John 15, Traditions (3)

In one paragraph

Ray walked John 15 through the full sweep of what Jesus was doing when He called Himself the true vine, arguing that the familiar "abide in me" passage only opens a larger conversation about three layered relationships. He spent roughly half the message in the Old Testament showing what God had always intended for Israel, and then brought that history forward to the moment Jesus spoke those words....

Read together

1. Isaiah 5:1-6 Song of the vineyard, God's disappointment with Israel bearing stinking rotten grapes
2. Psalm 80 Asaph's psalm about the vine brought out of Egypt, asking God to return and visit the vine
3. Genesis 12:1-3 God's promise to Abram that all families of the earth shall be blessed through him
4. Exodus 22:21 Mosaic legislation commanding Israel not to mistreat or oppress a stranger
5. Leviticus 19:33 Command not to mistreat a stranger who dwells in the land
6. Numbers 9:14 One ordinance for both the stranger and the native regarding Passover
7. 1 Kings 8:41-43 Solomon's dedication prayer for the first temple, asking God to hear the foreigner's prayer so all peoples may know God's name
8. John 8:58 Jesus declaring before Abraham was, I am, cited to show Jesus present throughout Old Testament
9. John 15:1-18 The true vine passage covering the three relationships: disciple to Jesus, disciples to one another, and disciples to the world
10. Romans 5:8 While we were still sinners Christ died for us, applied to how disciples should relate to a hostile world

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray walked through several Old Testament passages to show that God always intended Israel to be a blessing to outsiders, not to exclude them. Where do you see the same temptation today, in churches or in your own life, to turn inward and keep the blessing to yourself?
2. Pastor Ray pointed out that the word translated 'takes away' in John 15 can also mean 'lifts up,' the way a vinedresser would lift a branch off the ground so it could bear fruit. How does that picture change the way you think about seasons in your own life when you felt unfruitful?
3. Pastor Ray described three relationships Jesus lays out in John 15: disciple to Jesus, disciples to one another, and disciples to the world. Which of those three relationships do you find hardest to maintain, and why?
4. Jesus says the world will hate his followers just as it hated him, but Pastor Ray also said that loving people back when they hate you is 'very, very attractive' and is how most of us came to faith. Can you think of a time when someone loved you that way, or when you had the chance to love someone that way?
5. Pastor Ray closed with the tension between God's complete sovereignty and our complete free will, using Judas as an example of someone who chose Jesus for the wrong reasons and eventually walked away. How do you personally hold those two truths together, and what comfort or challenge does it bring you to hear that Christ chose you first?