Let His promises protect your relationship - statement #5 from Jesus
Sep 22, 2018
- Let His promises protect your relationship John 15:5 (Part 1 - the critical importance of intimacy with Jesus) “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
- “What prompts Jesus to use this image? His figures (shepherd, bread, water, light) all came from ancient Jewish traditions. If Jesus left the Upper Room in 14:30, he may have stopped at the temple to teach and to pray. At the entrance of the Holy Place (west of the altar), steps led to a linen curtain covered with purple, scarlet, and blue flowers. Solid gold chains hung alongside the curtain from the door beam. Above the curtain (beneath the roof line) grew a gigantic grapevine of pure gold, representing Israel. Wealthy citizens could bring gifts to add to the vine (gold tendrils, grapes, or leaves), and these would be added by metal workers to the ever-growing vine. Josephus claims that some of the grape clusters were the “height of a man.”
- The vine/vineyard metaphor is used frequently in the Old Testament. Israel is often depicted as a vine transplanted from Egypt (Ps. 80:8–11) and brought to fertile soil (Ezek. 17:1–6). Enemies may trample the vineyard (Jer. 12:10–11) but God tends it carefully and looks for fruit (Isa. 5:1–7). The vineyard may be the preeminent biblical symbol of the locus of God’s activity, his nurture, and his expectations (cf. Matt. 21:33–41). (Burge, G. M. (1995). John. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, pp. 869–870). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)
- Jesus emphasizes two things:
- Abide
- Proof
- How does this help your relationships?
- Jesus will empower you to produce exactly what you need to succeed in your relationship. Love, kindness, peace, patience, etc.
- Prayer with confidence. Jesus mentions twice the certainty that comes with prayer joined to spiritual union (vv. 7, 16; cf. 14:12–14).
- Assurance. We acquire confidence in Jesus’ love for us because it is modeled on God’s love for him (15:9–10; 17:26).
- Joy. This is not mere happiness, but a deeper tranquility that is free from worry about the affairs of living and that knows that God’s purposes are good (15:11; 16:20–24; 17:13).