We are now in the third week of the love month, the month of February. Last week of next month will be the Passion Week, also known as the Holy Week. The Passion Week is a significant period in the Christian liturgical calendar that commemorates the final week of Jesus' life here on earth. In that week, we read of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem as the introduction to the Holy Week that we celebrate in this country as the Palm Sunday. And then in the following days, we read in the gospels of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples, of Judas' betrayal, of Peter's denial, of His priestly prayer in Gethsemane, of his arrest, court trial, crucifixion, death, and burial. The Holy Week then culminates in Easter Sunday, celebrating Jesus' resurrection.
What I find both interesting and unusual is the inclusion of chapters 15 and 16 in the so-called Holy Week narrative that covers John 12 verse 1 to chapter 19 verse 42. The reason why I find it unusual is because Jesus in these two chapters is talking about Jesus as the vine and remaining in his love and the coming of the Holy Spirit.
I will leave chapter 16 which talks about the promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit. My concern at this point is the significance of chapter 15 in the entire Passion Week narrative. Since chapter 15 is part of the Passion Week narrative, I think it is proper to ask the question about the importance of this chapter that talks about the vine and God's love in relation to Jesus' suffering.
Before we proceed to our passage, which is John 15 verses 1 to 16, let us survey first the entire Passion Week narrative.
Talking about love in a time when leaders of society are contemptuous about the value of life
In chapter 12 particularly verse 7, we are told that the perfume that Mary poured on Jesus' feet is part of the preparation for the day of his burial. And this is exactly what happened in the closing part of the narrative in chapter 19 verses 38 to 42 where Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate to take the body of Jesus. With Nicodemus, Joseph wrapped the body of Jesus with the spices in strips of linen by Jewish burial customs.
And then in verses 10 and 11 of the same chapter, we read of the murderous spirit that took control of the chief priests where they made plans to kill Lazarus. Paraphrasing John Calvin's comment on such a spirit said that such was the insanity of these religious leaders planning to kill one who was raised back from the dead to life by the power of God. The fear of God, which is the very reason why these religious leaders exist in the first place, was largely missing from their hearts and minds. They were not afraid to wage war against God himself by planning to murder an innocent man who threatened their religious establishment due to the massive conversion of the Jews to Jesus after witnessing the power of God displayed in Lazarus' resurrection.
Read how they see Jesus as a threat that must be stopped:
See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him! (John 12:19).
Again, paraphrasing Calvin's comment that by these words, the Pharisees were so enraged seeing the crowd following Jesus. They were so desperate and were willing to do the extreme measures or decisions just to end all this madness that they saw.
Jesus was aware of all these things, the plan to kill him and Lazarus, and yet here in chapter 15, we find him talking about love. Just imagine living in an era where leaders despise the value of life just to preserve their status in society, what do you think would be the more "reasonable" message to discuss with your disciples? Does a talk about love make sense in such a time? Or is it more proper to talk about revolt, vengeance, vigilance, and fighting back?
Talking about love in a time of betrayal and denial
In the next chapter where we are told that Jesus showed his disciples "the full extent of his love" (John 13:1), and yet at that very moment, two of them were about to betray and deny him. Jesus is also aware of both Judas' betrayal and Peter's approaching denial, and yet here in chapter 15, we hear him talk about love.
When you know that someone intimate to you is about to betray and deny you, what do you think would be the more "reasonable" topic to discuss? Isn't judgment more appropriate or the wrath of God? What do you think?
Let us skip chapter 14 for that would require more time to see its correlation to the love chapter and instead let us go straight to our passage.
Remaining in Jesus' love
Chapter 15 is a chapter about Christian productivity, hence the importance of Jesus' emphasis on telling his disciples that he is the true vine and what he requires of them is to remain in him. I find the idea of remaining in Jesus too general and abstract in the first eight verses of the chapter, not until I read verse 9 where Jesus clearly told his disciples to remain in his love.
Now the question that comes to mind is this:
Why is Jesus telling his disciples to remain in his love? What is in the love of Jesus why He is telling us to remain in it?
With a general knowledge of the Bible, this answer can be considered correct:
Perhaps the reason why Jesus tells his disciples to remain in his love is because only his love can solve all the problems in your life.
The problem with the above answer is that you cannot find it explicitly explained in our passage. Answering the preceding question will be the scope of our next article.
Grace and peace!