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Scripture: John 14.12-15; 15.1-17 (esp. vv.7-8, 16-17); 16.16-28 (esp. v.23-24, 26-27) Translation: 14.12Amen, Amen, I say to you, the person who believes in Me—as far as the works that I’m doing are concerned also that person will also do [them] and will do greater works than these! 13And whatever you would ask in My Name, I will do this, so that the Father would be glorified in the Son! 14If you ask Me for something in My Name, I will do [it]!
15.1I
am the True Vine and My Father is the Gardner. 2As far as every
branch in Me that doesn’t bear fruit is concerned, He will take it off. And as
far as every3Already you are clean because of the
message, which I have spoken to you. 4Stay in Me, and I [will stay]
in you. Just as the branch is not able to bear fruit from itself unless it
stays on the vine, in this way you can’t [bear fruit] unless you stay in Me! 5I
am the Vine, you are the branches! The person who stays in Me and I [stay in
him—this person bears a lot of fruit, because without Me you can’t do anything!
6If someone doesn't stay in Me, he will be thrown outside like the
branch and dried up and they will gather them together and they will throw
[them] into the fire and it will burn up. 7If you stay in Me and
My words stay in you, ask for whatever you want, and it will happen for you. 8In
this My Father is glorified, namely that you would a lot of fruit and become
disciples for Me. 9Just as the Father loves Me, I also love you!
Stay in My love! 10If you would keep My commands, you stay in My
love, just as I am in a state of keeping My Father’s commands and stay in His
love! 11These things I’m in a state of speaking to you, so that My
Joy would be in you and your could would be completed! 12This is My
Command: Love one another, just as I love you 13No one has greater
love than this, namely when someone puts his life for his friends! 14You
are My friends, if you do what I ordered you. 15I no longer call you
slaves, because the slave doesn’t know what his master does. But you I am
calling friends, because all the things, which I heard from My Father I make
know to you. 16You didn’t pick Me for yourselves; rather I picked
you for Myself and appointed you, so that you would go and bear fruit and [so that]
you fruit would stay—so that whatever you would ask the Father in My Name, He
will give you! 17I’m commanding you these things, so that you
would love one another.
thing that bears fruit is concerned, He will clean it, so that it
would bear more fruit.
16.16For
a little while [longer] and then you will look at Me no longer. And again for a
little while, and then you will see Me. 17So, those of His disciples
said to one another, “What is this, which He’s saying to us: “for a little
while and then you won’t look at Me, and again for a little while, and then you
will see Me”? and that “I will go to the Father”? 18So they said,
“What does this ‘for a little while’ mean? We don’t know what He’s saying.” 19Jesus
knew that they wanted to ask Him, and so He said to them, “You’re trying to
figure out about this with one another, namely that I said “for a little while,
and then you won’t look at Me, and again a little while and then you will see
Me.” 20Amen, Amen, I say to you that you will cry and mourn, but the
world will be happy. You will be pained, but your pain will become happiness! 21The
woman whenever she would go into labor has pain, because her hour has come. But
whenever she has given birth to the baby, she no longer thinks about the
suffering because of the happiness that a man was birthed into the world. 22And
so on the one hand, you will have pain now, but on the other hand I will see
you again, and your heart will be happy! And no one will take your happiness
away from you! 23And in that day, you won’t ask me for anything!
Amen, Amen, I say to you, whatever you would ask the Father in My Name He will
give to you! 24Until now you haven’t asked for anything in My Name,
ask and you will receive, so that your happiness would be filled up! 25These
things I’ve been speaking you in figures, a time is coming when I will no
longer speak to you in figures, but with clarity I will announce about the
Father to you. 26In that day, ask for yourselves in My Name, and
I’m not saying to you that I will ask the Father for you, 27because
the Father Himself loves you, because you love Me and believe that I’ve come
from God! 28I’ve come from the Father and come into the world.
Again I will leave the world and go to the Father!
The Point I’m Stressing: We pray in Jesus' Name, and God gives us what we ask for,, and He answers us for His glory and for our happiness, assuming we have a living relationship with Jesus that bears fruit, especially the fruit of loving one another!
Interpretation
1.
Structure
a.
The statements about prayer
all occur in the same larger section in the book of John. It takes place in the
upper room and on the way to the Mount of Olives. This is during the
crucifixion narrative, but more specifically it is the section where Jesus talks
with His true disciples, because Judas has left to betray Him. These are the
final discussions Jesus will have with His disciples before His crucifixion.
The general context of the passages is that Jesus is telling the disciples the
stuff they will need to know while He is dead and then after He returns to the
Father in Heaven. The current section goes from 13.31 to either 16.33 or 17.26,
either way the teaching on praying in Jesus’ Name comes up a total of 5 times
in about 3 chapters, and if the section does come to the finale of Jesus’
prayer in ch.17, then it seems especially appropriate to the theme of prayer in
this section.
b.
The first time it appears
is in 14.12-13, it functions as the transition from a discussion on Jesus doing
the Father’s work to the to Jesus promise to ask the Father to send the Spirit
so that they can do Jesus’ work while He is gone
c.
The second time it appears,
it is interjected into the parable of the Vine and Branches and Gardener, found
in 15.7-8, where it serves to close the parable, and where v.9 starts to unpack
the parable.
d.
The third time appears in
15.16, where it serves to help close off the explanation of the parable, and
tell the purpose/motivation for producing fruit (v.17 is both a bracket with
v.9, and a transition to the theme of the world hating Christ’s followers)
e.
The fourth and fifth time
both come in the closing section (16.16-33) of the larger section of
13.31-16.33. this closing section forms a bracket with the opening section,
where the key phrase “for a little while” or μικρον appears in 13.33 as it is the core discussion of the final
section (16.16-33) as well as the shared theme of Jesus’ departure which is
threaded through the whole section, but finds its greatest intensity towards
the beginning and end of the larger section, with 15.1-16.4 forming a central
section that does not say that Jesus is leaven even once, and only hints at it
towards the end as Jesus transitions to saying again that He is leaving at the
beginning of ch.16. 16.23-24 (the fourth occurrence of praying in Jesus’ Name)
serves to close off the more figurative part of the closing section, while
16.26-27 (the fifth occurrence) opens the more blunt part of the closing
section. The two mentions are separated only by v.25, and thus seems to form
and internal center for the final section. The final two mentions of praying in
Jesus’ Name specify that the disciples will ask God directly and that Jesus
will not ask for them. However, ch.17 is mostly Jesus’ prayer for them and
later disciples, so Jesus will pray for them. It is adds to the contrast of
what will be, but also it comforts us that even though Jesus will not need to
be the intermediary for our prayers, He still prays for us.
2.
Themes
a.
Jesus is going away
i.
This is the main theme of
the larger section, it gives the context for what else was said
b.
Staying connected to Jesus
i.
This a core theme of
15.1-17
c.
Bearing fruit
i.
This is result of staying
connected to Jesus, forming another core theme of 15.1-17
ii.
Bearing fruit is closely
correlated to loving each other, but likely
d.
Love
i.
This is a major theme for
the larger section, it is the larger theme, the main moral instruction that
Jesus gives to His followers
ii.
This is what Jesus seems to
mean by “bear fruit”, although as mentioned above Jesus may have a larger view
of what fruit bearing is, but at the very least it means loving others and
probably loving God
iii.
Love also is the reason
that we can feel free to ask the Father whatever we want
iv.
Also Jesus instructs us
that while Jesus love is on one level unconditional, it does seem to be
something that we can actively experience if we do what Jesus’ says (15.9-10)
e.
Joy vs. Sorrow
i.
This is also a major theme
that is threaded through this larger section
ii.
Grief comes into play
mainly because of Jesus coming departure
iii.
Joy comes mainly from the
presence of the Holy Spirit and Jesus preparative teaching and by asking and
receiving (answered prayer rocks!)
f.
Jesus coming back
i.
It plays a more subdued
role, since the main theme is that He is leaving, but the hope that is paired
with the message of His departure (referring perhaps at different times to both
His coming death and ascension into Heaven) is that Jesus will one day return
g.
Coming of the Holy Spirit
i.
This is also a major theme
in this larger section of 13.31-17.26
ii.
Jesus continues to praise
the Holy Spirit and tell His disciples all that He will do and help them with
after He is gone.
iii.
The Holy Spirit will
replace Christ’s direct personal contact with the disciples
iv.
The Holy Spirit is explicitly
said to be one of the things that Jesus will ask for from the Father for us.
The Holy Spirit is the answer to Jesus’ prayer
v.
This seems to indicate that
this is one prayer that we could also ask and expect a certain answer, in the
sense of more filling/active work of the Holy Spirit in us, since Jesus’ prayer
for us was effective and we all have the Holy Spirit who trust in Christ for
eternal life
h.
Ask for anything/Pray in
Jesus Name and it will be given
i.
Whatever you ask
ii.
In Jesus Name
iii.
It will be given
1.
By Jesus, if you ask Jesus (14.12-14)
2.
By the Father, if you ask
the Father
iv.
Connected with
1.
Doing greater things that
Jesus/Jesus’ work (14.12-13)
2.
Glorifying the Father
(14.14 and 15.8)
3.
Bearing fruit (15.8)
4.
Staying in Jesus and having
His words stay in you is the requirement for praying for whatever you want
(15.7)
5.
Being picked by Jesus and
appointed by Him (to go and bear fruit) (15.16)
6.
Loving one another (15.17)
7.
In the day of Joy, when we
see Jesus again
8.
Having our joy
fulfilled/filled up
9.
when Jesus will speak
bluntly/clearly
10.
being direct connection
with the Father
11.
being loved by God
12.
loving Christ
13.
trusting that Jesus is from
God, that He is God
3.
Doctrines
a.
Jesus is in Heaven
b.
Jesus is Coming Back
c.
God loves us
d.
Jesus should be loved
e.
Jesus is from God, that is,
He is God and is the Father’s authorized spokesman
f.
God answers prayers prayed
in Jesus’ Name
g.
We have direct access to
the Father in Jesus’ Name
h.
Jesus wants us to be happy
i.
Producing fruit requires
staying connected to Jesus, and producing fruit and staying with Jesus is
required to have prayers answered
j.
Producing fruit means
loving God and others
k.
Prayer is powerful
l.
The Holy Spirit rocks! He
teaches us and makes us experience God directly while Jesus is away!
m.
God is glorified through
our prayers
n.
Jesus will empower us to do
Greater things than Him by His Holy Spirit and because of prayer
Applications
1.
We should ask for whatever
we want
2.
We should pray in Jesus’
Name
3.
We should pray to the
Father, but we can also pray to Jesus
4.
We should expect God to
answer our prayers
5.
We should pray for
impossible things
6.
We should pray to have the
Spirit work more powerfully through us
7.
We should seek God’s glory
in our prayers
8.
We should pray for fruitful
Christian lives
9.
We should be happy when God
answers our prayers
10.
We should feel comfortable
coming to God with our requests
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