Jn. 15:1 “I am the true vine, and My father is the vinedresser.”
It is very possible that Yeshua had in mind a golden grape vine that hung over the entrance to the Temple and was using it as a comparison with His teaching. Josephus tells us about this golden grape vine in his writings. “There also now happened to him, among his other calamities, a certain popular rebellion. There were two men of learning in the city who were thought the most skillful in the laws of their country, and were on that account held in a very great esteem all over the nation; they were the one Judas, the son of Sepphoris, and the other Matthias, the son of Margalus. There was a great concourse of the young men to these men where they expounded the laws, and there got together every day a kind of army of such as were growing up to be men. Now when these men were informed that the king was wearing away with melancholy, and with sickness, they dropped words to their acquaintance, how it now a proper time to defend the cause of God, and to pull down what had been erected against the laws of their country, for it was unlawful there should be any such thing in the Temple as images, or faces, or the like representation of any animal whatever. Now the king had put up a golden eagle over the great gate of the Temple, which these learned men exhorted them to cut down; and told them that if there should any danger arise, it was a glorious thing to die for the laws of their country; because that the soul was immortal, and that an eternal enjoyment of happiness did await such as died on that account; while the mean-spirited, and those that were not wise enough to show a right love of their souls, preferred a death by disease, before that which is the result of a virtuous behavior. At the same time that these men made this speech to their disciples, a rumor was spread abroad that the king was dying, which made the young men set abroad the work with greater boldness; they therefore let themselves down from the top of the Temple with thick cords, and this at mid-day, and while a great number of people were in the Temple, and cut down the golden eagle with axes. This was presently told to the king’s captain of the Temple, who came running with a great body of soldiers, and caught about forty of the young men, and brought them to the king. And when he asked them, first of all, whether they had been so hardy as to cut down the golden eagle, they confessed they had done so; and when he asked them by whose command they had done it, they replied, at the command of the law of their country; and when he further asked them how they could be so joyful when they were about to be put to death, they replied, because hey should enjoy greater happiness after they were dead. With this the king complied, though not without great difficulty, and ordered those that had let themselves down, together with their Rabbis, to be burned alive, and delivered the rest that were caught to the proper officers, to be put to death by them.”
Source: Jos. War 1.33.2,3 648-655
Later on, after Herod’;s death, a golden grape vine was used to replace the golden eagle that was torn down. Rich Jews made offerings to the Temple by giving golden leaves to be added to the vine (M:Middoth 3:8). Josephus describes the vine this way: “And over these, but under the crown-work, was spread out a golden-vine, with is branches hanging down from a great height, the size and fine workmanship of which was a surprising sight to spectators, to see what vast material there was, and with what great skill the workmanship was done.” This is where Yeshua was saying that He was the real vine, not something made out of gold.
Source: M:Middoth 3:8; Jos. Ant. 15.11.3 395
Jn. 15:2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that I may bear more fruit.”
Jn. 15:3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”
It is His Word hat really puts our lives in order. That is why in-depth study of the Word of God is so important. It changes us and leads us in the right direction so our lives are so pleasing to God. Yeshua uses the word “abide” several times in these verses. The definition of this word means “to submit to and stand fast in.”
Jn. 15:4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
Jn. 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He also abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit; without Me you can do nothing.”
Jn. 15:6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
Jn. 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask wheat you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
Jn. 15:8 “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
Jn. 15:9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved You; abide in My love.”
Jn. 15:10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”
Jn. 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that your joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Jn. 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
Why can’t people in he church obey his commandment today? Its bad enough when denominations fight against one another, but the infighting in a lot of churches has come to the point of being ridiculous. His is not the picture that Yeshua wanted us to present to the world in order to get it saved.
Jn. 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
Jn. 15:14 “You are My friends if you do whatever command you.”
Jn. 15:15 “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I call you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
The disciples were excited about the words Yeshua used here. In that part of the word at that time, the blood covenant was a respected institution. When Yeshua used the word friend to define His relationship with His disciples, it had a tremendous impact on their lives. The word “friend” as Yeshua used it did not mean some kind of “Yeshua is my buddy, my pal” mentality that is found in some parts of the church today. In this context it meant “covenant friend” or “blood brother.” It implied the union of two people in a blood covenant. Religious teaching and the erosion of the true meaning of covenant terms like “friend” by our modern culture causes us to gloss over the importance of this section of Scripture. The “friendship Yeshua was talking about in this Scripture was not limited to the disciples, but to all those who received salvation through Yeshua.
Jn. 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you and the Father in My name He may give you.”
Jn. 15:15 “These things I command you, that you love one another.”
Jn. 15:18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”
Jn. 15:19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
Jn. 15:20 “Remember the word that said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”
Jn. 15:21 “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.”
Jn. 15:22 “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.”
Jn. 15:23 “He who hates Me hates My Father also.”
Fulfilled Prophecy: He would be hated without a cause (Psalm 109:3-5).
Jn. 15:24 “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and have also hated both Me and My Father.”
Jn. 15:25 “They hated Me without a cause.”
This is probably a direct reference to His fulfillment of the four Messianic Miracles. Other records show that the Rabbis and their disciples did perform other miracles from time to time excluding those four select miracles. These four select miracles alone were reserved for Messiah when He came on the scene as a proof as to who He was.
Jn. 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, who I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
Jn. 15:27 “And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
Jn. 16:1 “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.”
Jn. 16:2 “They will put you out of the synagogue; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you think that he offers God service.”
Jn. 16:3 “And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.”
This is a very sad statement that Yeshua makes About the Jewish people of His day. They have wandered so far from God that they no longer knew Him and his would be proven in 70 C.E. A prophecy was given in Malachi 3:23, 24 (Tanakh)) concerning Elijah, and fulfilled in Yochanan haMatbil: “Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the coming of the awesome, fearful day of the Lord. He shall reconcile the parents with children and children with their parents, so that, when I come, I do no strike the whole land with utter destruction.” The whole land of Israel was struck with utter destruction beginning in 66 C.E. and ending in 73 C.E. with the fall of Masada. The city of Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed in 70 C.E.
Jn.16:4 “But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not tell you at the beginning, because I was with you.”
Jn. 16:5 “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are you going?’”
Jn. 16:6 “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.”
Jn. 16:7 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I did not go away, the Helper will not come to you;, but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”
Jn. 16:8 “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”
Jn. 16:9 “Of sin, because they do not believe in Me.”
Notice that the word “sin” in this verse is in the singular. The sin that eternally condemns people is unbelief. The word for sin used in the Bible means “missing the mark.” Most sins can keep you from reaping the blessings of God in your life. The sin of unbelief will condemn you to hell for all eternity.
Jn. 16:10 “Of righteousness, because I go o My Father and you see Me no more.”
Jn. 16:11 “Of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
Judaism was always taught that when man was created, he was created with two natures,: the inclination to do good, or the Yetzer HaTov, and the inclination to do evil, or the Yetzer HaRah. Man was also created with the power of choice to do good or to do evil, what the church began to call the Free Will. HaSatan was used as the personification of evil. This indicates that the prompting to do evil is a force within the individual rather than an influence from without. The old saying “the devil made me do it” is a poor excuse for bad behavior. In verse 11, the term Satan is not used. In the Greek text, the word is “archon” or ruler. In the Hebrew text, the word is “sar” that also means prince or ruler or governor, but the meaning and implication is much more expansive. One does not have to be all that observant to see what is happening in our world and understand that the Yetzer HaTov, the inclination to do evil, prevails. But, it prevails because of something that is inside man, and not because of some force or personality on the outside that stands in opposition to God. This is a concept known as Dualism that was given birth in a false ancient religion known as Zoroastrianism.
“You” refers to the apostles. Technically, what the Lord says about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in vs. 12-15 applies primarily to the apostles. The Holy Spirit’s ministry to them was threefold: (1) He would guide them into all truth; (2) He would tell them of the future; and (3) He would help them glorify the Messiah. Yeshua’s words were fulfilled in the apostles preaching and writings. The Holy Spirit guided the apostles by revealing to them not only the truths embodied in Yeshua’s life and death, but also the glorious future of all believers .
Jn. 16:13 “However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
Individual Christians have the assurance that the Holy Spirit will guide them in the process of Biblical interpretation. But the Holy Spirit does not normally work in a vacuum. Every interpreter has an obligation to engage in personal study, while at the same time to be sensitive to what the rest of the Church has taught and is teaching concerning the Old Testament text that is under consideration.
Jn. 16:14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you.”
Jn. 16:15 “All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”
Jn. 16:16 “A little while and you will not see Me; and again a little while and you will see Me; because I go to the Father.”
“A little while and they will not see Him” because He will be crucified and put in the grave. “And again in a little while, they will see Him” after His resurrection.
Jn. 16:17 Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’ and because I go to the Father.’”
Jn. 16:18 They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while?’ We do not know what He is saying.”
Jn. 16:19 Now Yeshua knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me?’”
Jn. 16:20 “Most assuredly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned to joy.”
Jn. 16:21 “A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.”
Jn. 16:22 “Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.”
Jn. 16:23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.”
Jn. 16:24 “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
Jn. 16:25 “These things I have spoke to you in a figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in a figurative language, but will tell you plainly about the Father.”
Jn. 16:26 “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you.”
Jn. 16:27 “For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.”
Jn. 16:28 “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”
Jn. 16:29 His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech.
Jn. 16:30 “Now we are sure that You know all things and have no need that anyone should question You.. By this we believe that You came forth from God.”
Jn. 16:31 Yeshua answered them, “Do you now believe?”
Jn. 16:32 “Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and you will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.”
Jn. 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
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