Jesus Is the True Vine

John 15 Jesus said to his disciples:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts away every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit. But he trims clean every branch that does produce fruit, so that it will produce even more fruit. ³You are already clean because of what I have said to you.

⁴Stay joined to me, and I will stay joined to you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit unless it stays joined to the vine, you cannot produce fruit unless you stay joined to me. ⁵I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you cannot do anything without me. ⁶If you don't stay joined to me, you will be thrown away. You will be like dry branches that are gathered up and burned in a fire.

⁷Stay joined to me and let my teachings become part of you. Then you can pray for whatever you want, and your prayer will be answered. ⁸When you become fruitful disciples of mine, my Father will be honored. ⁹I have loved you, just as my Father has loved me. So remain faithful to my love for you. ¹⁰If you obey me, I will keep loving you, just as my Father keeps loving me, because I have obeyed him.

¹¹I have told you this to make you as completely happy as I am. ¹²Now I tell you to love each other, as I have loved you. ¹³The greatest way to show love for friends is to die for them. ¹⁴And you are my friends, if you obey me. ¹⁵Servants don't know what their master is doing, and so I don't speak to you as my servants. I speak to you as my friends, and I have told you everything that my Father has told me.

¹⁶You did not choose me. I chose you and sent you out to produce fruit, the kind of fruit that will last. Then my Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name. ¹⁷So I command you to love each other.

The World's Hatred

¹⁸If the people of this world hate you, just remember that they hated me first. ¹⁹If you belonged to the world, its people would love you. But you don't belong to the world. I have chosen you to leave the world behind, and that is why its people hate you. ²⁰Remember how I told you that servants are not greater than their master. So if people mistreat me, they will mistreat you. If they do what I say, they will do what you say.

²¹People will do to you exactly what they did to me. They will do it because you belong to me, and they don't know the one who sent me. ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have no excuse for their sin.

²³Everyone who hates me also hates my Father. ²⁴I have done things that no one else has ever done. If they had not seen me do these things, they would not be guilty. But they did see me do these things, and they still hate me and my Father too. ²⁵That is why the Scriptures are true when they say, "People hated me for no reason."

²⁶I will send you the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit will help you and will tell you about me. ²⁷Then you will also tell others about me, because you have been with me from the beginning.

John 16 I am telling you this to keep you from being afraid. ²You will be chased out of the Jewish meeting places. And the time will come when people will kill you and think they are doing God a favor. ³They will do these things because they don't know either the Father or me. ⁴I am saying this to you now, so that when the time comes, you will remember what I have said.

Jehoiada Makes Joash King of Judah
(2 Kings 11.4-21)

2 Chronicles 23 After Ahaziah's son Joash had hidden in the temple for six years, Jehoiada the priest knew that something had to be done. So he made sure he had the support of several army officers. They were Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri. ²These five men went to the towns in Judah and called together the Levites and the clan leaders. They all came to Jerusalem ³and gathered at the temple, where they agreed to help Joash.
Jehoiada said to them:

Joash will be our next king, because long ago the LORD promised that one of David's descendants would always be king. ⁴Here is what we will do. Three groups of priests and Levites will be on guard duty on the Sabbath--one group will guard the gates of the temple, ⁵one will guard the palace, and the other will guard Foundation Gate. The rest of you will stand guard in the temple courtyards. ⁶Only the priests and Levites who are on duty will be able to enter the temple, because they will be the only ones who have gone through the ceremony to make themselves clean and acceptable. The others must stay outside in the courtyards, just as the LORD has commanded. ⁷You Levites must protect King Joash. Don't let him out of your sight! And keep your swords ready to kill anyone who comes into the temple.

⁸The Levites and the people of Judah followed Jehoiada's orders. The guards going off duty were not allowed to go home, and so each commander had all his guards available--those going off duty as well as those coming on duty. ⁹Jehoiada went into the temple and brought out the swords and shields that had belonged to King David, and he gave them to the commanders. ¹⁰They gave the weapons to the guards, and Jehoiada then made sure that the guards took their positions around the temple and the altar to protect the king on every side.
¹¹Jehoiada and his sons brought Joash outside, where they placed the crown on his head and gave him a copy of the instructions for ruling the nation. Olive oil was poured on his head to show that he was now king, and the crowd cheered and shouted, "Long live the king!"
¹²As soon as Queen Athaliah heard the crowd cheering for Joash, she went to the temple. ¹³There she saw Joash standing by one of the columns near the entrance, which was the usual place for the king. The commanders and the trumpet players were standing next to him, and the musicians were playing instruments and leading the people as they celebrated and blew trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes in anger and shouted, "You betrayed me, you traitors!"
¹⁴Right away, Jehoiada said to the army commanders, "Don't kill her near the LORD's temple. Take her out in front of the troops, and be sure to kill all of her followers!" ¹⁵She tried to escape, but the commanders caught and killed her near the gate where horses are led into the palace.
¹⁶Jehoiada asked King Joash and the people to join with him in being faithful to the LORD. They agreed, ¹⁷then rushed to the temple of the god Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and the idols and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.
¹⁸Jehoiada assigned the priests and Levites their duties at the temple, just as David had done. They were in charge of offering sacrifices to the LORD according to the Law of Moses, and they were responsible for leading the celebrations with singing. ¹⁹Jehoiada ordered the guards at the temple gates to keep out anyone who was unclean.
²⁰Finally, Jehoiada called together the army commanders, the most important citizens of Judah, and the government officials. The crowd of people followed them as they led Joash from the temple, through the Upper Gate, and into the palace, where he took his place as king of Judah. ²¹Everyone celebrated because Athaliah had been killed and Jerusalem was peaceful again.

Psalm 80
[A psalm by Asaph for the music leader. To the tune "Lilies of the Agreement."]
Help Our Nation

¹Shepherd of Israel, you lead the descendants of Joseph,
and you sit on your throne
above the winged creatures.
Listen to our prayer and let your light shine
²for the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Save us by your power.

³Our God, make us strong again! Smile on us and save us.

⁴LORD God All-Powerful, how much longer
will the prayers of your people make you angry?
⁵You gave us tears for food,
and you made us drink them by the bowlful.
⁶Because of you, our enemies who live nearby
laugh and joke about us.
⁷But if you smile on us, we will be saved.

⁸We were like a grapevine you brought out of Egypt.
You chased other nations away and planted us here.
⁹Then you cleared the ground,
and we put our roots deep, spreading over the land.
¹⁰Shade from this vine covered the mountains. Its branches
climbed the mighty cedars ¹¹and stretched to the sea;
its new growth reached to the river.

¹²Our Lord, why have you torn down the wall
from around the vineyard?
You let everyone who walks by pick the grapes.
¹³Now the vine is gobbled down by pigs from the forest
and other wild animals.

¹⁴God All-Powerful, please do something!
Look down from heaven and see what's happening
to this vine.
¹⁵With your own hands you planted its roots,
and you raised it as your very own.

¹⁶Enemies chopped the vine down and set it on fire.
Now show your anger and destroy them.
¹⁷But help the one who sits at your right side,
the one you raised to be your own.
¹⁸Then we will never turn away.
Put new life into us, and we will worship you.

¹⁹LORD God All-Powerful, make us strong again!
Smile on us and save us.