Daily Devotion for April 20

This SUNDAY is CHANGE THE WORLD SUNDAY.

The youth are preparing two mission trips (SSP).

SCRIPTURE: John 15: 1 & 2

1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

NOTES

This section is sometimes called the Book of Glory or the Farewell Discourse. In this discourse, Jesus speaks about three relationships that involve the disciples: (1) their relationship with him, (2) their relationship with one another, and (3) their relationship with the world around them.

John 15:1-11 is about the relation of the disciples with Jesus. The very existence of the group depended on the union of each individual with Christ. Jesus uses the analogy of the vine. Jewish people were quite familiar with vines and their maintenance. Most likely they could have easily seen the vines of Israel during this discourse. And even possibly the great golden vine, the national emblem of Israel, on the front of the temple.

This symbolism has its precedent in the OT. One passage is Psalm 80. Psalm 80 refers to Israel as a vine:

"You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land."

Another example is found in Isaiah 5:1-2, 7:

My loved one had a vineyard

on a fertile hillside.

He dug it up and cleared it of stones

and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it

and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

but it yielded only bad fruit....

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty

is the house of Israel,

and the men of Judah

are the garden of his delight.

Questions

1. How important is a relationship with Christ at developing a relationship with others, and why?

2. What is the relationship with Christ and the Father? How does this influence our faith and our relationship with Christ or the Father?

3. How does the analogy of the vine relate to our concept of relationship with Father or Son?

4. What is the significance of these passages?

See you Sunday,

Stan