John 15:1-26 provides us with some very familiar passages! As we quickly recognize key the words here in this opening portion of John 15, it is important to look more closely at some of the lesser requested lines that deepen the meaning of what Jesus is saying here. These passages have many parallel meanings, that not only apply just to his disciples, but also apply to us and our personal faith.
This part of the Gospel of John, is actually an address by Jesus to his disciples about the nature of how God is weaving a plan in the world amongst the faithful, those growing in faith, and the astonishing role that the disciples are about to play. Jesus is laying out how the process works: "I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."( John 15:5) He explains this process as he also shows them the future for himself when he tells them: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)
He further explains the changing relationship that he has with his disciples as he distinguishes them from being simple servants who do the will of a master without understanding the plans of the master, who will now become 'friends.' This will mean that as a 'friend' they are brought into the confidence of the master and therefore, will know the plans and are integral parts of the plan. Here is when we see something being formed that is much more then just a band of men who simply trail behind Christ as followers. Moreover, this band of men will inherit the most incredible mission on earth for all time.
Jesus relates also, that as they inherit this mission, they will not become the center of great affection but instead often the center of great hatred. This is a daunting promise that would turn most people away. Who needs to be hated? But as Jesus explains more deeply the details of the plan, He also eludes back to what John has told us at the very beginning of this Gospel—that Jesus is the "light of the world." Light shines on Truth and so he gives us this line that initially may appear a little confusing when he says: "They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin."( John 15:21-22) Here Jesus is telling the disciples and us, that because He is the 'light of the world," He illuminates all things in our lives- good and bad.
This brings us back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve seemed unaware of their nakedness until they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge. Suddenly, they are searching for fig leaves. With Christ, He is forcing all of us to look at the sin in our lives; to not just buy into the cultural idea that all people are naturally good; that even when we think we are sinless because we have no arrest record, sit in church on a regular basis and pray a lot, we may be full of sin because that is really our nature. This is hard stuff to face up to.
In these times, we see whole churches and denominations, more today then ever, that have adopted the secular thinking that we are all OK- just a little messed up now and then. Many of these churches rarely speak to their congregations about sin. They deem it as intolerant and judgmental and they fear above all else that the Truth of Christ will cause people to run out the door. They forget to add that if we are all sinners ( Romans 3:23), then we most defiantly need the gift of salvation of Christ. However, here is the catch, they also do not speak about salvation because they scoff and ridicule the idea that anyone needs to be saved.
Yet, that was and is the plan of the Lord God. It appears that the plans of the Almighty have been laid out more then we know. I was struck by the last words in this passage: "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning." (John 15:26-27) From the beginning? Is Jesus talking about: "you have been in my ministry from the start." No, it is much more then that. Again, we see an elusion to that phrase in the opening in the book of John ( He was with God in the beginning). More importantly, we are being told that the disciples were not accidentally picked out of the crowd. They were planned. We often marvel at the scenes where Jesus walks up to these men engaged in their livelihood, and presto they walk off with Jesus. They don't say, "please let me check with my wife," or "I left something on the stove." They just go and keep going and keep following. Maybe it was not as simple as the Bible makes it out to be but we have no indication that they fought this decision. Would you or I be so easily ready to leave? I have considered that Jesus had some very engaging powers in order to make this happen. But I think the real answer is here in this text. It was planned – from the beginning. Gods hand. Gods plan: Abraham, Moses, David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, … JESUS…..and Peter, James, John, Matthew, Bartholomew, James, Thaddeus, Simon, Andrew, Philip and Judas. Plans—from the beginning of time—all things created.
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