Who Is He? Who Are We?ნიმუში

To give you some background before you read John 15, let’s understand what is happening beforehand. Key events that take place beforehand are Jesus predicting His betrayal by Judas and Peter's denial. His disciples are becoming worried about where Jesus is “going,” so they ask Him questions and are curious. Jesus comforts them but also reminds them that He is leaving His Holy Spirit so that they won’t be alone.

When you read John 15, pay attention to how inclusive Jesus is, not only about His ministry but also about Him as a person. If anyone else said the kinds of things Jesus was saying, we’d probably think they were arrogant or even crazy—but we have to remember that Jesus is God, and up to this point, He has done nothing wrong. Put yourself in the shoes of the disciples who have dropped everything to follow this man, and now He goes on this tangent about how He is the true vine and that we are the branches. What could that even mean?

When Jesus is speaking in this chapter, He often starts by talking about Himself or the Father, then shifts to the disciples or to us, the current reader. The model and pattern we often see is that the Father does something, Jesus sees it and does the same, and because His disciples have witnessed the same, they should also follow suit. Jesus reassures us that if people have followed Him and love Him, they will do the same to the disciples; but if they hate or envy Jesus, they will do the same to the disciples. This is not a matter of picking the right side, but it’s a matter of being joined more with the body of Christ.

Pay attention to keywords that appear repeatedly. In the NIV version, Jesus uses the word “remain” nine times in the first ten verses of this chapter. Why would He excessively use this word? What is His desire for the disciples to hear this? Also, pay attention to how often Jesus talks about the Father and being close to Him. He is near to the Father, but if we are to look like Jesus, we should also take note of how close we ought to be to the Father in proximity, presence, and language.