John 15:11Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Christ now teaches the disciples the same thing. He expressed His love for them, and they rejoiced in Him. But since the coming Passion and sorrowful words were about to cut short their joy, He spoke sufficiently with them and consoled them. Then He says, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

That is, so that you may not fall away from Me and may not cut short your course. You rejoiced in Me, and rejoiced greatly, but now you have fallen into sorrow. Therefore, so that your joy may reach its end, I destroy this sorrow. I show you that you should not grieve over the present events, but rejoice.

I saw that you were scandalized, yet I did not neglect you. I did not say, “Why are you losing courage?” Instead I spoke what could bring you consolation. Thus I always wish to preserve you in the same love. You heard of the kingdom and rejoiced. I have said this to you, that your joy may be fulfilled.

Therefore, when the Apostles were trembling, perhaps frightened by hearing of terrible things, and benumbed before the trial of future evils, He deems it most profitable to restore their courage. Leaving sorrowful words behind, He speaks to them of joy in God.

He says, as it were: My disciples, I am not now speaking to you in order to stir up cowardice in you, or to terrify you by the uncertainty of the future. I do not wish to see you already crushed beforehand by coming evil and timid in doing good.

Rather, I speak so that the opposite may be true, and that you may have My joy, or that “My joy may abide in you.”

But what this means, and what Christ wishes to teach us through it, must, I think, be examined more precisely.

It must be understood in two ways. Or, in a sense that contains nothing unusual, it may be interpreted thus: that you may have joy concerning Me, or toward Me.

You yourselves will be able to attain such joy by your own strength, when you understand the reward of blessings above the world, the future recompense for your labors, and the greatness of glory with God.

Or else, since He has in view and means something else, let us not delay in coming to a deeper contemplation. For I think we must seek with all our strength, in a pious manner, the aim of the whole contemplation.

What, then, does the expression mean: “That My joy may be in you”? Is it not that the Only-begotten became like us, that is, man, yet without sin?

He resolved to endure and suffer all that the accursed madness of the Jews forced Him to experience.

Thus we find Him subjected to insults, pursued, dishonored with bitter reproaches, spat upon, struck on the cheek, scourged, and finally, for our sake and on our behalf, nailed to the cross.

Amid all these terrible torments, He did not fall into sorrow. Nor did He fear to endure dishonorable sufferings according to the divine economy.

Rather, He was filled with the gladness and joy befitting Him, as He beheld the multitude of those being saved and the will of God the Father being fulfilled.

Therefore He turned dishonor into joy, and counted sufferings as delight.

Though many unheard-of and insolent insults were directed against Him, we find it written of Him that then Jesus “rejoiced in the Spirit and said: I confess to Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them to babes. Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing before Thee” (Lk 10:21).

Do you hear that, when He beheld those once babes and without understanding made wise, He rejoiced and exulted through the Spirit? He, as it were, offered up joy on our behalf to the Father who saves.

Again, when He passed through the country of Samaria and was wearied “from the journey,” as it is written, “He sat by the well” of Jacob (Jn 4:6).

When the woman, the γύναιον, pointed out to Him the need to draw water, He spoke to her fittingly and awaited the Samaritan people who were to come. Then He appeared to disregard even necessary food.

What did He say to the disciples, who urged Him to take food? “My food is to do the will of My Father and to accomplish His work” (Jn 4:34).

Is it not clear from this also that He regarded the fulfillment of the Father’s desires as gladness and joy for Himself? That means the raising to salvation of those who had fallen into perdition. This is beyond doubt.

Therefore He says: “I speak all this to you so that My joy may be in you.” That is, so that you may desire to rejoice only in that in which I also rejoice.

You must be courageous in struggles and girded with hope for those being saved. If you must suffer anything for this, do not fall into inactive carelessness.

Rather, rejoice then all the more, since through you also the will is fulfilled of Him “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4).

In this I also rejoiced, and I counted the labors most pleasant.

Therefore, He says, when you resolve to have the “joy” which I deemed fitting for Myself, then you will have it complete and whole.

Indeed, we consider that “joy” fullest and most perfect which is in God, for God, and concerning good works. This is because of the firmness and unchangeableness of hope, and because it concerns things in which not only we but Jesus Himself was pleased to delight.

We call worldly joy imperfect because it proves unstable and is directed toward what it should not be, namely worldly things, which vanish like phantoms and shadows.

Likewise we call that hatred perfect which arises in us justly and rightly toward something. Thus blessed David says of the opponents of the glory of God: “With perfect hatred I have hated them” (Ps 138:22).

And we call that love perfect which makes those who have chosen it in God and for God give themselves wholly to God, and not to any earthly and worthless things.

Therefore He had perfect joy concerning us when He rejoiced, foreknowing and predestining.

There could be no fear in His joy that what He foreknew He would accomplish might not come to pass.

You have just heard, beloved, what the Lord said to His disciples: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may abide in you, and that your joy may be full.”

What is Christ’s joy in us, except that He graciously willed to rejoice over us?

And what is our joy, which He called full, except to have fellowship with Him?

In this sense He said to blessed Peter: “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me” (Jn 13:8).

His joy in us, then, is the grace which He granted us. It is also our joy.

But He rejoiced over it already from eternity, when He chose us before the creation of the world. Cf. Eph 1:4.

We cannot at all assert that His joy was not full, for it cannot be that the joy of God was ever imperfect.

Yet that joy of His did not abide in us, because we, in whom it could be, did not yet exist.

And when we began to exist, we had not yet begun to be with Him.

But it was always in Him, who, in the infallible truth of His foreknowledge, rejoiced that they would become His disciples.

Therefore He already had perfect joy with regard to us, when He rejoiced over us in foreknowledge and predestination.

There could be no fear in that joy of His, lest it suddenly happen that what He had predestined would not be fulfilled.

Yet when He began to accomplish what He foreknew would be accomplished by Him, His joy, in which He is blessed, did not increase.

Otherwise He would have become more blessed by creating us.

But no, brethren. Since the blessedness of God was not less without us, it did not become greater because of us.

Therefore His joy over our salvation was always in Him, from the moment He foreknew and predestined us.

It began to abide in us when He called us. We rightly call this joy ours, because in it we also shall be blessed.

But this joy of ours grows, is strengthened, and continually advances toward its perfection.

Thus it takes its beginning in the faith of those reborn, and will be made perfect in the reward of those raised.

And so I think this is why the following was spoken: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may abide in you, and that your joy may be full.”

That is: let My joy abide in you, and let yours be made full.

For Mine was always full, even before you were called. It was already full in the foreknowledge that you would be called by Me.

But let it abide in you also, when you become what I foresaw you would be.

Yet it is said, “let your joy be full,” because you will be blessed as you are not yet blessed. This is like your having been created, though before you did not exist.

The motive for this, for the Apostles, should be that fulfilling Christ’s commandments out of love for Him, and the consciousness that one abides in His love, constitute blessedness and true joy for the believer. This is the joy that fills the spirit of Jesus Christ, His “My joy,” because of His consciousness of unity with God the Father in essence and life.

This very joy, unshaken by any outward circumstances of life, He communicates to those who believe in Him and fulfill His commandments. The more His disciples are filled with love for Him, the more He will communicate to them the joy which He Himself enjoys. The more perfect their joy will be.

“I am the true Vine, and My Father is the vine-dresser... and you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing” (vv. 1, 5). “As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides on the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (v. 4).

“And every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He,” God the Father, “takes away. Every branch that bears fruit He cleanses, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean through the word which I have spoken to you” (vv. 2-3).

Further, the Lord Jesus Christ exhorts the Apostles always to abide in this communion and love with Him. The means for this is the fulfillment of Christ’s commandments. Then, “whatever you desire, ask, and it shall be done for you... These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may abide in you, and that your joy may be full.”

“And your joy may be fulfilled.” His joy in Himself is always full, but the joy of His disciples can be completed. It can grow and pass through different degrees until it reaches its fullness.

The joy of the Son of God is the highest and purest joy. It is blessedness. Therefore He desires that believers should find joy in fulfilling the commandments of the heavenly Father, and should nurture this joy in themselves to full blessedness.

We can verify by our own experience that fulfilling the will of the heavenly Father is true, better, and lofty joy. For gratifying lusts and serving passions brings the heart only sorrow and remorse.

O heavenly Love, preserve in us that holy faithfulness to Thee which Thou desirest to preserve in us. We so often betray Thee. Every hour, every minute, we betray Thee. Cover us, heavenly Love, and give us who are weak strength to preserve faithfulness to Thee, unto Thy glory. Amen.

Here the unity of being of God the Father and God the Son is revealed. The love of God for the God-man and the love of the God-man for those who believe in Him are one love of God for man. God fully assumed man’s nature, with body and soul. He was revealed to mortals in the second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity, yet He is undivided from the Father and the Holy Spirit.

The Son of God, who reveals God, assumed the human spirit and flesh. He is also the mediating Intercessor between God and man. He is Love, for it is said: “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8).

God loved through the Son, and man cannot love God except through the Son of God. The Son of God reveals the love of God.

In the form of man, the Son of God fulfills the commandments of the heavenly Father on earth. In keeping them, the love that unites the God-man with the invisible God is expressed, for the thought of God is one. According to this majestic image, man too must strive, by uniting his thought with the commandments of Christ the Savior, to abide in the love of Him, the Redeemer and Lord. He must remember that He speaks eternally: “I have loved you; abide in My love.”

Man did not first love God. Rather, without any merit of man, who was sunk in sin, He first loved man, redeemed him, and left us a commandment that is not burdensome: “Abide in My love.”

Let us not answer this love as the Jews did, or as Judas did. In this love the Lord also grants the highest joy. What constituted the joys of the ancient world, both Jewish and pagan? Earthly pleasures, vanity, and material enjoyments.

Could man by his own powers rise to the contemplation of spiritual joys, or even understand their greatness and sweetness? No, we answer, and so did the whole pagan world. It became exhausted and came to despair beneath the weight of pleasures. Then it cast itself into the embrace of Christianity when Christianity opened to it the mysteries of rest and pure love.

God alone could open to man the treasury of imperishable and eternal joys, founded on love for God and on the fulfillment of the commandments given by our Savior and God. “My joy will be in you,” says the Lord.

The joy given by the Lord to the disciples is eternal joy, but it must be “fulfilled” in them. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be fulfilled.” Joy must be fulfilled, that is, receive fullness. It must grow as love strengthens, as one draws near to God, and as one approaches the reward prepared by God for those who love Him (1 Cor 2:9; Isa 64:4; cf. Jas 1:12).