John’s expressed purpose for writing his gospel is, “that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). So it’s with this goal ever in mind that John recalls the actions and teachings of Jesus, including the I am statements. In John 15 we find the seventh and final of these metaphors:
John 15: 1-8
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
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. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Here Jesus describes himself both in relation to the Father, and to the disciples: all as part of a process which involves bearing fruit. What fruit? How? Why? It’s tempting just to sit with this passage, and speculate about what the fruit is, and who the dead branches are, and how we can “remain in” Jesus. We could even research viticulture and discover some insightful facts. And maybe we’d hit on something helpful. But far better, I think, to find out what Jesus himself meant by this particular saying; why he uses this metaphor here, and how it conveys the truth that Jesus is speaking about himself.
There are two threads that we need to bring together in order to properly understand what this passage means. Firstly, what Jesus had been saying immediately prior to this, which called for his elaboration by way of the vine metaphor; and secondly, what the metaphor itself brought to the conversation (why Jesus used this image). When we understand these two threads, we can bring them together and grasp what this seventh and final “I am” statement truly means.
The First Thread: The Promise of the Holy Spirit
In John 14 Jesus proclaims:
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth.
So Jesus’ disciples are to show their love for Jesus by keeping his commands, and as a result, they will receive the Holy Spirit.
17b The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
Jesus is looking forward to his resurrection: promising the disciples they will share is his resurrection life, but also hinting that they’ll only fully grasp how it is that Jesus is in the Father after the resurrection. And they’ll realize that they are in him too; and he will be in them – which probably didn’t make much sense to them immediately, hence the need for metaphor to illustrate it later on.
21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
Jesus again emphasises the connection between love for him, and keeping his commands: the two go together. Obedience and love go hand in hand; they’re inseparable.
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
So again, love and obedience, but Jesus is now explaining a bit more how it is he’ll be living in his followers: both the Father and Son, present through the Spirit. But then in verse 24 Jesus states the alternative:
24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
Jesus, remember, is the word of God (1:1), so when we see or hear him, we’re seeing and hearing God. But what about when he’s not physically present?
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
The Holy Spirit’s purpose involves “teaching all things,” by bringing to memory all that Jesus spoke to them, and revealing its fuller meaning: much in the same way that after Jesus’ resurrection, everything else will fall into place and make sense (as we saw in verse 20).
One of the outcomes of all of this is Peace. But importantly, a different kind of peace to that which the world offers. Real peace.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. Come now; let us leave.“
Now, this is where it gets heavy. They’ve just had their Last Supper together; Judas has gone off to betray Jesus; Jesus knows they’re coming to arrest him. And we see again the link between love and obedience. The way Jesus shows his love for the Father is to do what the Father has commanded: which is to go to his death on the cross.
Paul S. Baker 