Yohanes 13:14-15

13:14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another’s feet. 13:15 For I have given you an example ¹  – you should do just as I have done for you.

Yohanes 13:34

13:34 “I give you a new commandment – to love ²  one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ³ 

Yohanes 15:12

15:12 My commandment is this – to love one another just as I have loved you. ⁴ 

Yohanes 15:1

The Vine and the Branches

15:1 “I am the true vine ⁵  and my Father is the gardener. ⁶ 

Kolose 1:21

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your ⁷  minds ⁸  as expressed through ⁹  your evil deeds,

Yakobus 2:8

2:8 But if you fulfill the royal law as expressed in this scripture, ¹⁰  “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” ¹¹  you are doing well.

Yakobus 2:1

Prejudice and the Law of Love

2:1 My brothers and sisters, ¹²  do not show prejudice ¹³  if you possess faith ¹⁴  in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ 

Yohanes 2:8-11

2:8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,” ¹⁶  and they did. 2:9 When ¹⁷  the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from ¹⁸  (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he ¹⁹  called the bridegroom 2:10 and said to him, “Everyone ²⁰  serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper ²¹  wine when the guests ²²  are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!” 2:11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, ²³  in Cana ²⁴  of Galilee. In this way he revealed ²⁵  his glory, and his disciples believed in him. ²⁶ 

Yohanes 4:21

4:21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, ²⁷  a time ²⁸  is coming when you will worship ²⁹  the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

[13:15]  ¹ sn I have given you an example. Jesus tells his disciples after he has finished washing their feet that what he has done is to set an example for them. In the previous verse he told them they were to wash one another’s feet. What is the point of the example? If it is simply an act of humble service, as most interpret the significance, then Jesus is really telling his disciples to serve one another in humility rather than seeking preeminence over one another. If, however, the example is one of self-sacrifice up to the point of death, then Jesus is telling them to lay down their lives for one another (cf. 15:13).

[13:34]  ² tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause gives the content of the commandment. This is indicated by a dash in the translation.

[13:34]  ³ sn The idea that love is a commandment is interesting. In the OT the ten commandments have a setting in the covenant between God and Israel at Sinai; they were the stipulations that Israel had to observe if the nation were to be God’s chosen people. In speaking of love as the new commandment for those whom Jesus had chosen as his own (John 13:1, 15:16) and as a mark by which they could be distinguished from others (13:35), John shows that he is thinking of this scene in covenant terminology. But note that the disciples are to love “Just as I have loved you” (13:34). The love Jesus has for his followers cannot be duplicated by them in one sense, because it effects their salvation, since he lays down his life for them: It is an act of love that gives life to people. But in another sense, they can follow his example (recall to the end, 13:1; also 1 John 3:16, 4:16 and the interpretation of Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet). In this way Jesus’ disciples are to love one another: They are to follow his example of sacrificial service to one another, to death if necessary.

[15:12]  ⁴ sn Now the reference to the commandments (plural) in 15:10 have been reduced to a singular commandment: The disciples are to love one another, just as Jesus has loved them. This is the ‘new commandment’ of John 13:34, and it is repeated in 15:17. The disciples’ love for one another is compared to Jesus’ love for them. How has Jesus shown his love for the disciples? This was illustrated in 13:1-20 in the washing of the disciples’ feet, introduced by the statement in 13:1 that Jesus loved them “to the end.” In context this constitutes a reference to Jesus’ self-sacrificial death on the cross on their behalf; the love they are to have for one another is so great that it must include a self-sacrificial willingness to die for one another if necessary. This is exactly what Jesus is discussing here, because he introduces the theme of his sacrificial death in the following verse. In John 10:18 and 14:31 Jesus spoke of his death on the cross as a commandment he had received from his Father, which also links the idea of commandment and love as they are linked here. One final note: It is not just the degree or intensity of the disciples’ love for one another that Jesus is referring to when he introduces by comparison his own death on the cross (that they must love one another enough to die for one another) but the very means of expressing that love: It is to express itself in self-sacrifice for one another, sacrifice up to the point of death, which is what Jesus himself did on the cross (cf. 1 John 3:16).

[15:1]  ⁵ sn I am the true vine. There are numerous OT passages which refer to Israel as a vine: Ps 80:8-16, Isa 5:1-7, Jer 2:21, Ezek 15:1-8, 17:5-10, 19:10-14, and Hos 10:1. The vine became symbolic of Israel, and even appeared on some coins issued by the Maccabees. The OT passages which use this symbol appear to regard Israel as faithless to Yahweh (typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT) and/or the object of severe punishment. Ezek 15:1-8 in particular talks about the worthlessness of wood from a vine (in relation to disobedient Judah). A branch cut from a vine is worthless except to be burned as fuel. This fits more with the statements about the disciples (John 15:6) than with Jesus’ description of himself as the vine. Ezek 17:5-10 contains vine imagery which refers to a king of the house of David, Zedekiah, who was set up as king in Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah allied himself to Egypt and broke his covenant with Nebuchadnezzar (and therefore also with God), which would ultimately result in his downfall (17:20-21). Ezek 17:22-24 then describes the planting of a cedar sprig which grows into a lofty tree, a figurative description of Messiah. But it is significant that Messiah himself is not described in Ezek 17 as a vine, but as a cedar tree. The vine imagery here applies to Zedekiah’s disobedience. Jesus’ description of himself as the true vine in John 15:1 ff. is to be seen against this background, but it differs significantly from the imagery surveyed above. It represents new imagery which differs significantly from OT concepts; it appears to be original with Jesus. The imagery of the vine underscores the importance of fruitfulness in the Christian life and the truth that this results not from human achievement, but from one’s position in Christ. Jesus is not just giving some comforting advice, but portraying to the disciples the difficult path of faithful service. To some degree the figure is similar to the head-body metaphor used by Paul, with Christ as head and believers as members of the body. Both metaphors bring out the vital and necessary connection which exists between Christ and believers.

[15:1]  ⁶ tn Or “the farmer.”

[1:21]  ⁷ tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:21]  ⁸ tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.

[1:21]  ⁹ tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “according to the scripture.”

[2:8]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Lev 19:18 (also quoted in Matt 19:19; 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Rom 13:9; Gal 5:14).

[2:1]  ¹² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:1]  ¹³ tn Or “partiality.”

[2:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “do not have faith with personal prejudice,” with emphasis on the last phrase.

[2:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “our Lord Jesus Christ of glory.” Here δόξης (doxhs) has been translated as an attributive genitive.

[2:8]  ¹⁶ tn Or “the master of ceremonies.”

[2:9]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here.

[2:9]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “and he did not know where it came from.”

[2:9]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “the head steward”; here the repetition of the phrase is somewhat redundant in English and the pronoun (“he”) is substituted in the translation.

[2:10]  ²⁰ tn Grk “every man” (in a generic sense).

[2:10]  ²¹ tn Or “poorer.”

[2:10]  ²² tn Grk “when they”; the referent (the guests) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:11]  ²³ tn This sentence in Greek involves an object-complement construction. The force can be either “Jesus did this as,” or possibly “Jesus made this to be.” The latter translation accents not only Jesus’ power but his sovereignty too. Cf. also 4:54 where the same construction occurs.

[2:11]  ²⁴ map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[2:11]  ²⁵ tn Grk “in Cana of Galilee, and he revealed.”

[2:11]  ²⁶ tn Or “his disciples trusted in him,” or “his disciples put their faith in him.”

[4:21]  ²⁷ sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions.

[4:21]  ²⁸ tn Grk “an hour.”

[4:21]  ²⁹ tn The verb is plural.