A Simple Request
Remain in Me. Remain in Me. Remain in Me. Remain in Me. Remain in Me. Remain in Me. Remain in Me. Remain in Me. Remain in Me. Remain in Me. Remain in Me.
In John 15:1-11, abide or remain, depending on your translation, is used 11 times. When God repeats Himself, He wants us to listen and understand that this is important.
Let's set the scene. John 15 is part of the "Upper Room Discourse" or "Farewell Discourse" (John 13-17); this is Jesus' last night before His crucifixion. The discourse forms about 24% of the Gospel of John. John clearly felt it was necessary to write about what was happening at what we now call The Last Supper. The conversations with Jesus were essential for the disciples and now for us, too.
This discourse was an intimate moment. The disciples listened to Jesus talking about His departure. Jesus washes the feet of His disciples. He predicts Judas' betrayal and Peter's denial. He explains how the disciples will grieve, but their grief will turn to joy. Promises of peace and joy yet also persecution. Jesus promises an Advocate (the Holy Spirit) who will help us when He is with the Father. He explains the importance of remaining in Him. Lastly, Jesus prays to be glorified. He prays for His disciples and all believers. After this intimate moment, Jesus is arrested.
Can you imagine being one of the disciples? One moment, Jesus is praying for you; the next, the person who you know is the Messiah is taken away by soldiers. Your hope for a better life, for redemption, is crushed. You are stressed, scared and angry.
But Jesus said you will grieve, yet it will turn to joy. He said, "Remain in me and I in you, and you will bear much fruit".
John 15:5-8
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.
Maybe you feel like one of the disciples at that moment, scared and stressed because God has "left you". But know that if you remain in Jesus, God is near. God is busy pruning your branches. The principle of pruning is the "removal of dense growth to let light and air reach the inner and lower stems". These dead branches steal nutrients meant for the healthy branches; if the healthy branches don't receive nutrients, they will not thrive, and the plant won't be fruitful. God wouldn't prune us unless he wanted us to bear much fruit. Not just bear fruit, but bear "much" fruit. He cares about us and wants to see us grow. And all He asks is that we remain in Him.
Two questions:
How do we remain in Him? We read God's Word, pray to Him and do things that awaken our hearts to see God's everlasting goodness.
What is the fruit that we will bear? We will bear the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). Who wouldn't want that?
But it won't be easy to produce a fruitful harvest. God will cut off the branches that are not producing fruit, and they will be thrown into the fire. It is useless to God because there is no joy, no kindness and no goodness. This means God can end friendships that keep you away from Him or harm you. God can close doors for you because He knows what's on the other side will not help you grow. He knows that you will have less patience, less self-control and less gentleness.
John 15:11
11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Jesus is the true vine, the true life force we need; He is not a supplement we take when we feel under the weather. No, He is the true vine, and if we remain in Him, we will have joy, and our joy will be complete. We can only receive absolute, everlasting joy through Jesus, not Instagram, a paycheck, the clothes we wear, or a fancy degree. Only by remaining in Jesus will we have eternal happiness. Wordly possessions fail, but Jesus does not.
Ensuring that you will bring forth the best possible harvest, He will cut off dead branches, and it will hurt "because in this world we will have trouble, but take heart" Jesus has overcome the world.
