John 15:9-17 is the Gospel appointed for the Sixth Sunday of Easter in the Year of Mark. As such it is clearly the continuation of last week's Gospel, John 15:1-8. Even though that is the case, the images of vine and branches, fruit and pruning, are no longer present; instead the emphasis is wholly on love. Finally, near the end of the passage, Jesus gives us a glimpse of what love looks like - it looks like an enduring friendship. It looks like a friendship that is deep, sacrificial, and vulnerable. It looks like Jesus. It will be the preacher's joyful task to announce this deep love of Jesus to the listeners.
(The following questions have been developed to highlight the way the Word functions in the text, a primary concern of Law and Gospel preachers. These questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but can be used to good effect in conjunction with other fine sets of questions available in other methods. To learn more about this method and about Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com and amazon.)
1. How does the Word function in the text? The Word functions here at first as Gospel. Jesus announces God's love and his love for us. He also announces that his goal is that our joy might be full, another word of Gospel. Finally, Jesus announces that he has chosen us to be friends, not slaves. This changes everything.
2. How is the Word not functioning in the text? There is no word of Law here, a word that calls us to repentance, or lifts up our need for a Savior. Even the conditional phrases in verses 10 and 14 are conditions of uncertainty, which necessitates an understanding of the verses akin to: "whenever you do what I command" you abide in my love.
3. With whom are you identifying in the text? We are those to whom Jesus speaks. We are the chosen ones, the ones called friends, not slaves, the ones commanded to love. Jesus is talking to us directly.
4. What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text? Much of what we have here is a call to obedience, which is the Word functioning to invite us to live in a certain way in response to God's love revealed in Christ. Clearly the call here is to live in love, to live as friends of God, to live in a way that shows love for God through loving others.
5. What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text? Couplets will need to be invented due to the lack of Law in this text. Some ideas: duty/joy; slavery/friendship.
6. Exegetical work: A key concept in this passage is the contrast between servant and friend. Both of these terms are arguably less than robust. The former term is doulos, perhaps better understood as "slave." The latter term, philoi, is also not done justice by "friend," but perhaps better understood as "beloved one." Raymond Brown, in his classic commentary, argues exactly this: "The English word 'friend' does not capture suffciently this relationship of love." "Rather vs. 14 is simliar to vs. 10, and the 'you are my philoi' of 14 is the equivalent of the 'You will remain in my love' of 10." Also, Brown writes, "In one way, 'slave' might be more appropriate here when the servile condition of the doulos is stressed - he follows orders without comprehending." (The Gospel According to John XIII-XXI, p. 664). Gerard Sloyan, in his commentary, concurs: "It is God's way with the human family. This sounds like what Aristotle and Aquinas called benevolentia, the love that wills another's good." (Interpretation series, John, p. 189). Sloyan further imagines Jesus saying this to his disciples: "We shall be friends, you and I. No more of this I up here and you down there, you the object of my affection and I the subject of your veneration. We are both subjects enduring the passion and pain of love." (Ibid., p.190). Finally, Craig Koester offers another word on this friendship: "Jesus' friendship with his followers therefore is both the source and the norm for their relationship with each other." (Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel, p.275).
7. How does the Crossings Community model work with this text? Steven Kuhl, in his 2015 analysis, picks up the theme of servant/friend very nicely in his work. He goes further, exploring more of the implications of these two identities. To see the entire analysis, go to crossings.org/text-study and find it archived under its reference.
Blessings on your proclamation!
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