Gospels (67) - John 15:13 - 16:11

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
​Series: Gospels

Rusty's Notes

John 15
13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.

• Who were Jesus’ friends?
• Not only the disciples (and us), but also the Father and the Spirit.
• No greater love was ever displayed than what Jesus did for us at the cross.
• Jesus died for the unbelievers as well. (John 3:16)
• Jesus is a friend of everyone.

14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.

• You are my friends if you love one another as I have loved you.
• Impossible to do unless you live your life by another source.
• Most Christians believe the greatest aspect of being a believer in Jesus is salvation.
• Pretty hard to top salvation.
• But what if you could walk on this earth in your own earth suit but your source of energy, ability, thinking, creativity, love, mercy and grace came from a totally different source than yourself?
• It’s the only way to live out Jesus’ commands.
• To me, this is the greatest aspect of living as a believer.
• Being born is great… but living the adventure is even greater.
• But the majority of the church is still stuck on the birthday!

15 I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing.

• Difference between a slave and bond-servant.

I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father.

• This is the beauty of knowing your identity.
• You can know exactly what the Father thinks about you.

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you.

• The disciples did not choose Jesus.
• Some people the unredeemed are incapable of choosing Jesus, therefore it has to be done in eternity past.
• John 6:70-71 - 70 Jesus replied to them, “Didn’t I choose you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He was referring to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, one of the Twelve, because he was going to betray him.[1]
• Jesus did not choose His disciples for salvation.
• Mark 3:14-15 - 14 He appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, to send them out to preach, 15 and to have authority to drive out demons.[2]
• The discipler doesn’t have to know the whole Bible.
• The discipler just needs to be more mature than the disciple.
• I had a friend here last week that just needed some encouragement.
• We didn’t have a Bible Study.
• We lived life together… we laughed, we cried, we ate, he watched me interact with my wife, my son, my friends our ministry.
• If I could restructure seminary… it would look more like 12 disciples hanging out with Jesus for 3-4 years. Doing life together.
• Just teach practicality.
• Jesus chose the 12 “to be with Him”… not for salvation.

I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain,

• Who is producing fruit?
• The Father, through the Son, through the disciples.
• What fruit remains?
• Those things done in the Spirit.

so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.

• You know my name… If you know Jesus… you are going to know what to ask for.

17 “This is what I command you: Love one another.

• Agape love – based upon a choice… not a feeling.
• Love each other unconditionally.

 
PERSECUTIONS PREDICTED
18 “If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you.
 - My Savior sympathizes with us because He has already endured this fallen world.
 - Jesus wanted to remind the disciples that the world (and it’s system) is going to hate them.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.
 -  You realize that the evil one will use believers in Jesus Christ to detour the truth of the Gospel?
 - It’s hard to disassociate yourself from the conglomerate definition of Christianity.
 - It’s hard to disassociate yourself from the systems that have been put into place by the majority of the churches.
 - It’s not hard to see that the evil one doesn’t want believers or the church to be successful in not only sharing the Good News, but living it out on a daily basis.
 - So mediocre Christianity and mediocre church is effective in causing the world to hate the ones who have been commanded and given the ability to love.
20 Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they don’t know the one who sent me.

• It often sounds if I am bitter about the institutional church and the system that has been established by “Christians.”
• I’m not because I understand spiritual warfare and what Jesus reminded His disciples about concerning being in the world.
• So I (we), am constantly questioning what I do personally with my time and resources.
• Am I doing things because it is what I know how to do or because this is what the Spirit is calling me to do.
• How do we shed the “Sunday Morning” system of all its systems, monotony. apathy and misconstrued ideas of what Christ called us to?
• I don’t want to play church but at the same time I am living in the world that has systems.
• Do I avoid systems? Do I comply?
• The struggle is real but so is the fact that no matter my choices, the world is still going to hate me.
• Man… that is doom and gloom… ugh…
• No… it is only the result of doing what Jesus gives the ability to do… love one another.

22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 The one who hates me also hates my Father. 24 If I had not done the works among them that no one else has done, they would not have sin. Now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.

• Jesus performed the 3 Messianic Miracles:
• 1) Heal a Jewish Leper (Matthew 8)
• 2) Heal a man born blind (John 9)
• 3) Cast a demon out of a mute (Matthew 12)
• Jesus shined a light a light on their blindness.

25 But this happened so that the statement written in their law might be fulfilled: They hated me for no reason. (Psalm 69:4)
 
THE COUNSELOR’S MINISTRY
26 “When the Counselor (helper) comes, the one I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 You also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.[3]

• The Father through the Son who sends the Holy Spirit.
• Defined them as apostles.
• Acts 1:21 - 21 “Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us--22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day he was taken up from us[4]

 
John 16
1 “I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. 2 They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or me. 4 But I have told you these things so that when their time comes you will remember I told them to you. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.

• Jesus couldn’t have told them all these things in the beginning because they couldn’t have handled it.

5 But now I am going away to him who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Yet, because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you.

• Acts 2

8 When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: 9 About sin, because they do not believe in me;

• Who doesn’t believe in Jesus? Non-believers.
• Every unredeemed person is being convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit.
• There is a good reason why non-believers hate us.

10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me;

• Who is the Spirit convicting of righteousness?
• Those who have been made righteous.
• 2 Corinthians 5:21 - He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. [5]
• Once believers understand they are righteous…. They will quit trying to attain righteousness and then they can learn Sabbath rest.

11 and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. [6]

• 2 Corinthians 4:4 – Satan is the ruler of this world.
• Satan has already been judged… and lost.

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Jn 6:70–71). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Mk 3:14–15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Jn 15:1–27). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ac 1:21–22). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (2 Co 5:21). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Jn 16:1-11). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.