Judas left soon after Jesus washed his feet, and Jesus had a heart-to-heart with the other 11 disciples. “Love is what it’s all about,” He said. “It’s going to get unimaginably difficult for you after I’m gone. But love will win. Love will defeat treachery. Love will consume confusion. Love will defiantly withstand persecution. Love will win.”
“And serve,” He continued. “Service is not a path to greatness in God’s kingdom. Service is greatness in God’s kingdom.”
He talked, and they walked. Through the Kidron Valley, by the vineyards there, passing the stream that ran red this time every year, red with the blood of the sacrificial lambs slaughtered for Passover.
He spoke about how dependent they would have to be on Him. This was puzzling for them in light of the fact that He had stressed His immanent departure. He assured them that He would still find a way to be with them. He would send a Helper, a Comforter, to live in them, reminding them of everything He had said and done, empowering them to do even greater things.
They looked at Him, not knowing what to say, not knowing what to do. They had never seen Him like this before.
He surely noticed their concern, because He told them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me” (Jn 14.1).
But how could they not be troubled? The One they’d given up everything for was going away. He had given them impossible commands to obey and examples they weren’t sure they could follow.
“Love our enemies the way You have loved us? Wash peoples’ feet — even the feet of those who would betray and abuse us?” Doing as He asked didn’t seem very possible to them.
Perhaps it was because they were walking past vineyards that Jesus grasped hold of this illustration. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15.5). In other words, Jesus looked at this ragged group of men whom He loved so much and said, “I know you’re scared and confused. I know there are problems and questions swirling about, and you wonder how you will survive to the end of today, let alone to the end of days. I know, but don’t be afraid. You don’t have to live in your own strength and power any longer. Cling to Me, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, you will grow.”
Love. Serve. Trust. Abide.
He said it to them, and they believed Him. Then one of them wrote it down for us to hear. Now it’s our choice whether we will believe Him, too.
Prayer
Jesus, You are the True Vine, and Your Father is the Vinedresser. As a branch derives its vitality from the vine, may I abide in You and draw upon Your life instead of trying to create life on my own. Only in this way will I be able to bear the kind of fruit that will endure and glorify the Father. I acknowledge that apart from You, I can do nothing that will remain forever and that will be pleasing to the Father. May I learn to walk in utter dependence on You as a conduit of Your life. Then I will have the joy of seeing excess life in the form of fruit that carries the seeds of its own reproduction and that nourishes others. May I know You in a personal and experiential way, and may that growing knowledge cause me to love You more. And as I love You more, may I joyfully obey Your commandments, so that I will bear much fruit and glorify the Father as Your true disciple.
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