The Gospel of John Week 20
Scripture: John 14:31 – 16:3.
Our study of the evening of Jesus’ Passover meal with His disciples continues. In our opening verse of John 14:31 we read, “Come, let us go.”
Pastor shares an ancient Christian tradition that states Jesus met with his disciples in the upper room in a location in the southwestern corner of the city of Jerusalem on the Western Hill. Using tradition, archeological discoveries, writings from Jewish historian Josephus, and some holy speculation, Pastor puts together an amazing picture of Jesus and His disciples walk to the Garden:
⁃ It was an evening walk.
⁃ To get there they would have moved through the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives where the Garden of Gethsemane was located.
⁃ On the way they would have passed the Temple
⁃ According to Josephus the Temple was 150 feet tall and on the face of the temple was a massive golden grapevine with clusters of grapes made out of solid gold. The clusters stood about 6 feet high.
⁃ What is known from rabbinical writings is that during the great feasts, (like this one at Passover) massive torches were placed in the courts of the temple. There were 4 of them and they stood 75 feet high with multiple containers of oil for each.
⁃ They provided a tremendous amount of light in the temple and could have been seen throughout the city.
So as we read, “Come, let us go,” we move to the first words of chapter 15, “I am the true vine.”
⁃ And Jesus and His disciples are actually seeing the massive golden grapevine on the face of the temple as they walk. These are absolutely startling and dramatic words.
⁃ These words would have been more significant to them then than they are to us today. What Jesus’ disciples would have thought of was that the people of Israel are compared to a grapevine in the Hebrew Scriptures and they would have thought of Isaiah’s Song of the Vineyard. (Isaiah 5) an analogy of what God intended the nation of Israel to be. And now Jesus is saying He is the vine. Jesus is saying He is everything that God intends for His people to be. With this analogy Jesus is saying that He is the One who gives life to the people of God.
It is only by being connected to Jesus that we have life and forgiveness and hope because He is the Messiah. Unless we receive Him as such, judgement will come.
As Pastor takes us through verses 1-2 of chapter 15, he shares what he personally believes and that is that the translators have possibly not translated accurately. He goes on to share that the Greek word translated in English to “cuts off” has two meanings and the correct meaning may not have been used here, that the meaning “to raise to life up” (the second meaning)should have been used. Pastor brings in the actual care of grapevines by a good gardener and that non-producing vines are lifted up off the ground by the gardener so they can receive more light and are not cut off. Pastor makes a solid argument that the text is better translated as: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He lifts up 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.”
This is all happening just hours before He will be arrested and He is making sure His disciples understand these truths. He goes on with more truths of praying in His name, loving one another and He repeats Himself. Why? Because not only did they need it repeated, but we need to hear these truths over and again. Jesus wants to make sure and re-share these fundamental truths to anchor His disciples and us in the good times and in the difficult times.
Jesus goes on with more truths:
⁃ As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you.
⁃ Remain in My love.
⁃ Keep His commandments (not to earn His love, but because we have His love)
⁃ He calls His disciples His friends
⁃ He tells them whatever you ask in My name the Father will give you.
⁃ He tells them the world will hate them as it hates Him
⁃ He talks of persecution, but that there will also be those who will listen. So He encourages them to speak His words and tell others. We will have difficulties in this world be we know He is with us, and He loves us!
⁃ He shares that the Holy Spirit is coming. The Advocate. The Comforter, The Consoler. And that they will need the Holy Spirit.
Then Pastor shares the story of Jacob DeShazer. It’s a powerful testimony of how God changes our hearts with His Word and uses our changed hearts to impact others.
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⁃ The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels.
⁃ The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible. Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.
Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!
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