Thoughts on John 15:1-11

The situation of the Roman Empire in 90 CE is important to understand the original meaning of the narrative. With Domitian as Empire the Christian persecutions were the worst of history. So, to become a Christian meant poverty and a horrible death. Yet people came to know Yeshua. The drawing card was “hope.” How do you keep people in the faith when it was clear that life was going to difficult and short? One way is to show the value of staying in the faith. Once you are connected to Yeshua, the vine, life may not get better on Earth but an afterlife in Heaven is assured. However, if one leaves the faith because of the outside forces then it is like a branch being cut off the vine. The promises of salvation are longer available. We do not know but a good guess is that the disciples of Yeshua did not believe that their Roman persecutors were going to be forgiven and brought into Heaven. Even though Yeshua did say that one’s enemies should be loved, there is the question of how this fits into the persecution. Probably at that time the disciples would not go out and hurt a Roman soldier and that they were not going to Heaven. The original main purpose of the narrative is to ensure that the current disciples stay as disciples. What would happen to the faith today if this belief was put in place today? The belief that if you leave the faith after coming to Yeshua that you will not be joining Him in Heaven. Not participating in worship times nor the other activities Yeshua tells us to do is the same as cutting oneself off the vine. One could lose their salvation. Accepting salvation from Yeshua comes with responsibilities!

Thoughts on John 14:25-31

The world needs Jesus’ love and peace more than ever. It is sad that people are not interested in this. The change needs to start in the churches. That there are over 1,000 denominations proves that Jesus’ love and peace is not found in his churches. Disunity is a sign that Jesus’ love and peace are not working. How can the church show the world peace and love when it cannot do it!