Easter 5, Year B: Entwined in the Lifegiving Vine
Wes Howard-Brook and Sue Ferguson Johnson
The Gospel from John 15 invites hearers to envision and experience our lives as entwined in a living Vine. Our Acts passage puts the search for water before the move toward baptism, linking them tightly together. And the passage from 1 John proclaims that “God is Love,” flowing out and among all creation.
Commentary
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Authors’ note: the name of our ministry for the past two decades has been “Abide in Me,” taken from John 15.4. We have been seeking to live into this passage throughout the years since.
vv. 1-5: the verses form a concise chiasm (concentric pattern), flowing into and out of the center at 15.3. This unit is itself at the center of a larger chiasm covering the “Last Supper Discourse” in John 13-17:
A 13.1-32: hour, mission, glory
B 13.33-14.31: going away, Paraclete, asking in Jesus’ name, peace
C 15.1-25: the Vine and branches
B1 15.26-16.33: going away, Paraclete, asking in Jesus’ name, peace
A1 17.1-26: hour, glory, mission
As we can see, the Vine and branches unit is the center of the entire Last Supper Discourse
A v. 1: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.
B v. 2: He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
C v. 3: You have already been cleansed/pruned by the word that I have spoken to you.
B1 v. 4: Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
A1 v. 5: I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
Mediterranean viticulture requires careful attention to the growth of grape vines. If allowed to grow untended, the branches become heavy and fell over, inviting molds and pests. Untended branches also block out other branches’ access to light and water. Thus, workers would steadily prune away the less fruitful branches to maximize production.
The Greek verb kathairō means both to “cleanse” and to “prune,” making a wordplay that befits the “inner” and “outer” aspects of Jesus’ message in the Fourth Gospel. That is, disciples are “cleansed” by Jesus’ Word internally by shining the Light on other “words”—such as Roman propaganda (a form the “religion of empire,” in contrast with the “religion of creation” Jesus proclaims and embodies)—that would lead disciples away from God and God’s vision for a thriving earth community (note how it is used in this way at John 13.10-11). But also like actual vines, they are “pruned” in the sense that “fruitless” aspects are removed, to allow for more faithful fruitfulness. The totality of the Last Supper Discourse metaphorically illuminates how this process occurs in each disciple and in the community of discipleship.
Some translations render the Greek verb menō as “remain” or “stay.” But we feel strongly that “abide” better conveys what is at issue here: a living deeply connected to the Source of all Life, with the “sap” of the Spirit flowing through every cell, just as water and nutrients do in a grapevine. That is, when we are entwined in the lifegiving Vine, we are truly “home” in the deepest sense.
I, Wes, heartily admit that when working on my John commentary over three decades ago, I hit a wall at 15.5: “apart from me you can do nothing.” My whole sense of agency and empowerment felt challenged and on the line! But over the years, I've come to hear how Jesus is calling us to surrender our ego-control efforts and allow ourselves to enter into the holy flow of Life that is Jesus’ central invitation—and command! What a gift it has been to develop “ears to hear” the power and beauty of this Word.
vv. 6-8: The image of the withered branch being thrown in the fire has nothing at all to do with being “sent to hell.” Rather, it is a practical reality for vinegrowers: at least the dried branches, devoid of life, can provide heat and light for a spell! It is all part of the holy “recycling” that is the nature of earthly life.
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Perhaps it seems an odd pairing to go from Vine-and-branches to Philip and an Ethiopian eunuch on the Jerusalem-Gaza Road. Of course, at this moment in our history, even the mention of such a path evokes the horrors of the current situation in that region and the suffering of the Palestinian people. (The Greek word for “treasury” in 8.27 is gaza, only here in the New Testament.) All the more reason, however, to listen closely to this story of a non-Israelite inquiring about the Word from the prophet Isaiah.
vv. 26-29: Our story begins with an angel telling Philip to go south to the Jerusalem-Gaza Road, with no further instructions. As a chariot approaches, the Spirit tells Philip to “join” (Greek, kolletheti) the chariot. The Greek word is otherwise used consistently in Acts for joining the discipleship community (e.g., 5.13; 9.26; 10.28; 17.34). Thus, the text suggests that Philip is being sent to see if this incoming pilgrim might want to “join” the community.
The narrator notes that it is a “wilderness” (Greek, erēmos) path. This evokes memory of the Exodus from Egypt (from the south) as well as the journey out of Babylonian exile (see Isaiah 40.3). The desert throughout the Bible is a place of testing: will people rely on the Creator or seek some other source of wisdom?
vv. 30-35: Once they are joined, Philip sees that the eunuch (never named so that he remains a symbol of the Ethiopian monarchy) is reading from Isaiah. The act of reading marks the eunuch as a member of a small elite with the technical skill of reading and access to a valuable scroll, not to mention his authority over the royal treasury! He finds himself engaged with a “suffering servant” poem from Isaiah 53.7-8. The focus of the passage on someone led to slaughter and denied justice contrasts radically with the eunuch’s own status. Perhaps we can imagine him wondering: what might someone in this situation have to do with my own life? And also: what in life is truly worth treasuring? His question to Philip: of whom is the voice speaking?
Chris Paige has done some excellent work on eunuchs in antiquity having different but overlapping identities and experiences while functioning in the middle ground between male and female, traditional heterosexual marriage family and procreative arrangements of their time. While Peterson Toscano and other scholars have considered how this gender-outsider status might resonate with the Isaiah passage. Note also Ebeh-melech the Ethiopian eunuch in Jeremiah 38 and the recurring rhetorical trope of the faithful eunuch (Isaiah 56:3-5, Wisdom 3:14, Matthew 19:11-12).
Like Jesus on the Emmaus Road, Philip uses this hook to proclaim the Gospel to the eunuch, although the content of his speech is omitted. But, of course, readers know by Acts 8 what the Good News is! Luke has already provided two scenes depicting community joy-in-sharing (2.42-45; 4.31-35) and several of bold, public witness before the same people who offered up Jesus to the Romans for crucifixion. What will the eunuch do in the face of Philip’s proclamation?
vv. 36-40: The eunuch’s response is to proclaim, “Behold! Water (Greek, ‘idou hudōr)!” He is immediately moved toward engagement with creation. Note that he first sees the water, then asks rhetorically, “what is to prevent me from being baptized?” It is not the other way around: “I want to be baptized; where’s the water?” The eunuch on the “Treasure Road” discovers an entirely different form of “treasure,” one that transforms his entire being from the inside out.
Unlike some baptisms today where a bit of water is sprinkled over the forehead of an infant, this is full immersion: he “steps down into the water” where he is baptized. Luke shows us clearly here that it in and through earth that we experience communion with the Creator and one another, just as the image of being part of the Vine does in our passage from John.
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This is the only of the three supposed “Johannine” letters in the New Testament that is clearly from the same author as the Gospel of John. A key link is the abundant use of the Greek words for intense love: the verb, agapaō, and the noun, agapē. In this short text, the noun is used eighteen times and the verb twenty-eight times!
vv. 7-10: The author could hardly be more explicit than in 4.8: “God is love.” Can we imagine what the world would be like if all who claimed biblical faith sought to live love in all things? And yet, nothing could be more obviously at the heart of the message than this.
Agapē/agapaō are part of a set of words that can be rendered “love” in English. Eros—the physical draw to be present to other people—is never used in the New Testament. Philea—the love of “friends” (= philos) is also part of Jesus’ message (John 15.13-15, just after the Vine-and-branches). But here in the letter, agapē/agapaō is the focus, pointing to the deepest “love” of all: a love willing to lay down life for friends, a willingness always to put the needs of the other before one’s own.
This kind of “love” brings us back to “the beginning.” Both John’s gospel and the book of Genesis start the same way: “in the beginning.” In Genesis 1, we hear the joyful celebration of the Creator calling all things “Good!” Thus, we know that the author of 1 John understands all creation and its creatures to be within the scope of the flow of divine Love.
vv. 11-16: The author continues by offering his own witness, expressed through “confession”—homologeō—a public declaration of one’s beliefs (e.g. John 1.20; 9.22; 12.42). Here, the author expresses his own commitment—while calling his audience to imitate it—to Jesus as “son of God,” a title that put Jesus in competition with the emperor, also called “son of [a] god.” But for Jesus’ and his followers, only the Creator is truly God, and all disciples are called to become God’s children, of whatever gender (John 1.11-13).
vv. 17-21: The passage concludes with a confrontation: Love vs. fear. Many translations render Greek telios as “perfect,” which is incredibly misleading. Much better is “completed” or “mature” (see also Matthew 5.48) : a love that has reached maturity, like an adult tree, and is able to bear fruit. That is, it is not like the “test anxiety” that calls for a perfect score on an exam, but a gradual, steady process of growth and maturing that shapes each disciple into what God intended all along: that we all embody the fulfilling “image and likeness” of the Creator (Genesis 1.27-28).
Preaching and Teaching Resources
A Living Branch
Mediterranean viticulture requires careful attention to the growth of grape vines. If allowed to grow untended, the branches become heavy and fell over, inviting molds and pests. Untended branches also block out other branches’ access to light and water. Thus, workers would steadily prune away the less fruitful branches to maximize production.
The Greek verb kathairō means both to “cleanse” and to “prune,” making a wordplay that befits the “inner” and “outer” aspects of Jesus’ message in the Fourth Gospel. That is, disciples are “cleansed” by Jesus’ Word internally by shining the Light on other “words”—such as Roman propaganda (a form the “religion of empire,” in contrast with the “religion of creation” Jesus proclaims and embodies)—that would lead disciples away from God and God’s vision for a thriving earth community (note how it is used in this way at John 13.10-11). But also like actual vines, they are “pruned” in the sense that “fruitless” aspects are removed, to allow for more faithful fruitfulness.
The image of the withered branch being thrown in the fire has nothing at all to do with being “sent to hell.” Rather, it is a practical reality for vinegrowers: at least the dried branches, devoid of life, can provide heat and light for a spell! It is all part of the holy “recycling” that is the nature of earthly life.
The image of being part of the Vine shows that it is through earth that we experience communion with the Creator and one another.
What does it feel like to be a living branch in the Vine? Consider the Hebrew relationship among “blood” (dam), soil (‘adamah), and humanity (‘adam) as described in Genesis 2. What would it be like to see our blood as “sap” that flows from the Creator through the earth and through our very cells?
If one truly abides in the Vine (Jesus), he tells us to “ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” How does this passage invite us to a more focused and inclusive prayer life? That is, for what might we ask “in Jesus’ name” if we are living as branches in the Vine? It should be clear that if we ask from a place of entwinement in the Vine, we will not be asking for trivial things like more money or personal fame, but for the essential things, like a deeper capacity for Love. In other words, asking for how to bear more fruit!
Engaging the Word with Others
John 15:3 says, “You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.” The Greek verb kathairō means both to “cleanse” and to “prune,” making a wordplay that befits the “inner” and “outer” aspects of Jesus’ message in the Fourth Gospel. That is, disciples are “cleansed” by Jesus’ Word internally by shining the Light on other “words”—such as Roman propaganda (a form the “religion of empire,” in contrast with the “religion of creation” Jesus proclaims and embodies)—that would lead disciples away from God and God’s vision for a thriving earth community (note how it is used in this way at John 13.10-11).
Many have been turned off by “evangelists” who seek to impose their version of Jesus on others. How might we grow as “eco-evangelists” in proclaiming and witnessing to God’s care for water that sustains all that lives without dishonoring others’ freedom?
Love versus Fear
1 John is the only of the three supposed “Johannine” letters in the New Testament that is clearly from the same author as the Gospel of John. A key link is the abundant use of the Greek words for intense love: the verb, agapaō, and the noun, agapē. In this short text, the noun is used eighteen times and the verb twenty-eight times!
Verse 1 John 4.8 says “God is love.” Can we imagine what the world would be like if all who claimed biblical faith sought to live love in all things? And yet, nothing could be more obviously at the heart of the message than this.
The passage concludes with a confrontation: Love vs. fear. Many translations render Greek telios as “perfect,” which is incredibly misleading. Much better is “completed” or “mature” (see also Matthew 5.48): a love that has reached maturity, like an adult tree, and is able to bear fruit. That is, it is not like the “test anxiety” that calls for a perfect score on an exam, but a gradual, steady process of growth and maturing that shapes each disciple into what God intended all along: that we all embody the fulfilling “image and likeness” of the Creator (Genesis 1.27-28).
“Complete love casts out fear.” How does one’s practice of agapē become “complete”? What does “complete love” look like in real life? How is it inclusive of all God’s creatures?
Water and Baptism
The narrator in Acts notes that the eunuch and Philip meet on a “wilderness” (Greek, erēmos) path. This evokes memory of the Exodus from Egypt (from the south) as well as the journey out of Babylonian exile (see Isaiah 40.3). The desert throughout the Bible is a place of testing: will people rely on the Creator or seek some other source of wisdom?
vv. 36-40: The eunuch proclaims, “Behold! Water (Greek, ‘idou hudōr)!” He is immediately moved toward engagement with creation. Note that he first sees the water, then asks rhetorically, “what is to prevent me from being baptized?” It is not the other way around: “I want to be baptized; where’s the water?” The eunuch on the “Treasure Road” discovers an entirely different form of “treasure,” one that transforms his entire being from the inside out.
Unlike some baptisms today where a bit of water is sprinkled over the forehead of an infant, this is full immersion: the eunuch “steps down into the water” where he is baptized. Luke shows us clearly here that it is in water and through earth that we experience communion with the Creator and one another.
Sources and Resources
Wes Howard-Brook, Becoming Children of God: John’s Gospel and Radical Discipleship (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1994; reprint, Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2003).
Wes Howard-Brook, “Come Out, My People!:” God’s Call Out of Empire In the Bible and Beyond (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2010).
Wes Howard-Brook, Radical Bible Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@radicalbible
Chris Paige, “Two Ethiopian Eunuchs: Jeremiah 38:1-13 and Acts 8:26-40” Chapter 15 OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation, OtherWise Engaged Publishing, 2019.
Chris Paige, “Reading the Bible as a Trans-affirming Ally” Radical Discipleship https://radicaldiscipleship.net/2019/10/29/reading-the-bible-as-a-trans-affirming-ally/
Jim Perkinson, “God in a Grape; Spirit in a Sheep,” Radical Discipleship https://radicaldiscipleship.net/2018/05/06/god-in-a-grape-spirit-in-a-sheep/
Matthew Syrdal Wild Vine, Radical Discipleship https://radicaldiscipleship.net/2018/04/26/wild-lectionary-wild-vine/
Contributor Bios
Wes Howard-Brook and Sue Ferguson Johnson share the ministry, Abide in Me (John 15), seeking to interweave the mystical and prophetic, the personal and the political, the human and the nonhuman in the name of Jesus https://www.abideinme.net/ . Wes and Sue have been teaching and writing on the Bible for nearly 40 years. Sue is a spiritual director for individuals and groups. Wes, after 20 years teaching at Seattle University, retired in 2021 to create the “Radical Bible” YouTube channel, a free, word-by-word, video commentary on the Bible (https://www.youtube.com/@radicalbible). They dwell in the Issaquah Creek Watershed, traditional and unceded land of the Issaquah Band of the Snoqualmie people. They are blessed to have three of their five adult children and three of their four grandchildren in the same watershed.