does not mean
that his disciples' relationship with him has somehow become that
of equals (rightly, Bultmann 1971:544; Haenchen 1984:132). The relationship
between Jesus and his disciples includes friendship, but is far
more intimate than friendship. Nevertheless, he is always the Lord.
They did not choose him, but he chose them (v. 16; cf. 6:70; 13:18;
15:19). This is not a reference to salvation, but rather to service,
since the rest of the verse speaks of being appointed . . . to go
and bear fruit (Beasley-Murray 1987:275). If this fruit is eternal
life, which is knowledge of God and sharing in his love (cf. comment
on 15:2), then Jesus is saying he chose and appointed his disciples
to go and manifest the life of God.
The primary expression of this fruit that Jesus speaks
of here is the love within the Christian community. The fruit that
remains is thus the love that flows from, and bears witness to,
life in union with God. This love has come into the world in Jesus
and now is to remain in the world in the community of his disciples.
This divine love manifested within the church will bear witness
to Jesus before the world (17:21, 23), which will enable some to
find eternal life and will also reveal the judgment of those who
reject it.
The result of such fruit bearing, of living in union with God and
sharing in his love, will be answered prayer (v. 16). Prayer in
Jesus' name is prayer that is in union with him and in keeping with
his character and his purposes (see comment on 14:13). Thus, while
the disciples themselves must go and bear fruit or risk being cut
off (v. 6), they have the assurance that Jesus has chosen and appointed
them for this activity and that the Father will answer their prayers.
These assurances correspond to the fact that apart from Jesus the
disciples can do nothing (v. 5).
A person's sharing in the divine life begins and continues
only by God's gracious activity. The grace of God that has characterized
Jesus' life and ministry will continue to characterize the life
and ministry of his disciples.
The reference to Jesus' command in the final verse (v. 17) picks
up the reference both to Jesus' words (v. 7) and to his command
(v. 12), thus tying the unit together. Obedience to Jesus' command
is the evidence that we love him (vv. 9-10), and the content of
his command turns out to be love. This final reference to love for
one another ties together this passage and provides a striking contrast
to what immediately follows--Jesus' description of the world's hatred
of the disciples. Jesus has been speaking of the enormous blessings
of knowing and loving God in a community of love. However, the church
is not to be an isolated hothouse, but a garden in the midst of
the world.
The World Hates the Disciples
18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
19If 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. 20Remember the words
I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.'[2] If they
persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching,
they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because
of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had
not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now,
however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates
my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them what no one else
did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these
miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this
is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without
reason.'[3]
26"When the Counselor 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. 27And you also must testify, for you have been
with me from the beginning.
John 15:18-27
Explanation: Jesus Explains the Source of the World's
Hatred of His Disciples (15:18-25)
Jesus relates what he has experienced to what the disciples will
now experience (vv. 18-20). The rejection of Jesus by his opponents
has been based in their alienation from God. Jesus now refers to
them as the world, since the world is that which is in rebellion
against God. The disciples would face rejection by Gentiles as well
(cf. Tacitus Annals 15.44; Suetonius Nero 16), but at the moment
Jesus has Jewish opposition in mind (16:2). Since the disciples
are members of Christ like branches are members of a vine, they
receive what he receives--both the sunshine and rain of the love
of the Father and the storms of the hatred of those who are in rebellion
against the Father.
The disciples are included in the world's hatred of Jesus because,
like him, they are not of this world (v. 19; cf. 8:23; Neyrey 1988).
They are Jesus' friends (philoi, 15:14-15), and thus they are not
loved (ephilei) by the world. Jesus has chosen them (exelexamen)
and appointed that they to go bear fruit (15:16), and this commission
was based on a more fundamental act that he now refers to as choosing
them (exelexamen) out of the world.
They have been transferred to Jesus' kingdom, which
is not of this world (18:36). The world's hatred of them, therefore,
is an encouragement to the disciples since it is due to the difference
Jesus has made within them. This does not mean the world has no
hatred for others besides Christians. Nor does it mean that someone
who is hated by the world is necessarily being true to God. But
Jesus does say that those who are his disciples are quite distinct
from all that is in rebellion against God and should not be surprised
when opposition arises.Jesus refers his disciples back to his saying,
"No servant is greater than his master" (v. 20; cf. 13:16).
Earlier Jesus was referring to his example of humility in washing
their feet. Now this saying applies to his humility in undergoing
persecution by the world, even to the point of death. Here we see
the incredible humility of the master, who is Lord of all. If humility
is appropriate for a slave, how much more for a slave of such a
master. Jesus concentrates on two items of comparison in particular--persecution
and obedience to his teaching. While Jesus' statement if they obeyed
my teaching could refer to those who did in fact do so, the present
context is focused on rejection (vv. 20, 21), so the idea is probably
more like "they will follow your teaching as little as they
have followed mine" (NEB). Thus, the disciples are rejected
not only because they are not of this world, but also because they
are proclaiming a message (cf. v. 27). The present text shows the
disciples in the role of prophets, meeting the prophets' fate. As
the Lord told Ezekiel, "The house of Israel is not willing
to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for
the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate" (Ezek
3:7). There has been plenty of such hardness within the church as
well.
Jesus summarizes his point thus far by saying, They will treat you
this way because of my name (v. 21). His name refers to his identity
and his character as it is made manifest (see comment on 1:12).
But Jesus cannot be understood apart from the Father, so he concludes
that the reason they reject him is their ignorance of the One who
sent me. Here is the core problem (cf. 5:37-38; 7:28; 8:19, 47,
55), which introduces the main point of the rest of this section
(vv. 22-25). Jesus has been speaking of the connection between the
treatment he has experienced and that of his disciples. Now he focuses
on his own ministry and its relation to the Father.
His central assertion is that this ignorance of the Father is culpable
because of the witness he has borne in word and deed. He has spoken
to them the words of the Father himself (14:10-11) and shown them
the deeds of the Father (5:19, 30), deeds unlike anyone else's (v.
24). If he had not spoken and acted thus they would not be guilty
of sin (vv. 22, 24). The text says literally, "they would not
have sin" (hamartia). Hamartia can refer to guilt, but here
the reference is more likely to sin itself. For in John's Gospel
sin is understood as lack of faith in Jesus, that is, hatred of
him and his Father (Michaels 1989:276). The opponents do not think
they hate God, but such is the case given their hatred of Jesus
(vv. 23-24). "This hatred is the human `no' to the divine `yes'
expressed in the mission of his Son" (Ridderbos 1997:525).
The disciples are actually experiencing the deep-seated rebellion
of sinful humanity against the Father himself. The conflict they
experience is a part of something much bigger than themselves. Sometimes
Christians today say they are being persecuted for the sake of God,
when in fact they are being rejected merely because they are obnoxious.
But many Christians are indeed undergoing the most horrid persecution
and suffering for the Name. Jesus' words of encouragement here speak
directly to his disciples in such situations. He gives them the
larger perspective, helping them understand that what they are going
through is part of the world's rejection of the Father and the Son.
Such suffering is not outside God's providential care. It corresponds
to a pattern found in Scripture, which is what fulfill means here
(v. 25). The rejection of Jesus and his disciples is found in the
very law to which those rejecting them claim to be loyal, thus further
demonstrating their culpability. The passage cited, They hated me
without reason, is probably either Psalm 35:19 or 69:4. The latter
may be more likely because it is referred to so often in the New
Testament, being quoted or directly alluded to seventeen times in
all. In either case the innocent psalmist is complaining to God
about his persecutors. So Jesus is not just using a convenient proof
text but making connection with an important type. He is using Scripture
to assure his disciples that they should not be surprised by what
he is experiencing nor by what they themselves will experience.
God is in control.
Thus Jesus is giving the disciples two grounds for assurance, himself
and the Scriptures. They should look to him for his example and
for what he has said to them. They also gain confidence through
what they find in the Old Testament, understood in relation to Jesus
(v. 25). The Scriptures in general, and the Gospels in particular,
continue to play such a role in the lives of faithful disciples
today.
Jesus Says the Paraclete and the Disciples
Will Bear Witness to Him (15:26-27)
From his own witness and that of Scripture Jesus now returns to
the witness of the Paraclete and his disciples. The witness of the
Paraclete and the disciples stands in marked contrast to the rejection
by the world, confirming the fact that Jesus and those associated
with him are not of this world. Referring to the Paraclete as the
Spirit of truth (v. 26) provides yet another contrast with the world,
which has rejected Jesus out of error.
Jesus says he will send the Paraclete from the Father (v. 26), thus
affirming both that the Paraclete is associated in a primary way
with the Father and that the Son is involved in his historical mission
(14:26; 16:7). Then Jesus refers to the Paraclete as the one who
goes out from the Father (v. 26). The meaning of this line has been
the source of enormous controversy right down to today. Many Western
Christians would say the going out is another way of referring to
the historical mission of the Paraclete. The Eastern church, on
the other hand, sees this as referring to the eternal relations
within the Godhead: this procession of the Spirit is not into history;
it is the coming forth of the Spirit from the Father from all eternity.
The Son is God begotten, the Spirit is God proceeding, and the Father
is the one source of both.
The Father as the one ultimate source of all is true to the thought
of this Gospel and the rest of Scripture, but it is doubtful that
this verse is dealing in its primary sense with the eternal relations
between the Father and the Spirit. The word used for from (para)
does not denote source in this sense. Indeed, the line in the Nicene
Creed referring to the eternal relations is "I believe in the
Holy Spirit . . . who proceeds from (ek) the Father." The Greek
fathers who refer to the eternal procession use ek and even change
para to ek when referring to verse 26 in this connection (Westcott
1908:2:213). Furthermore, the language in our verse (para) is used
elsewhere in John to describe Jesus' coming forth from the Father
on his mission within history, though with a different verb (16:27;
17:8). Thus, the going out probably also refers to the historical
mission of the Spirit. Jesus repeats the thought in this way to
emphasize that the Spirit is from the Father--that is, like Jesus
himself, he is not of this world.
The Paraclete is going to testify about Jesus (v. 26). Because he
is being sent to the disciples--whom I will send to you--it would
seem his testimony is to the disciples, who in turn will testify
before the world. Further details about the Paraclete's testimony
will be given shortly (16:8-15), but first the testimony of the
disciples themselves is introduced.
The disciples were chosen out of the world (v. 19) and are now said
to be witnesses because they have been with Jesus from the beginning
(v. 27), referring to the beginning of his ministry. This implies
Jesus is speaking primarily to the eleven in these chapters. They
have been along for the whole trip so they can tell the whole story
(cf. Acts 1:21-22). Because the Gospel is not just an abstract message
but an account of what God himself has done and said as he was incarnate,
history matters enormously and the role of eyewitnesses is crucial.
"The New Testament is . . . neither a collection of thoughtful
essays nor an attempt to construct a system of ethics. It bears
witness to a unique history, and it discovers the truth in the history.
. . . The fourth Gospel persuades and entices the reader to venture
a judgement upon the history" (Hoskyns and Davey 1947:181).
The Gospel of John is itself a primary example of the witness referred
to in verse 27. The eyewitness testimony is now available through
the New Testament, which is foundational and is the criterion of
all claims to bear witness to Christ.
These two verses, then, introduce the offense which the disciples
are to wage in the face of the world's hatred and persecution, with
the disciples' giving voice to the Paraclete's witness against the
world (Brown 1970:698).
