Todays reading is John 15 and the first 4 verses of John 16. In the early part of chapter 15, Jesus uses the illustration of the vine and the branches to teach the disciples of the need to remain in Him, which will enable them to flourish.
The story so far is that Jesus has been denied 3 times, he has told the disciples that they need to trust in him and everything will be ok, and now he is teaching them about growth.
The message within the "vine and branches" story is that of growing, the need to strip back what is not needed and the continued growth and expansion that this will bring.
In v10, Jesus talks about laying down one's life for one's friends. Jesus knew at this point that his crucifixion was imminent and is continuing to set the scene about to unfold to his disciples.
I find it incredible that Jesus taught so much about his own death and also used the process to set up the early church through the teaching – a multi dimensional process delivering on many levels, and yet first delivered to a group of fairly simple souls who had not previously experienced this.
And yet it worked. It continues to be relevant and is a key part of setting out Jesus' expectations of his followers.
The great thing is that we don't have to be qualified to follow Jesus, there are no entrance exams, we can't buy our way in, it is not for the privileged few. The only requirement is to accept Jesus love for us, which is the key point of v13.
That is a great release, and there is also a freedom that comes with that acceptance of Jesus love that we are forgiven people, accepted and loved by God.
Richard Mason
Read the bible in a year: Psalm 67:1-7, 1 Samuel 16:1-17:37, John 15:1-16:4
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