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Asking For Anything: John 15:1-17

Published November 5, 2024 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 15:1-17 (NIrV)

1 “I am the true vine. My Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch joined to me that does not bear fruit. He trims every branch that does bear fruit. Then it will bear even more fruit.

3 “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain joined to me, and I will remain joined to you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain joined to the vine. In the same way, you can’t bear fruit unless you remain joined to me.

5 “I am the vine. You are the branches. If anyone remains joined to me, and I to him, he will bear a lot of fruit. You can’t do anything without me. 6 If anyone does not remain joined to me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and dries up. Branches like those are picked up. They are thrown into the fire and burned.

7 “If you remain joined to me and my words remain in you, ask for anything you wish. And it will be given to you.8 When you bear a lot of fruit, it brings glory to my Father. It shows that you are my disciples.

9 “Just as the Father has loved me, I have loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. In the same way, I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy will be in you. I also want your joy to be complete.

12 “Here is my command. Love each other, just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than the one who gives his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

15 “I do not call you servants anymore. Servants do not know their master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends. I have told you everything I learned from my Father.

16 “You did not choose me. Instead, I chose you. I appointed you to go and bear fruit. It is fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name.

17 “Here is my command. Love each other.

Read John 15:1-17 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

On the night Jesus was betrayed, as He and the eleven remaining disciples were spending their last hours together prior to Jesus arrest, Jesus uses an interesting metaphor for His followers being branches on a vine. In this metaphor, we catch a glimpse of what God wants for all of Jesus’ followers.

In this illustration, Jesus tells His remaining disciples, “I am the vine. You are the branches. If anyone remains joined to me, and I to him, he will bear a lot of fruit. You can’t do anything without me… If you remain joined to me and my words remain in you, ask for anything you wish. And it will be given to you. When you bear a lot of fruit, it brings glory to my Father. It shows that you are my disciples.” (v. 5, 7-8)

In these verses, Jesus describes how we can give glory to God by simply being fruitful – and the simple way to be fruitful is by remaining connected with Jesus.

Several verses later, Jesus reemphasizes this same point, but in a little stronger fashion. Jesus tells all of His followers that “You did not choose me. Instead, I chose you. I appointed you to go and bear fruit. It is fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name.” (v. 16)

God has chosen each of us, and He has called and appointed us to go and bear fruit. The only way this can happen is if we remain connected with Jesus. The promise we can claim is that when we are connected with Jesus and are bearing fruit, we can ask the Father for anything in Jesus’ name, and He will grant our requests!

This is one big thought I had on this passage. What do you think? What stands out to you in this passage as you read it today, and/or what are your thoughts on my big thought? Share your response below and join in on the discussion.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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United In Uniqueness: John 17:1-26

Published November 1, 2024 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 17:1-26 (CEV)

1 After Jesus had finished speaking to his disciples, he looked up toward heaven and prayed:

Father, the time has come for you to bring glory to your Son, in order that he may bring glory to you. 2 And you gave him power over all people, so that he would give eternal life to everyone you give him. 3 Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. 4 I have brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, give me back the glory that I had with you before the world was created.

6 You have given me some followers from this world, and I have shown them what you are like. They were yours, but you gave them to me, and they have obeyed you. 7 They know that you gave me everything I have. 8 I told my followers what you told me, and they accepted it. They know that I came from you, and they believe that you are the one who sent me. 9 I am praying for them, but not for those who belong to this world. My followers belong to you, and I am praying for them. 10 All that I have is yours, and all that you have is mine, and they will bring glory to me.

11 Holy Father, I am no longer in the world. I am coming to you, but my followers are still in the world. So keep them safe by the power of the name that you have given me. Then they will be one with each other, just as you and I are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost, except the one who had to be lost. This happened so that what the Scriptures say would come true.

13 I am on my way to you. But I say these things while I am still in the world, so that my followers will have the same complete joy that I do. 14 I have told them your message. But the people of this world hate them, because they don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t.

15 Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They don’t belong to this world, and neither do I. 17 Your word is the truth. So let this truth make them completely yours. 18 I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me. 19 I have given myself completely for their sake, so that they may belong completely to the truth.

20 I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. 21 I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.

22 I have honored my followers in the same way that you honored me, in order that they may be one with each other, just as we are one. 23 I am one with them, and you are one with me, so that they may become completely one. Then this world’s people will know that you sent me. They will know that you love my followers as much as you love me.

24 Father, I want everyone you have given me to be with me, wherever I am. Then they will see the glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the world was created. 25 Good Father, the people of this world don’t know you. But I know you, and my followers know that you sent me. 26 I told them what you are like, and I will tell them even more. Then the love that you have for me will become part of them, and I will be one with them.

Read John 17:1-26 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

If you ever wondered if Jesus prayed for you personally, then you may be surprised to learn that He actually did. While John, who wrote down this prayer, didn’t have space or time to include your name in the millions of others, He includes Jesus’ words that ripple through history down to you and me.

In this prayer, Jesus broadens the focus away from just His immediate disciples by saying, “I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me.” (v. 20-21)

Jesus clearly states that this prayer is not just for His followers present on the night of His betrayal; He extends this prayer to include everyone else who places their faith in Him because of what His followers say about Him. By extending His prayer in this way, Jesus includes the followers of followers of followers throughout history until He reaches into the 21st century where we are currently in history. Jesus’ prayer is a prayer for each of us as well.

And not only is this a prayer for mission and protection, this is a prayer requesting help and guidance towards unity.

When being assembled into a large group, probably one of the biggest challenges people face in the group is staying united. It seems that the larger a group gets, the easier it is for it to fragment or split apart. Sadly, this has happened a number of times in Christianity’s history. Unity, even while we are all unique and diverse, was supposed to be one of the ways we could show the world that God was with us.

But most of Christianity’s fragmentation happened before we were born. While I’m not here to justify or condemn what happened in history between Jesus’ prayer for unity and where we are today, I am able to adjust my perspective, attitude, and focus in my own life.

This portion of Jesus’ prayer is a call to stay connected with Him, to connect with others who are living for Him, and to unite under the incredible truth of what He did for each of us on the cross. While we may disagree with others regarding other aspects of God, other beliefs, or other doctrines, probably the best place for us to start being united is under the cross, and specifically under the amazing truth of God’s love for us that led Him to the cross. Jesus died for everyone, and through His death He offers salvation to all who want to accept His gift – and while it is challenging for us to accept, this might include people who we don’t agree with.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Leaving This World: John 13:1-17

Published October 30, 2024 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 13:1-17 (NIV)

1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Read John 13:1-17 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

This journal entry’s passage opens with a very strange phrase that challenged me when I first read it. Taken at surface value, it could be seen to conflict with another significant passage a few chapters later in John’s book. I dislike it when an author contradicts themselves, and when the Bible seems to have a contradiction like this, my reaction is to dig in and look for a smooth resolution.

In the middle of verse 1 we read, “Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.” On the surface, reading this verse leads me to believe that the cross was when Jesus left this world, since only hours later, after a really long night with no sleep, Jesus dies on the cross, and His dead body is buried. Along the same lines, Jesus’ spirit (His life breath) would have needed to go somewhere, since it was no longer with His body, so that must mean it returned to God. And then the conclusion, since Jesus is speaking from a very specific perspective, must be that Jesus left the world when His spirit returned to God following His death on the cross.

This is an easy conclusion to reach, but there is a problematic verse a few chapters later that counters this. In the garden, following Jesus’ resurrection, He tells Mary, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17)

Jesus directly tells Mary that He had not ascended yet, but that He was about to. This is incredibly significant, and problematic, because this means that Jesus’ death was not when He returned to the Father, but shortly (i.e. hours) after His resurrection.

I wonder if this point when Jesus returned to heaven was originally designed to be His glorious return to God and then looking back down, the Godhead realized that the remaining disciples need a little more encouragement and regrouping prompting a number of other encounters. Or, perhaps, this initial ascension was when Jesus received His new body, and then He returned temporarily to help the disciples regroup and understand what had just happened before a more official “ascension” around five or so weeks later.

So where does that leave us with John’s first challenging statement in chapter 13?

I wonder if John opens up this chapter as a grand transition into the crucifixion event, and that He includes it as a way of pulling the reader into the significance that will follow.

John’s gospel is the most detailed of the gospels surrounding Jesus’ last night before the crucifixion, and it all starts in the upper room. All of Jesus’ ministry and life were leading up to this point, and John wants us to realize who Jesus was during His last hours with them. The only time left was in that upper room, and the walk to the garden. After those few hours, when the betrayer and arrest would come, Jesus’ time with the disciples would be up.

Both these passages really push me to look at a central idea: Value the time you have right now with Jesus. We are not guaranteed future time with Him on this side of heaven, and the decisions we make today have a profound impact on that promised future.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Naming Sheep: John 10:1-21

Published October 29, 2024 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 10:1-21 (CEV)

    1 Jesus said:

   I tell you for certain that only thieves and robbers climb over the fence instead of going in through the gate to the sheep pen. 2-3 But the gatekeeper opens the gate for the shepherd, and he goes in through it. The sheep know their shepherd’s voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.

    4 When he has led out all of his sheep, he walks in front of them, and they follow, because they know his voice. 5 The sheep will not follow strangers. They don’t recognize a stranger’s voice, and they run away.

    6 Jesus told the people this story. But they did not understand what he was talking about.

    7 Jesus said:

   I tell you for certain that I am the gate for the sheep. 8 Everyone who came before me was a thief or a robber, and the sheep did not listen to any of them. 9 I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved. Through me they will come and go and find pasture.

    10 A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. 11 I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives up his life for his sheep. 12 Hired workers are not like the shepherd. They don’t own the sheep, and when they see a wolf coming, they run off and leave the sheep. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. 13 Hired workers run away because they don’t care about the sheep.

    14 I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep, and they know me. 15 Just as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I give up my life for my sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not in this sheep pen. I must bring them together too, when they hear my voice. Then there will be one flock of sheep and one shepherd.

    17 The Father loves me, because I give up my life, so that I may receive it back again. 18 No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again, just as my Father commanded me to do.

    19 The people took sides because of what Jesus had told them. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon in him! He is crazy! Why listen to him?”

    21 But others said, “How could anyone with a demon in him say these things? No one like that could give sight to a blind person!”

Read John 10:1-21 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

During one of the times Jesus was preaching the crowds, He uses an illustration that contrasts thieves/robbers and the good shepherd. While reading this illustration, a powerful idea is hinted at early on while Jesus is describing the shepherd.

One of the first distinctive ideas Jesus shares about the good shepherd is that “The sheep know their shepherd’s voice. He calls each of them by name and leads them out.” (v. 3b)

This phrase stands out to me because in it I see a description of a very personal relationship being described. Regardless of the size of the flock of sheep, each sheep has a name, the shepherd uses this name to refer to that sheep, and there has been enough time spent with the shepherd and each sheep that each sheep is able to recognize the shepherd’s voice.

Jesus ultimately explains how He is the “Good Shepherd”, and that He wants to have a personal relationship with each of His sheep. While Jesus does imply that there are those who are not part of His flock of sheep, He doesn’t dwell on them or focus on them at all. Jesus is interested most in loving, caring for, and protecting His sheep, and He even goes as far as giving each sheep a name.

This is amazing in my mind, because as a member of God’s family, God wants to be so close to me that He can give me a new name. We could call this a nickname, or we could adopt God’s name for us as our true name. When God names us, He names us based on how He sees each of us, and at the foundation of each new name is the truth that we have been redeemed/saved through what Jesus did for us on the cross.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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