3:1

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."

Nicodemus, a Jewish Rabbi.  Nervous about his reputation, he came to talk with Jesus under cover of darkness.  He would have lost credibility with his rabbi colleagues if it  became  known that he was consulting this disreputable itinerant teacher,  this loose prophetic cannon out of nowhere, the no-place Nazareth in Galilee, so he came to Jesus by night.  He came, it seems, without an agenda, simply to get acquainted, opening the conversation by complimenting Jesus; "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for not one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God" (3:2)  Peterson

Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson, p.14

15:4

"A key word in this verse is the word remain (abide) which appears no fewer than eleven times in the passage. It seems to suggest an effortless resting in the Lord, confident in the promised union between the vine and the true branches. Furthermore John uses the word remain forty times in his Gospel and 27 more times in his epistles. In the context of this passage, it seems to emphasize an ongoing faith and loving obedience to the Father and the Son that results in fruit.

This is a new covenant thinking. The disciples and all believers since them must give up the idea that true Christianity emphasizes memberships and associations rather than life in Christ though the Spirit. "

John by Kenneth O. Gangel p 283

15:2

Boice escapes the difficulty of interpretation by translating cuts off (airo) as "lifts up", certainly one of its meanings. He argues, "This translation makes better sense of the passage in every way, and in addition it is much better theology. First , the emphasis of this opening section of the parable is, quite rightly, upon the care of the vine by the Father. It would be strange, granting this emphasis, if the first thing mentioned is the carrying away of unproductive branches. But it is not at all strange ot emphasize that the vine dresser first lift the branches up so that they may be better exposed to the sin and so the fruit will develop properly"

John by Kenneth O. Gangel quoting Boice: Boice, IV, p.228

15:2

Jesus noted, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away"

Elmer Town gives various interpretations and then his own conclusion.

"Theologians debate the identity of the unfruitful branch that is apparently cast away.

First some say it represents the true believer apostatizing. Armenians make reference to this passage to claim that Christians who do not abide in Christ are taken from Him, and their salvation is lost.

Second, those who believer in eternal security interpret the unfruitful branch as one who merely professes Christianity, but who was never truly united to Christ.

Third, others interpret this passage with a primary emphasis on fruit bearing, not salvation.

Fourth, the probable solution in seen in the word airei (takes away). This word is the root for resurrection (to take up). The focus here is fruit bearing; the vinedressser does not cut away a vine because it has no fruit but gently lifts it up to the sun so it has an opportunity to bear fruit. The first step of Christ in not judgment but encouragement."

The Gospel of John,Believe and Live, Elmer Towns p 150-151

John 15: central idea

Elmer Towns gives his idea on the central idea of John 15: "The foundation of the Christian life is the believer's union and communion with Christ, which is the central truth of the metaphor of the vine and the branches. One cannot read the New Testament without realizing the tremendous importance early Christians placed on the fact that they were in Christ and Christ was in them.... Spiritual life and fruitfulness have their source in Him and are manifestations of the reality of that union."

The Gospel of John,Believe and Live, Elmer Towns p 149-150

Gospel of John Timeline

John 1 - Introduction
Day one
. Bethany on the other side of the Jordan (1:28)
. John the Baptist at Jordan River

Day two
. John the Baptist: Jesus is the Lamb of God (1:29-34)

Day three
. the frist disciples: Andrew and Simon Peter (1:35-42)

Day four
. Additional disciples: Phiip, Nathanael (1:43-51)

John 2 - from Nazareth to Galilee
on the third day of the wedding in Cana 2:1)

a few days:
. in Capernaum w mother, brother and disciples (2:12)

then back to Nazareth
. to Jerusalem for the first Passover (2:13)
- at the temple (2:14)
John 3 - - dialogue w Nicodemus (3:1)

to Judean countryside
. Jesus baptizing (3:22)

to Aenon near Salim (3:23)

John 4 - leaves Judea towards Galilee (4:3)

7:38

rivers of living water

Genesis 2:10, John 4:14, Rev 22:1,2

The rivers shall flow from him (the man that believes). So it is God's nature to pour out.

The rivers are a natural correlation to a supernatural one. The rivers represent the Holy Spirit. It is Gods nature to pour out his Holy Spirit upon people and then for them to pour it out to others.

A principle: Give and it shall be given unto you. Translation from this verse: allow the Holy Spirit to pour out of you in giving and then the Holy Spirit will be poured back into to you to give. So you could say outflow is the secret of inflow. If you go a step further you could say belief is the initiator of inflow. Belief in what Jesus says leads our to giving out according to the commandments or the word, then in turn leads to more inflow.

You can see the fruit of this pouring out in the life it gives. This water is living water. It is a life giving substance. It is the life of God, of Christ be poured forth. The Holy Spirits pouring out on a body of believers or through an individual believer is seen in the vitality of that body or believers. the proof of this truth is not in a rational. It is not something arguable. Vitality is not something you convince somebody of. It is seen in the life that is there. So the effect of truth is life. These two go hand in hand. You can not have one without the other.

These thoughts were generated by reading of :
Rivers of Living Water: The Works of T. Austin Sparks

John 15:1

...and my father is the husbandman.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of you mind that you might know that good and perfect will of God.

God is the head gardener of the vine. The gardener decides where the vine is to be planted, which direction to grow the vine in, for when and how much to prune the vine, how and how much it is to be watered and nurtured.

Jesus was dependent upon Gods choices for all these things. The vine is our example. Everything in the natural has a supernatural correlation. So as Jesus was totally dependent on God for where he was planted, when he was pruned, how he was fenced in, how and when he was watered, when he was to be challenged by outside forces, so we are dependent on these things.

As we pursue Gods will by renewing our minds on Gods word, we recognize that our planting is not our choosing. It is the choice of the master Gardener, God himself.

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Favorite Resources in John so far

These are sources that I glean the most from in my own study of the Gospel of John

Commentaries
•C. K. Barrett’s, The Gospel According to John *
•G. R. Beasley-Murray, John, *
•F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John *
•Kostenberger, Andreas J. John (BECT) *
•Morris, Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John *

Other Related Books with insight into the Gospel of John
•Andrew Murray, The True Vine *
•T Austin Sparks, Discipleship in the School of Christ *
•T Austin Sparks, The School of Christ *
•Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, Volume II (The writings of John) *
•Bruce Wilkinson, Secrets of the Vine *

The Private Miracle

I would entitle the changing of the water to wine the private miracle.

Kostenberger says it like this: the entire event served as a foil for Jesus revelation that his "time had not yet come" (2:4; cf. later 7:30, 8:20; and the arrival of the "hour in 12:23, 27, 13:1; 17:1) Nevertheless, Jesus finds a way not to "blow his cover": he performs a miracle "behind the scenes," without stealing the spotlight that properly belonged to the bride and groom, selflessly meeting the need of the hour.

Encountering John, Kostenberger p 73

2:4

Woman or gunai has no harshness or disrespect in the vocative form

C. K. Barrett, p159

gunai has caused needless perplexity. While it is an unusual mode of address to one's mother, it also may be affectionate.

Beasley-Murray, p 34

Jesus response shows depths of feeling and earnestness in him. It was the customary style of address for the time.

Lipscomb p 36

Mary probably failed to realize adequately that since her Son had left home (some months before) something had happened which must make a difference to their former relationship. He had been anointed with the Holy Spirit and had received power to undertake the special work which his Father had given him to do. Now that, after the long 'silent years' at Nazareth, he had entered on his public ministry, everything (including family ties) must be subordinated to this... When the NEB makes him say 'Your concern, mother, is not mine', it misses the point, which is that 'mother' is precisely what he did not call her. If she sought his help now, she must not seek it on the bais of their mother-and-son relationship.

F.F. Bruce p 69