John 15 - Jesus Loves
Study Passage: John 15
In the heart of His final teachings to His disciples, Jesus took time to remind His disciples who He was, how to bear fruit, how to love, how to abide in Him, and how other people in this world aren’t going to like them for it. Jesus didn’t sugar coat the message, but yet He delivered a message of hope that as we align our hearts to Jesus, we align our heart to God, and we gain everything because of it.
Let’s dive in this week as we discover the key point of this chapter, which is captured in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing,” (NIV).
DAY 1 - READ AND REFLECT
READ John 15 all the way through. Now read John 15 again — preferably in a different Bible translation to get a clearer perspective of what the passage is saying. Get in the habit of asking good questions and taking notes!
What observations or questions come to mind?
What repetitive words or phrases do you notice?
What words stand out that are worth looking at in different Bible translation?
TIP: A study Bible is going to come in handy with this chapter. Take note of different cross-references and study notes as you read.
DAY 2 - THE TRUE VINE (JOHN 15:1-10)
Don’t you just love the word pictures Jesus used to explain ideas. We start in John 15:1-11 with Jesus stating He is the true vine, His Father the Gardner and His disciples the branches. But why did He choose this as the analogy here? In order to understand it, we need to know a little HISTORY. Read Isaiah 5:7 and Psalms 80:8-16 to see how Israel was referred to in the Old Testament. What was going on with Israel in these verses? How were they falling short? How does that make Jesus’ claim to be the “true vine” that much more significant?
There are two types of branches referred to in John 15:1-8: one that bears fruit and one that is fruitless. How do we know the fruit bearers from the fruitless? Read Matthew 7:15-23 to see how Jesus spoke about it throughout His ministry. What do you notice about how Jesus identifies someone that is fruitless? What do they often claim about themselves?
What about the fruit bearers? How do they bear fruit? As we READ, Jesus explained it to His disciples using three different ways––all anchored around one word. Reviewing John 15:1-10, fill in the blanks below:
We are to __________ in Jesus (vs. 4)
We are to __________ in Jesus’ words (vs. 5)
We are to __________ in Jesus’ love (vs. 9-10)
The Greek word here means to abide or remain. You’ll notice that different Bible translations use either, but the idea is the same — as we stay deeply connected to Jesus, through His words and His love, we bear fruit. This isn’t about what WE can do, but WHAT Jesus does for us!
DIGGING DEEPER (optional): It is out of our abiding in Christ that we can’t help but bear fruit. What fruit do we bear as we abide in Christ? To understand what Jesus means by “fruit,” we learn it best from the apostle Paul, who clearly articulated it in Galatians 5:22-23. But let’s read the CONTEXT surrounding this passage. Read Galatians 5:22-26 (if you want a deeper study read Galatians 5:13-26). How does this passage complement and clarify what Jesus said in John 15 about abiding in Christ (or belonging to Christ)?
DAY 3 - ASK AND IT WILL BE DONE (JOHN 15:7-17)
When you see “Ask whatever you want and it will be done for you” (John 15:7b, NIV), what do you think this verse means at first glance? Back out a little farther to get more CONTEXT, and read the full verse of John 15:7. What could look like Jesus telling us that God is our personal genie, is not even close to true! Jesus said something similar in verse 16, but added that as we produce more fruit, God will give us what we ask. Note: as we abide in Christ, and bear more fruit — what are the things we would ask of God? We’ll ask for things that are aligned to the heart of God! Read 1 John 5:14-15 as our AUTHOR John explains it more deeply (and see Luke 22:42 to see Jesus applying this in Himself!). According to who’s will should we be asking for anything? How might this change the way you pray in the future?
In John 15:13, Jesus nodded to His impending sacrificial death by saying “Greater love has no one that this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” (NIV). He then went on to say the disciples were His chosen friends (vs. 14-16). Why is this significant? As we uncover the HISTORY of the Old Testament, we realize there were only two people referred to as friends of God. Read Isaiah 41:8 and Exodus 33:11. Who were the two people in the Old Testament referred to as a friend of God?
Now as we read today’s passage we realize that Jesus is offering the same privilege of being a friend to those that believe and are obedient in Him. What command do we need to obey in order to be friends of Jesus? Read John 15:12 & 17 to see how Jesus bookends His lesson to ensure we don’t miss the answer.
DAY 4 - HATRED OF THE WORLD (JOHN 15:18-27)
Starting in John 15:18, Jesus reminded His disciples that they may not get a choice of how people will react to their message of the gospel. People will respond to the disciples' message based on their opinion of Christ. If they hated Christ, they would hate the disciples, which may lead to persecution. Jesus then went on and said, “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master’” (vs. 20, ESV). Stop. Jesus had said this before. Can you find where? Using the reference notes in a study Bible, find the Bible verse that captures Jesus saying this to His disciples previously and READ the verse (and verses around it for CONTEXT).
Hint: If you don’t have a study Bible, the FREE YouVersion Bible app has the passage notes in the NIV and CSB translations.
Based on John 15:22-24, Jesus claimed that people had no excuse for not knowing their sin, now that He had come. He gave them the proof they needed through His word and works! Jesus showed that the people had no excuse for their sin and when they hated Jesus, they hated God the Father too. Yet they thought that they were serving God, by hating Jesus! We can see this articulated by Jesus previously in John 10:25-30, which gives us more CONTEXT. Why would Jesus equate hating Him to hating the Father?
At the end of John 15, Jesus mentioned that the hate people had toward Him had fulfilled the law (vs. 25)! What is He referring to? There are two passages in the Old Testament that Jesus was talking about. Again, using a study Bible (or the NIV or CSB Bible translations in the YouVersion app), can you find and READ the two references that Jesus was citing in John 15:25? Hint: They are both in Psalms.
The early Christians really knew how to accept the reality of being hated, and yet still be encouraged even when facing hardship. Read 1 Peter 4:12-13 to see how Paul and Peter spoke about it. How do these verses help encourage you as you APPLY this passage to your life today?
Written by: Heather Erickson
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