We continue today in our journey through John’s Gospel. We’ve moved into the section of the book that is known as the farewell discourse, which runs from chapter 13 through 17.
Last week, we ended in chapter 11 and today we are jumping over chapters 12-13. I’ll come back to those on Palm Sunday which is two weeks from today.
My hope for today’s message is for you to understand the nature, importance, and method of abiding in Jesus.
Jesus’ teaching is always, but especially in this section, is primarily about internal transformation, not mere external compliance.
The righteousness of religious fundamentalists such as the Pharisees relates only to the outward appearance. The righteousness of Jesus transforms the very nature of those who abide in him.
The Christian faith is not simply about believing the right things (though this is important). Nor is it simply a matter of living a Christlike life (though this is important too).
Christian experience must necessarily have a mystical, spiritual, immeasurable dimension. To be a disciple means abiding in the life of God who makes our hearts his dwelling place.
Hope for Troubled Hearts
The farewell discourse is Jesus preparing his disciples for his departure. His disciples are anxious, confused, and experiencing a sense of abandonment.
In John 13:33, Jesus tells them, “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.”
And now, in John 14:1, he says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.”
The troubled hearts of the disciples are not scolded by Jesus. They are invited to trust that he is going ahead of them and soon they will join him.
John 14:2–4 “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
This promise can be received by everyone who trusts in Jesus. The common understanding of this passage is that Jesus is referring to an actual place, and we usually call this place heaven. But it limits Jesus’ words if we understand it primarily as future place in heaven.
The only other time this expression of “my father’s house” is used is in reference to the Temple in John 2:16 when Jesus said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”
The point about the Temple, within the life of the people of Israel, was that it was the place where heaven and earth met. Now Jesus hints at a new house.
Heaven and earth will meet again when God renews the whole world. At that time there will be room for everyone.1
So, Jesus’ forthcoming departure creates new possibilities of intimacy, not distance. When Jesus says that his Father’s house has many rooms, it means dwelling or abiding places.
It’s not just “you’ll make it to heaven,” but “you will be with me.”
The heart of Christian hope is personal presence with Jesus, not a particular location.
I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life
John 14:5–7 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Thomas voices the confusion that all of them are feeling. He wants a map, a plan, something concrete to follow.
Many of us today have a similar request: “Just tell me what steps to take.” We want a formula, directions, and assurances.
And so we often adopt the way of the Pharisees. We follow rules and then have a system in which we can get forgiveness for breaking the rules.
This is the way many of us have always thought about our faith. Instead of Jesus being the way, truth, and life, we have a religious system to show us the way, to tell us the truth, and to assure us of eternal life.
We get worried or anxious about backsliding, believing the wrong thing, or that our habits and behaviours will compromise our salvation.
You know, the Christian life is really not all that complicated. Let’s examine his statement and see how simple it is.
Jesus as the Way means that if we want access to God’s presence, Jesus is way. We need not look for another access point, including our own obedience or right belief.
Hebrews 10:19–22 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place [God’s presence] by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
Jesus as the Truth means that if we want to know what is good, right, and perfect in a world that is increasingly difficult to find truth, we need only to look to Jesus.
In John 18:37 Jesus said, “the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
Jesus as the Life means that the challenges of our human existence are swallowed up by the life of Christ in us.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Jesus doesn’t give us a map, a system, or a formula to reach God. He gives us himself: the way into God’s presence, the truth about reality, and the life that sustains us.
Our response is simply to say, “Yes, I want that.” Or, “No, I don’t want that.”
If you want it, then Jesus tells us what to do next.
I AM the True Vine
Last week, we saw that Jesus called himself the good shepherd. Not just shepherd. He’s the good one, which means there were probably ones that were not good.
It is the same in this case. Why call himself the true vine?
This image of the vineyard would have connected well for the Judean audience that Isaiah is addressing, because grapes is the crop that grows best in Judah.
They would have tracked with Isaiah as he described the work the gardener went through to ensure a good harvest. This work was not done in a matter of months, but it took years for a first harvest to be ready.
The audience anticipated what should have come next. The gardener reaps what he sows. He sowed well. He should reap well.
But imagine their outrage when they are told that for all that effort, the outcome is only bitter grapes. When Isaiah announces that he is going to allow the vineyard to be destroyed, we can imagine the hearers agreeing and thinking it must have been bad soil.
Let’s connect this message from Isaiah with a parable told by Jesus in Matthew 21:33–39.
The treatment of the servants in this story calls to mind the way God’s prophets throughout the Old Testament.
And the landowner’s son is a direct connection to God the Father’s sending of his Son, Jesus. Through this parable Jesus is making a public statement of his divine sonship.
The story turns ugly when the tenants say, “This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.”
The religious leaders have not acknowledged Jesus publicly as God’s Son, nor have they publicly condemned Jesus out of fear of the crowds. But Jesus foretells what they will do to him.
Jesus concludes the parable by predicting what will happen to them because of their actions. And he places their self-condemnation in their own mouth by asking the religious leaders what the vineyard owner will do to those wicked tenants when he comes.2
Matthew 21:41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”
Jesus ends his speech with extreme clarity in Matthew 21:43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”
All of this is to help us understand that Jesus is the fulfillment and replacement of Israel as God’s vineyard. He is the faithful one, the true vine who finally bears the fruit God intended.
And now all who want to enjoy the benefits of being in God’s kingdom can be grafted into the vine, or adopted into the family.
And Jesus’ statement that the Father “prunes” fruitful branches to make them more fruitful and he removes branches that bear no fruit, is a hopeful statement. It’s not so much a warning as an encouragement.
It means, he does the caretaking. He ensures good growth. And when he sees anything that hinders fruit-bearing, he takes care of it by removing the dead branches.
The image that comes to mind for me is the raspberry patch we have in our garden. It was planted years ago and the reason it is still bearing so much delicious fruit is that it has been taken care of.
Our first summer here, we went in and removed all the old branches. They were the ones that had already borne fruit. Their time was done.
In order to increase the success of the newer branches, we had to make room, uproot and cut off the old ones.
We need not get too fixated on the question of what this process looks like for God. Some people get their minds in a twist wondering if this means that some people can lose their salvation.
It’s not about that. Jesus is talking about the work that God does so that we will bear fruit.
The fruit that we are expected to bear, as described in this chapter, is the fruit of love.
The command to love each other is a call to abide in Christ. We are lost when we think we can muster up the sort of love he is describing.
It is the love shared between him and the Father. It is other-focused love. Not warm feelings. Not We cannot produce this. It’s source is Jesus Christ himself.
Abiding in him is the necessary precondition to bearing the fruit of love.
So, how do we abide?
Abiding is not a static achievement or end-point, but an ongoing rhythm. To abide means to remain in fellowship, and when you find yourself out of fellowship with God, he will deal with you to bring you back into the place of abiding.
Without a sustained connection, you cannot bear fruit, for branches can bear fruit only when united to the vine.
The simplest understanding of how we abide or remain is belief, or trust. We abide in Jesus by entrusting ourselves to him.
And in order to entrust ourselves to the actual person of Jesus, and not just our own or other peoples’ ideas about him, is to be intimately familiar with the gospel, which is primarily known in the four Gospels.
Pay attention to my language here. The key word is familiar and the object of our familiarity is very specific.
This is the challenge I gave last week to read the Gospels. Read them to know them. To be familiar with them. To enter into the life of Jesus and his first followers. To allow the life of Jesus to enter into you.
You know, the key part of reading Scripture is to trust that the Holy Spirit will give you understanding.
I have spent many years studying the Bible. I have taken classes to help me interpret it. I read books that tell me how to properly understand the different genres, the historical and cultural context, the language nuances, and many other things that help to understand the text.
But, for personal transformation and abiding in Christ, nothing beats the practice of sitting down and just reading or listening to the Scriptures. Just allowing myself to be immersed in them.
We need this. It is a purifying practice. We need not get all worked up about the things we don’t understand. And we need to be careful about too quickly trying to apply things to our lives.
The very best application of Scripture is to humbly listen and patiently wait for the Holy Spirit to give you understanding. Then, bring that understanding back to Scripture and allow the process to refine your conclusions.
This is the process of lectio divina, or divine reading. It is a practice that dates back to the very early years of the church, before the New Testament was even fully formed.
It involves slowly reading a passage, allowing God to draw your attention to specific words, phrases, or images. Then, praying through them, asking for understanding. Then going back over it again, prayerfully seeking clarity, refinement, and perhaps direction.
Direction doesn’t always come. But, what will happen each time you do this, is you will become familiar with the text. And, you will become more familiar with God’s voice.
As we close and prepare to proclaim our intention to abide in Jesus, let’s take a moment to hear from God as I pray.
- Tom Wright, John for Everyone, Part 2: Chapters 11-21 (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 58. ↩︎
- Christopher A. Beetham and Nancy L. Erickson, eds., The NIV Application Commentary on the Bible, One-Volume Edition, NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2024), 783–784. ↩︎
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