Sunday, March 30, 2008

14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Amazing words coming from a man who knew He was about to go back to the father and that the prince of the world (devil) was coming for Him. The man Christ Jesus was soon to be executed and he speaks to His disciples. Jesus is giving them the encouragement He has received from the Father "Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid."

Sunday, March 23, 2008

15:1

I am the true vine

Over and over in the Old Testament Israel is pictured as the vine or the Vineyard of God.
the vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel (Isaiah 5:1-7)
Yet I planted you a choice vine (Jeremiah 2:21)
Ezekiel 15 likens Israel to the vine as does Ezekiel 19:10.
Israel is a luxuriant vine (Hosea 10:1)
Thou didst bring a vine out of Egypt (Psalm 80:8)

The vine had become a symbol of the nation of Israel. It was the emblem on the coins of the Maccabees. The vine was part and parcel of Jewish imagery, and the very symbol of Israel.

Yet Jesus proclaims that he is the true or real vine. It is as if he is saying "you think that because you belong to the nation of Israel you are a branch of the true vine of God, but the fact that you are a Jew can not save you. the only thing that can save you is to have an intimate living fellowship with me, for I am the vine of God and you must be branches joined to me.

the Gospel of John volume 2, William Barclay p 172-173

Seven Witnesses

The Gospel of John has seven human witnesses that declare He is the son of God.

1. John the Baptist: This is the Son of God (1:34)
2. Nathanael: You are the Son of God (1:49)
3. Peter: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (6:69)
4. Martha: You are the Christ, the Son of God (11:27)
5. Thomas: He is my Lord and my God (20:28)
6. John: Jesus is he Christ, the Son of God (20:31)
7. Jesus himself: I am the Son of God (10:36)

Seven Signs or Miracles

There are seven specific signs in John that give witness to Jesus being the son of God.

1. Turning water into wine (2:1-11)
2. Healing the nobleman's son (4:46-54)
3. Healing of the paralytic at Bethesda (5:1-47)
4. Feeding of the 5000 (6:1-14)
5. Walking on the water (6:15-21)
6. Healing the blind man (9:1-41)
7. Raising of Lazarus (11:1-57)

Seven I AM's

John is filled with a witness or testimony of who he is that calls for belief or faith which results in life if faith is put in him. The seven I AM's are Jesus own testimony of His deity. Jesus said:

I AM the bread of life (6:35)
I AM the light of the world (8:12)
Before Abraham was, I AM (8:58)
I AM the good Shepherd (10:11)
I AM the resurrection, and the life (11:25)
I AM the way, the turth, and the life (14:6)
I AM the true vine (15:1)

15:2

Andrew Murray has a book on the true vine that I have found insightful on the first part of John 15. He writes a passage that gives insight on just what is being cut off in the pruning process. Here is a portion.

Consider for a moment what this pruning or cleansing is. It is not the removal of weeds or thorns, or anything from without that may hinder the growth. No; it is the cutting off of the long shoots of the previous year, the removal of something that comes from within, that has been produced by the life of the vine itself. It is the removal of something that is a proof of the vigor of its life; the more vigorous the growth has been , the greater the need for the pruning. It is the honest, healthy wood of the vine that has to be cut away. And why? Because it would consume too much of the sap to fill all the long shoots of last year's growth: the sap must be saved up and used for fruit alone. The branches, sometimes eight and ten feet long, are cut down close to the stem, and nothing is left but just one or two inches of wood, enough to bear the grapes. it is when everything that is not needful for fruit-bearing has been relentlessly cut down, and just as little of the branches as possible has been left, that full, rich fruit may be expected.

What a solemn, precious lesson! It is not to sin only that the cleansing of the Husbandman here refers. It is to our own religious activity, as it is developed in the very act o bearing fruit. I is this that must be cut down an cleansed away. We have, in working for God, to use our natural gifts of wisdom, or eloquence, or influence, or zeal. And yet they are ever in danger of being unduly developed, and then trusted in. And so, after each season of work, God has to bring us to the end of ourselves, to the consciousness of the helplessness and the danger of all that is of man, to feel that we are nothing. All that is to be left of us is just enough to receive the power of the life-giving say of the Holy Spirit. What is of man must be reduced to the lowest measure. All that is inconsistent with the most entire devotion to Christ's service must be removed. The more perfect the cleansing and cutting away of all that is of self, the less of surface over which the Holy Spirit is to be spread, so much the more intense can be the concentration of our whole being, to be entirely at the disposal of the Spirit. This is the true circumcision of the heart, ... This is the true crucifixion with Christ, bearing about the dying of the Lord Jesus in the body.

Blessed cleansing, God's own cleansing! How we may rejoice in the assurance that we shall bring forth more fruit.

The True Vine, Andrew Murray p. 28,29

Sunday, March 16, 2008

15 intro

Boice gives an idea what may have occasioned Jesus parable of the vine and its branches. Since the proceeding chapter ends with "Come now, let us leave," it would seem that the Lord and his disciples left the upper room at this point and began that quiet walk across the city of Jerusalem down into the Kidron Valley that brought them to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. If that is the case, they may have passed the great golden vine that decorated the door to the Holy Place of the temple or they may have passed the vines that grew close to the great walls of the city.

The Gospel of John vol.4 p. 1159, James Boice

15:2

He removes every branch in me that does not produce fruit, and he prunes every branch that does produce fruit, to make it produce more fruit.

There are plays on words in the Greek that cannot easily be reproduced in English'; 'he removes' is airei and 'he prunes' is kathairei. Moreover, kathairei can also mean ' he cleanses' and is linked with 'clean' in verse 3: 'you are kathairei. Here is an echo of John 13:10, 'you are clean (kathoaroi), but not all'. Judas was the exception then; in terms of the present parable, he is an unfruitful branch that has to be removed.

The Gospel of John, F.F. Bruce p.308

15:2



He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he trims clean so that it will be even more fruitful.


We should not regard this as a proof that true believers may fall away. it is part of the viticultural picture, and the point could not be made without it. The emphasis here is on bearing fruit.

In a vineyard fruitfulness is not just desirable; it is imperative; that is the whole point of the vineyard; it is what the vineyard is for. Pruning is resorted to to ensure that this takes place. Left to itself a vine will produce a good deal of unproductive growth. For maximum fruitfulness extensive pruning in essential.

This is a suggestive figure for the Christian life. The fruit of Christian service is never the result of allowing the natural energies and inclinations to run riot. "Trims clean" more literally "cleans" where we might have expected "prunes," shows that we have now moved into the spiritual sphere. the interest is in what happens with people rather than with vines. The action of the father is such as to cleanse his people so that they will live fruitful lives.

The Gospel According to John, Leon Morris p. 594-595

Place of Writing

Although there is no definitive answer to where John wrote his gospel. Early church tradition points to Ephesus.

The early church father Irenaeus says "Afterwards, John, the disciple of the Lord, who also had leaned upon His breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his resence at Ephesus in Asia." Irenaeus had personal contact with Polycarp, who knew John personally.

Others have suggested that the Gospel was written in Alexandria or somewhere in Egypt because an early manuscript has been found in Egypt. And others suggest a general region of Antioch.

The Gospel According to John, Leon Morris p. 54

Purpose of Writing

John tells us in so many words why he wrote: "these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (20:31). There seems to be no reason for ignoring this express statement. John says plainly that he is out to show Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. ... Not only does John tell us this in set terms, but close examination shows that this is, inf fact, what he has don. Again and again he brings before us evidence that Jesus is indeed the Christ. ...Moreover, John constantly lets us see the challenge posed by the message of Jesus. People divide in the presence of this message. Either they commit themselves to Christ in faith and so enter life of they refuse to commit themselves to Christ in faith and so enter life or they refuse to commit themselves and in so doing remain in darkness and a condition of lostness.

The Gospel According to John, Leon Morris p. 34

Date of writing

Conservatives and radicals alike generally hold that the Fourth Gospel is of comparatively late date. It is commonly held that it was written in the last decade of the first century, though some authors prefer a date in the early second century.

The Gospel According to John, Leon Morris p.25

A Gospel for All

Leon Morris begins his commentary with the comparison of John's gospel to a pool in which a child may wade and an elephant can swim. It is both simple and profound. It is for the veriest beginner in the faith and for the mature Christian.

The Gospel According to John, Leon Morris p. 3

Sunday, March 2, 2008

21:30,31

John 21:30,31 Now there are many other signs, not written in this book, which Jesus did in the presence of his disciples; but these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, believing, you may have life in his name.

We see John's purpose in these verses. That we may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing we may have life in his name. Through out John we see witnesses and testimonies to who Jesus Christ is. We have the seven signs, the seven I Am's, Jesus testifying of himself, disciples and others testifying that He is son of God. All these things are written that we would believe in Jesus.

There is another component of this. When we believe we have life in his name. So there is a witness so that we would believe and life would be imparted to us.