Jesus, Our Friend: A Study of John 15:9-17

By Rob O’Lynn

Before any gathering, it’s important to set the table correctly. Not only should the plates and cutlery be appropriate for the meal, the food should resonate with the theme of the meal. Focaccia is wonderful when it’s homemade; however it doesn’t connect with Korean barbecue. If you intend the setting to be quiet and relaxed, Queen’s Night at the Opera, while one of the greatest albums ever recorded, might not be the correct choice. To provide the best meal possible, everything must align with purpose and intention. 

The same is true with biblical study. If we engage in the deep study of Scripture, we do not just open up to a text and immediately ask ourselves what God is trying to say to us here. Context matters because knowing the context determines how we read the text and how the text reads us. Thus, when we turn to the Gospel of John, we need to set the table correctly. First, the fourth gospel does not play by the same set of rules as the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. John comes from a single stream of material, given by a single eyewitness, and is (largely) independent of the other gospels. The Synoptics portray Jesus as one who preaches about forgiveness and God’s kingdom, and who exorcises demons, performs miracles, and tells stories. However, this is not the portrayal of Jesus in John’s gospel. We have a community that is downstream from Jesus’ time who is grappling with the meaning of who Jesus is and what he wants from his disciples during a time of great persecution. The Jesus of John’s Gospel offers signs that point people to God and messages of reassurance (the “I am” statements) that confirm the meaning of the signs. This mostly covers chapters 1-12. 

Then comes a truly unique portion of the fourth gospel—chapters 13-21, which is traditionally referred to as the Johannine Passion Narrative. Beginning with Jesus washing the disciples’ feet at the Passover meal (there is no institution of Communion in John’s Gospel), we see an incredibly intimate recounting of Jesus’ final instruction, the move to the Mount of Olives, Jesus’ agony in the garden, his arrest and trial, his death, and the glory of his resurrection. It is in this section of the fourth gospel that we find our text  

I invite you to read John 15:9-17 in your translation of choice, mine being the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. 

Again, context—setting the table—is important. Depending on which translation you are reading from, 15:9-11 is either part of 15:1-8 (e.g., ESV, NASB2020, NRSVUE) or 15:12-17 (e.g., NA28 [the Greek text], NIV2011, NLT). This matters because it demonstrates a choice made by the translators of the Bible that you are reading from as to what they think 15:9-11 connects to. What meaning or message is being conveyed? As I mentioned, I prefer the NRSVUE, which connects 15:9-11 to 15:1-8, so let us begin there. It is important to note that “abide” (μένω, meno, can also mean “remain” or “dwell”), one of John’s favorite words, occurs 11 times in this passage. This builds on what Jesus says in John 14, especially places like 14:10 and 20, where Jesus announces that he is how all disciples will connect with God because he abides in us through the Spirit.  

This leads Jesus to share the final “I am” statement—that Jesus is the vine. The vine was a regular symbol for Israel, both positive and negative (cf., Isaiah 5:1-7, 27:2-6; Jeremiah 2:21; Ezekiel 15:1-8, 19:10-14; Hosea 10:1-2), and the specific action taken by the vinegrower (God) is that of cleansing (καθαρίζω, katharizo), or washing in a way that purifies one from all uncleanliness. This was Jesus’ earlier point to Peter about only needing to wash his feet. Although he did not recognize the change, being with Jesus had cleansed Peter (13:6-10). This is language of the cross that compels us to abide in Jesus so that we may be faithful. The cross is the place where God’s nature becomes clear in human history. The church can do nothing apart from Jesus just as Jesus can do nothing apart from God (15:5; cf., 5:19, 30; 2 Corinthians 3:5). Thus, Jesus ends 15:1-8 with a word about prayer. This is not a “blank check” for prayer, but a word about mission. To John, love for one another and a desire for mission are inseparable. The “abiding” that glorifies God is continuing in the character, nature, and mission of God.  

This brings us, now, to our text of John 15:9-17, and our theme of friendship with Jesus. Going back to what we noted earlier about how this text is structured in our Bibles, I think it is safe to say that 15:9-11 is a transitional text, segueing from the paroimia (παροιμία; “proverb”) of 15:1-8 to the commentary on the parable of 15:12-17, a structure similar to Mark 4:1-20. Alicia D. Myers, in Reading John and 1, 2, 3 John: A Literary and Theological Commentary, notes that 15:9-11 begins the explanation of the paroimia in 15:1-8, and ultimately emphasizes the love command (13:34-35). Thus, the complex nature of 15:9-10 includes “layered parallelism” that emphasizes the meaning of the paroimia, being that “the interdependence of Jesus, the Father, and the disciples” is meant to give them “joy” even as they suffer for Jesus. 

As we move to the second half of the passage (15:12-17), we should notice the structure of the passage. While not entirely a true chiasm, Charles H. Talbert, in Reading John: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles, is correct in noting the “frame” that 15:12 and 15:17 form, which frames Jesus’ explanation of the love that he has for the disciples. This explanation is built on two major ideas in this passage. First, the love that Jesus has for the disciples is the kind of love that is willing to die for a friend (φίλος, philos; 15:13; cf., 1 John 3:16). The image of being a friend of God courses through the Hebrew scriptures. For example, when God comes down from Sinai to speak with Moses at the tent of meeting, God does so “face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (Exodus 33:11). Also, when God puts the nations on trial to answer the question of who really writes history, God calls “the offspring of Abraham, my friend” as a character witness to God’s compassion and faithfulness (Isaiah 41:8-10; cf., Genesis 12:1-3; 2 Chronicles 20:7; Jas 2:23). This idea is even seen in the writings of ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Epictetus, with perhaps Plato saying it best—“Love will make men dare to die for their beloved—love alone; and women as well as men.” 

In this way, Jesus serves as both our “example” (ὑπόδειγμα, hypodeigma; 13:15) and our connection to God. In laying aside his cloak to take up the towel to wash the disciples’ feet (13:4), Jesus subtly demonstrates that he is the Good Shepherd, the one who lays down his life for the sheep (10:11). Love, as defined as friendship with Jesus and God through Jesus, is not sentimental but ultimately realized in the cross. Jesus is not one seeking military or political power but trusts implicitly in God because in giving up of his physical life (ψυχή, psuche) for the redemption of humanity God promised to return his eternal life (ζωή, zoe) to him (10:18). With this reiteration of the love command (cf., 13:34-35), Jesus is announcing that the ethic of his kingdom will be one of love. 

Second, the love that Jesus has for the disciples is a kind of love that knows and is known by the other (15:14-15). In words that harken back to John’s beautifully poetic prologue (cf., 1:16-18), Jesus reminds the disciples that friends have intimate access to one another. One of the key exegetical parts of this passage is Jesus’ use of the word δούλους (doulous), which literally means “slaves” and is translated as such in the NASB2020 and NLT, but the softer “servants” is used in the ESV, NIV and NRSVUE. While not quite the same as the form of chattel slavery practiced in colonial America, the stain of one human being owned by another, even if only in a casual fashion, is still implied here. Slaves (servants, if you prefer) do not always know the master’s business—even if they are as beloved as Downton Abbey’s Carson or Mrs. Hughes.  

Friends, however, while “they were not necessarily of equal standing,” according to Myers, have a greater awareness of each other because “they were assumed to have some agency in showing loyalty or love.” In his usual didactic fashion, Jesus both operationalizes and subverts the traditional understanding of friendship in the ancient world. He speaks “frankly”  (παρρησία, parresia) with the disciples throughout the gospel—especially in the Passion Narrative—a trait praised by ancient philosophers such as Plutarch and Seneca when discussing friendship. He subverts convention through the continued use of fruit-bearing imagery. Abiding in Jesus (literally, Jesus’ house) produces fruit which makes us friends with Jesus. As R. Alan Culpepper notes in The Gospel and Letters of John, the final verses of the passage provide as “a commentary on the meaning of bearing fruit” and this commentary is “an interpretation of the new command and the allegory of the vine” (cf., 3 John 15). With the closing references to mission in 15:16-17, Jesus offers an invitation to trust God as the message of the cross is proclaimed. The cross is not a tactic; it is the revelation of God’s nature and is the message for the church. Thus the revelation of God has been made complete through the Incarnation. 

There is so much more that I would like to talk about, like the background of the hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, or which Queen song popped in my head when I received the kind invitation to write this article. I would have liked to spend a few moments reflecting on C. S. Lewis’ concept of friendship from The Four Loves. But, alas, as the walrus said to the carpenter, the time has come. So, as we conclude, remember that the table is set. The meal is simple, only a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine. Yet, our Friend welcomes us to the table and asks only that we love one another as he has loved us. 

Rob O’Lynn is Associate Professor of Preaching and Ministry, Kentucky Christian University, Grayson, Kentucky.