John Chapter 15
Jesus tells us that he is the true fine and his dad is the husbandman (I think that’s the caretaker). Every branch on the vine that doesn’t bear fruit gets taken away (watch your toes JC), and every branch that bears fruit gets purged so it can grow more fruit (I assume, in this case purging is picking the fruit).
JC tells us to live in him and he’ll live in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself except that it is part of the vine, that’s why you can’t unless you believe in Jesus. Now, in case you missed it, he’s the vine and you’re the branches. If you believe in him, he’ll be inside of you and this wonderful duo will be able to create a load of fruit, but without him you can’t do anything.
If a man doesn’t believe in Jesus he is pruned and will wither. Other men will gather them up and throw them into the fire to be burned.
By bearing loads of fruit you glorify his dad, and JC’s disciples who follow this message will also be glorified. Just like JC’s dad loved him, JC loved his disciples, he instructs them to continue in secure knowledge of his love.
More on keeping his commandments, the jist of which has been gone over and over and over in past chapters and no longer bears repeating.
He tells them again to love one another as he has loved them. He says that no man has greater love than one who would lay down his life for his friends. (Awwww! That’s wicked sweet!) But, you’re only JC’s friends if you do what he commands. (I’ve tried to make friends that way before… very ineffective strategy, you have to treat people nicely or they won’t like you).
He promotes them from servants to friends. (That’s good, I think). He also tells them that they didn’t chose him, but he chose them and ordained them so they could bring forth fruit and that their fruit should remain, and anything they ask his dad in his name will be given to them.
He repeats a command to love each other. When the world hates them, they should remember that it hated JC first (mmm, how comforting).
He reminds them that the servant is not greater than the lord (okay, I’m so sick of this classist baloney talk, but even more than that… did he or did he not a mere 5 verses ago… John 15:15, compared to what I’m discussing now which is John 20:20… tell them they were NOT servants any longer). Anyway, because of this logic, if they persecute JC, they’ll persecute the disciples… (eh, fair enough). However, if they keep his sayings then they’ll also keep the disciples.
Anything they do to the disciples is because they don’t know JC’s dad. If he hadn’t come down they could still hide their sin, but because of him they have no cloak. Whoever hates JC hates his dad too. If he hadn’t done these amazing miraculous works that no other man could do then his persecutors would have no sin (wait… that’s weird, probably he means wouldn’t have had to confront their sins… I think), but now they have seen and hated him and his dad. But all this happened so that their own prophesies could be fulfilled, and the Spirit of Truth that JC’s dad sends will testify for him.
Oh, and all the disciples are now allowed to bear witness for him because they’ve been with him from the beginning.
Awesome.
Oh now I see some of that crazy Abrahamic religion emphasis on bearing children. You might be a fruit this vine and have to whither and die if you don't produce your quotient of fruit. And I too am sick of this classist talk too. I know it was the time but sheesh, did the servants never just talk to other servants or relate to anyone who wasn't their superior or inferior? It's just annoying.
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