#1526 John 15 Part 3 Hated

 

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. 25 But this happened to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without cause.’

26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me, 27 and you will bear witness also, because you have been with Me from the beginning. John 15: 18-27 LSB

John  15: 18-27

If the world hates you - This goes back to the denying of self. It is inherent in all of us to either be accepted or at least left alone, but God is calling us to witness to a hostile world. Why did they hate Jesus? He came convicting the world of sin, calling men to repent. Those that thought they had dealt with this in their religious system hated being told that they missed the whole point, that their works weren't acceptable, that they would depend on His works, and that He would have to be made a sacrifice for their sin. Telling people who think they're good that they are not is His crime. 

2. Their confederacy and combination; these numerous hosts are embodied, and are as one, Ps. 83:5. Jews and Gentiles, that could agree in nothing else, agreed to persecute Christ's minister.

3. Their spirit and disposition; they are men of the world (Ps. 17:13, 14), wholly devoted to this world and the things of it, and never thinking of another world. The people of God, though they are taught to hate the sins of sinners, yet not their persons, but to love and do good to all men. A malicious, spiteful, envious spirit, is not the spirit of Christ, but of the world. - Matthew Henry

…13Arise, O LORD, confront them! Bring them to their knees; deliver me from the wicked by Your sword, 14from such men, O LORD, by Your hand— from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children. 15As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.… Psalm 17: 13-15

V. 19 But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you - Pretty simple, I always tell people when they ask me what it's like where I work, I say, "it's Babylon". The world is always asking you to accept things that God says are wrong, even things that logic, reason, science, will tell them that they are wrong about, some things they don't even believe when they sit down and think about it rationally. They won't buck the world's system though, like I have said before, they are weather vanes, pointing whichever way the wind of the culture is directing them. It's not for me to hate them though, but to tell them the truth and understand that they aren't going to like it, very few will respond in a positive manner, but love tells the truth, again we are confronted with the idea of self denial. If you think about Daniel, he was the best man in Babylon, the wisest, and the man with the most integrity, but he had haters. They can't go after him in a normal fashion, say that he is not doing a good job, that would only point out that he is doing a superior job to theirs. He doesn't steal from the boss, doesn't lie, all things that they have no issue with doing themselves, so how do you go after Daniel? You have to make something good evil, you have to make a law that goes against God and then accuse him for not following that law. If you are not found disagreeable to the world, then you either live in a bubble or you are so much like them that they can't tell. 

…11Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul. 12 Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. 13Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,… 1 Peter 2: 11-13

…12And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own.… Hebrews 11: 12-14

Daniel always prayed to God three times every day. Three times every day, he bowed down on his knees to pray and praise God. Even though Daniel heard about the new law, he still went to his house to pray. He went up to the upper room of his house and opened the windows that faced toward Jerusalem. Then Daniel bowed down on his knees and prayed just as he always had done.

11 Then the supervisors and satraps went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and talked to him about the law he had made. They said, “King Darius, you signed a law that says, for the next 30 days anyone who prays to any god or man except you, the king, would be thrown into the lions’ den. You did sign that law, didn’t you?”

The king answered, “Yes, I signed that law, and the laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be canceled or changed.”

13 Then they said to the king, “That man Daniel is not paying any attention to you. He is one of the captives from Judah, and he is not paying attention to the law you signed. Daniel still prays to his God three times every day.”

14 The king became very sad and upset when he heard this. He decided to save Daniel. He worked until sunset trying to think of a way to save him. 15 Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, “Remember, King, that the law of the Medes and Persians says that no law or command signed by the king can ever be canceled or changed.”

16 So King Darius gave the order. They brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. Daniel 6: 10-16

V. 20 A slave is not greater than his master - In this case Jesus is the Master, and He is going to be sent to the cross by both the Jews and Rome, the ruling gentile power of the time. I have known a lot of pastors, people in "ministry", who thought, "I am an extrovert, I love people, gatherings, potlucks, making people laugh, making people feel good about themselves, giving advice, telling jokes, going to meetings, sitting on boards. I am a good public speaker and like to dress for success, a people pleaser." None of those things are qualifiers, none of those things reflect the call that we see here. In fact, some love being liked so much that it becomes evident that they were never called. If they could only afford to pay you 50 thousand a year, and so in order to live in that area you would have to get a second job, do you still feel called? If there are factions there and some of the more antinomian, feels people voted for a different pastor than you, but got you instead, are you going to cower or are you going to let the word of God roar from the pulpit? Do you still "feel" called? If they hated Jesus and He is your Lord, as slave implies, and the message your to carry is that, that Jesus is Lord, and one day every knee will bow and confess that, but you need to repent now while it's still today, then I'm sorry, but not everyone is going to like you. Now brace yourself, some are even going to hate you, maybe want to put you in jail or even kill you, but you're not better than Jesus, and this is what He was called to and your His servant.

…10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.… Matthew 5: 10-12

V.22 But now they have no excuse for their sin - Jesus backed up His words with miracles before the people there, but they didn't believe what He said even though they believed what they saw Him do. It goes still deeper, because God, Who had given their fathers the law, the warning through the prophets, had also promised a Savior, the Messiah, the Seed of the woman, and here He is, fulfilling all things, everyone is without excuse. Everyone chooses sin, that is all that free will is good for, the sin of believing in your works, the sin of making another god, another Christ, or of saying I love my immorality and so I am going to call it good and you a bigot for saying it's sin. 

First, His words were such as merited their love (v. 22): "If I had not spoken unto them, to court their love, they had not had sin, their opposition had not amounted to a hatred of me, their sin had been comparatively no sin. But now that I have said so much to them to recommend myself to their best affections they have no pretence, no excuse for their sin." Observe here,1. The advantage which those have that enjoy the gospel; Christ in it comes and speaks to them; he spoke in person to the men of that generation, and is still speaking to us by our Bibles and ministers, and as one that has the most unquestionable authority over us, and affection for us. Every word of his is pure, carries with it a commanding majesty, and yet a condescending tenderness, able, one would think, to charm the deafest adder.

2. The excuse which those have that enjoy not the gospel: "If I had not spoken to them, if they had ever heard of Christ and of salvation by him, they had not had sin."(1.) Not this kind of sin. They had not been chargeable with a contempt of Christ if he had not come and made a tender of his grace to them. As sin is not imputed where there is no law, so unbelief is not imputed where there is no gospel; and, where it is imputed, it is thus far the only damning sin, that, being a sin against the remedy, other sin would not damn if the guilt of them were not bound on with this.

(2.) Not such a degree of sin. If they had not had the gospel among them, their other sins had not been so bad; for the times of ignorance God winked at, Lu. 12:47, 48. - Matthew Henry

V. 23 He who hates Me, hates My Father also - There is no separating the two. God the Father has provided one clear way to be made right with Him, to enter into communion, be adopted even as His children, and that is in His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus. 

…43Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message. 44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!… John 8: 43-45

V. 25 But this happened to fulfill the word written in their law - They hated Him without cause, without legitimate reason, for He had done them no wrong. 

…3I am weary from my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. 4Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs of my head; many are those who would destroy me— my enemies for no reason. Though I did not steal, I must repay. 5You know my folly, O God, and my guilt is not hidden from You.… Psalm 69: 3-5

V. 26 He will bear witness about Me - This is the Holy Spirit, this is the work He does.

…31God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” 33When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolved to put the apostles to death.… Acts 5: 31-33

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#1525 John 15 Part 2 Called You Friends

 

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another. John 15: 7-17 ESV

John 15: 7-17

V. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you - This is important, and it is a point that has escaped most of the evangelical church today, the very close link between Christ and the Word. He is called the Word become flesh in John 1:14. We come to know Him through the Word, we believe in by faith, and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So many skip to ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. They see Christ as a genie, a granter of wishes, a benevolent Santa Claus, but if you look at this passage it teaches something quite different.  

…2You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures. 4You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.… James 4: 2-4

…3Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.… Psalm 37: 3-5

Abiding in Jesus means abiding in His words, and having His words live in the disciple. “We should not overlook the importance of the reference to ‘my words’. The teaching of Christ is important and is not lightly to be passed over in the interests of promoting religious feeling.” (Morris) - e Word

V. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit - I wonder what people who are trying to glorify God are going to wish for, to ask for? In verse 6 it said that if anyone doesn't abide in Him they are cast out and burned. We pray for closeness, to abide, for evidence of this that is found in fruit. If our focus is truly on Christ, if the Holy Spirit is in us, then we cannot help but to produce fruit accordingly. Costi puts it well, that fruit follows affection, that if we love God then we are going to produce fruit, not of legalism, that says, do this, check this box, follow this program. I think it is the simplest and most sincere prayer of the Christian, to ask that we love Him more. It leads to a desire for the things that speak to us about Him, His word becomes the letter of a dearest friend, someone we are eager to please, love to work for. It spills over into the unbelieving world, we plant seeds, others water, and God is glorified because more fruit comes in through His ordained means of evangelism. 

“Or, honoured. It is the honour of the husbandman to have good, strong, vigorous vines, plentifully laden with fruit: so it is the honour of God to have strong, vigorous, holy children, entirely freed from sin, and perfectly filled with his love.” (Clarke)

iii. Real fruitfulness is only determined over an extended period of time. “Genuine conversion is not measured by the hasty decision but by long-range fruitfulness.” (Carson) This principle is displayed in the Parable of the Soils (Matthew 13). - E Word

V. 9 As the Father has loved Me, so have I love you - Too profound to try to explain, but only to acknowledge that there was no fitting example of love in all of Creation. He appeals to the infinite, eternal love of God to Himself.

V. 10 Just as I have kept My Father's commandments - Obedience is a fruit of love. Jesus set the ultimate example in that He took on human flesh, and became that which we weren't. There is a gospel appeal here, that the love of the Father is extended through the obedience of the Son to us who are being called. 

…18Because of this, the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. 19So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. And to your amazement, He will show Him even greater works than these.… John 5: 18-20

…96I have seen a limit to all perfection, but Your commandment is without limit. 97Oh, how I love Your law! All day long it is my meditation. 98Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they are always with me.… Psalm 119: 96-98

V. 11 That My joy may be in you - Pure, and something that cannot be taken away. 

My joy: “Not ‘joy concerning Me,’ nor ‘joy derived from Me,’ nor ‘My joy over you,’ but My joy, properly speaking…His own holy exultation, the joy of the Son in the consciousness of the love of God.” (Alford)

…4Sing to the LORD, O you His saints, and praise His holy name. 5For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning. 6In prosperity I said, “I will never be shaken.”…

…7O LORD, You favored me; You made my mountain stand strong. When You hid Your face, I was dismayed. 8To You, O LORD, I called, and I begged my Lord for mercy: 9“What gain is there in my bloodshed, in my descent to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?… Psalm 30: 4-9

V. 13 That someone lay down his life for his friends - He commands that they love each other as He loved them, which reality is coming closer still in the cross. The gospel is a call to acknowledge our falleness, or else from what do we repent? This denies self in the sense of pride, of wanting to be accepted with our sin. It is a call to self denial too in that one would gladly give the thing they cannot keep, that fading life of here in the present, soiled, damaged and with the clock ever ticking. It is an unfair trade, our filthiness, our delusion, given up for the life of Christ, His life given in our place, we receiving what we were not owed. He is calling us to be baptized into this sort of higher love, joy, not for the sake of martyrdom, but daily dying to the self, and if need be, giving our life for others. It transfers over to the believer in every relationship, self denial for the glory of God, reflecting back His very character.

23But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” 24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.… Matthew 16: 23-25

…24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her 26to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,… Ephesians 5: 24-26

1Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you.… Romans 12: 1-3

V. 14 You are My friends if you do what I command you - This is the Doulos (Greek for slave) being elevated to friend. Modern versions substitute servant for slave, but this is not strong enough language. Slave is proper in many ways and far superior in context. It reflects many aspects of humanity:

1. You were made by the Creator, Jesus is the Creator, all things were made through Him and for Him. He is life, and you have been brought into life. The Potter has a right over the clay, and in this case He also made the clay which He is molding.
2. You are a slave to sin, that you prove out every day, and so you have to be purchased from sin, and the wages of sin, which is death. …19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6: 18-20
   

V.15 No longer do I call you slaves - In the ancient world there were slaves that chose to stay on with their master, and at that time they would stick their ear up to a post and have it punched out with something like an awl, indicating that they were happy with their position and did not want to leave. Some of these rose to a closeness with their master, who was sometimes a royal, a king, and they became his confidant. Joseph became that in Potiphar's house, trusted, loyal, but also falsely accused by Potiphar's wife. Joseph again attains this trusted status in jail, then later with Pharaoh, who puts him over Egypt. The acknowledgment here is that I would rather be a slave of Christ then of my flesh, it's twisted views of right, wrong and fair, yet in being brought to Him, I am set free from sin, and also adopted as His child. I obey what He commands in the spirit of love, of gratitude, belonging to something, this family that I could have no other way attained. I owe Him everything yet He is calling me, friend. 

“It must be active obedience, notice that. ‘Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ Some think it is quite sufficient if they avoid what he forbids. Abstinence from evil is a great part of righteousness, but it is not enough for friendship.” (Spurgeon) - E Word

…16He longed to fill his belly with the pods the pigs were eating, but no one would give him a thing. 17Finally he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have plenty of food? But here I am, starving to death! 18I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.…

…19I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’ 20So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’…

…22But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.… Luke 15: 16-24

V. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you - The concept is only difficult in the mind that thinks it can do some worthy good, something not esteemed as filthy rags. Many acknowledge that Jesus came to die for their sins, that this was necessary, but in their fallen ideal of the self, of righteousness, and the holiness of God, they think it unfair that God would not choose some. The Bible demonstrates this over and over again. He chooses Jacob, and says, "Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated." It is a puzzle as Spurgeon points out that God chose Jacob, or any of us for that matter. There is this sort of goddess like thing that people go on about, the free will, yet is it free or is it the slave of sin? The Bible tells us that we were dead in our trespasses and sins and must be born again, and dead men do not recognize their state, someone has to come along, and say, "Lazarus, come forth." Lazarus did not give Jesus permission to do this, and yet nothing was violated in the creature either. It is the creature who is in violation for not glorifying the One Who made him. The law was given plainly and simply, do this and you shall live, but men, in their long gone free will, a thing that I reckon only Adam and Eve to know, chose sin, the foolish idea of human autonomy, a non existent sort of existence. He chose Abram out of a pagan and lost world, and made him into Abraham, the father of many. He chose Abraham to be His friend. He chose Israel as the apple of His eye, and now he corrects any misgivings in his disciples, "don't be self deceived, I chose you, not the other way around."

…15For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”… Romans 9: 15-17

Vs. 16b-17 And appointed you that you should go and bear fruit - This flows so beautifully together. How can fallen men produce fruit, how can the spiritually dead be partakers in life, walking in the Spirit? He chose us as He did Lazarus, no less, it is the miracle of rebirth, and is guaranteed to produce fruit. If the Spirit of God resides in us, how can we not?

…25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. 26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances.… Ezekiel 36: 25-27

…8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.… Ephesians 2: 8-10

…5to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons. 6And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.… Galatians 4: 5-7

…19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; 20idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.…

…22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.…

…25Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another. Galatians 5: 19-26

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#1524 John 15 Part 1 Pruning Words

 

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-grower. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He cleans it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit from itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. John 15: 1-11 LSB

John 15: 1-6

I am the true vine - In our day and age, for most people this seems like a difficult parable, or something mysterious, but only because we are so far removed from being a largely agricultural society. So when the Bible talks about fruit we think of the produce section at the super market, but most of these people probably thought of the vineyards and orchards they passed, the olive tree in the front yard, the figs and pomegranates along the roadside, or date palms. Doubtless, there is a lot going on here in Jesus' story, like why does He say, "the true vine?" Go back to Adam, he was the original vine, the planting that we all came from, but it went sour, feral, and so did every branch and fruit and seed thereafter. So now we have this new stock, this true stock, this untainted, unblemished, disease resistant, strong, non GMO, OG vine. This is what we need to be grafted into in order to produce good fruit, in order to grow and be pleasing to the Land Owner, the Vine-grower. True is also important because it lets us know, as Christ often did, that there would be many imposters. Trying to keep the law is not the true vine because Jesus is the only One to perfectly keep the law to God's standard. Following someone who claims to be a prophet, a Messiah, a guru, a Scribe, who points to themselves or a different Christ, another gospel, that is not the true vine. The metaphor that Jesus chose here is beautiful, it once again points to His sole uniqueness, His preeminence to all things. 

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. 1 Corinthians 15: 44-49

God uses the vineyard in the OT as well to describe Israel, so this is familiar language to them both in the agrarian culture and in their religious readings. Many in Israel thought they could be justified by their works, by following the law as prescribed by the Pharisees, but this only produced sour grapes. They needed to be grafted into Jesus, not lineage, and God's law could only be satisfied by His life and His atoning death on the cross. 

Let me sing now for my well-beloved

A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.

My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

2 He dug it all around, removed its stones,

And planted it with the choicest vine.

And He built a tower in the middle of it

And also hewed out a wine vat in it;

Then He hoped for it to produce good grapes,

But it produced only]worthless ones.

3 “So now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,

Please judge between Me and My vineyard.

4 What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?

Why, when I hoped for it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?

5 So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:

I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed;

I will break down its wall, and it will become trampled ground.

6 I will lay it waste;

It will not be pruned or hoed,

But briars and thorns will come up.

I will also command the clouds to rain no rain on it.”

7 For the vineyard of Yahweh of hosts is the house of Israel

And the men of Judah His delightful plant.

Thus He hoped for justice, but behold, bloodshed;

For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress. Isaiah 5: 1-7

More on Isaiah 5 vineyard

V. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away - One of the clearest illustrations of this is Judas. There are people that come to Christianity, come for the social aspect, people back then came to see Jesus perform miracles, to eat the fish and the bread, but many of these walked away. The call to self denial, the call of repentance was a stumbling block for many because they thought they didn't need a savior from sin because they had perfected a system that allowed for a man to be justified by his own works. So we get an image here like that in my mom's garden, where we would go through and pull the sucker branches off of the tomato vines, because they were not going to produce fruit, but at the same time they were sapping energy from the plant. 

i. There is an alternative understanding of this passage that bears some consideration. James Montgomery Boice (among others) believes that the ancient Greek verb airo, translated, takes away is more accurately translated lifts up. The idea is that the Father lifts up unproductive vines off of the ground (as was common in the ancient practices of vineyard care). Those caring for ancient grape vines made sure to lift them up off the ground that they might get more sun and bear fruit better.

ii. “The verb translated ‘cut off’ (aireo) means literally ‘to lift up’ or ‘to take away’; the second, ‘trims clean’ (kathaireo), a compound of the first, means ‘to cleanse’ or ‘to purify.’” (Tenney) - E Word

V. 2b-3 He cleans it so that it may bear more fruit - We have a Loquat tree in our yard that my daughter decided to clean up (prune) 1 time and it exploded with fruit that next season, so much that it became heavy and leaned over, and she has pruned it again since which has caused it to fill out nicely. The Scriptures tell us that whom the Lord loves He chastens, and this is as a father disciplining his children, getting them to be rid of the things that hold them back from being fruitful. Spurgeon speaks very well to this:

“It is the Word that prunes the Christian. It is the truth that purges him. The Scripture made living and powerful by the Holy Spirit eventually and effectively cleanses the Christian.”

He says, “Affliction is the handle of the knife. Affliction is the grindstone that sharpens the knife. But the knife is the Word. Affliction is the dresser.” He says, “Affliction is the dresser that removes our soft garments and lays bare the diseased flesh, so that the knife may get at it.” Affliction makes us ready for the knife, to feel the Word of God.

The true pruner is God. Affliction is the handle and the occasion. But the pruning, the Scripture is the knife that cuts. Why? So that we would bear more fruit. The more you know the Word, the more you love the Word, the better you react to trials, right? The more you allow the knife to do its work. - J Mac quoting Spurgeon 

11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience. 12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.… Hebrews 4: 11-13

V. 4 Abide in Me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit from itself unless it abides in the vine - As believers, we are people of the Book, and in the Book, the Bible, we are told to test the spirits, and to look for fruit in order to know the type of tree. Now some have told me of those with bad doctrine, of those whose lives do not reflect repentance, that yet they still see fruit because the person is a philanthropist. When I was of the atheist persuasion I still gave to people, still helped people, but in no way did I abide in Christ. There is a fruit that is acceptable to God, and it is not that of works done in the flesh, and there is only One Way to be right with God, and He has provided that in His Son. There have been other vines, but they don't produce the fruit that God is looking for, and without a vine there are no nutrients to give the branches life. 

…5You welcome those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. Surely You were angry, for we sinned. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins? 6Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. 7No one calls on Your name or strives to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and delivered us into the hand of our iniquity.… Isaiah 64: 5-7

…2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. 3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and not all members have the same function,… Romans 12: 2-4

1The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases. 2All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart. 3To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.… Proverbs 21: 1-3

…6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,…

…9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life. 11Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)—… Ephesians 2: 6-11

V. 5 Apart from Me you can do nothing - Remember what Jesus has said, all the I Am statements? I am the resurrection and the life, I am the true vine, I am the good Shepherd, I am the way, the truth and the life. Without Him there is no life, and this is true for the unbeliever as well, we are all spiritual still borns when we come into this world, but technically, life should have ended in the garden when our parents sinned. I honestly think Satan expected as much, but there is a but, a reason why it didn't all end there, and that is because of the promise of Messiah. God promised the Seed of the woman in the garden, that His Son would add humanity to His deity and crush the head of the serpent, conquer sin and death. One of the first acts of God after Adam and Eve fell and the whole human race with them, was to take the life of some of the animals that were under man's charge, and to replace the fig leaves, that our parents made to cover themselves, with animal skins, for the wages of sin is death, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. The world did not end because of the promise of a Redeemer. The air you breathe is His, the water you need to live comes from Him, and there is no such thing as the autonomy that you so desperately try to claim, that's a strong delusion. 

15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.… Colossians 1: 15-17

…57Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” 58“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.… John 8: 57-59

V. 6 He is thrown away as a branch and dries up - He becomes kindling, and just as the Christian is the glory of God's mercy so the one that does not believe in Christ, that does not accept God's Way, that makes up his own way, his own god, yet he still burns to the glory of God's justice. Is this unfair? When I was delusional I would say, "yes", but I just didn't want to repent. I didn't want God, and so if I would have died in my sin then I would not have received the thing I did not want, which was Christ, God's sacrificial Lamb. I did not want God so how should I expect to end up in His house for eternity. Most thankfully God is able to cause men to want Him, to see their state, to repent and be saved. 

…20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,…

…23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.… Romans 1: 20-25

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