John spends a lot of time recording Jesus’ teaching during his final week. Jesus has spent about three years gathering disciples, that is people who emulate his lifestyle and teaching.
Now Jesus sees that the end is near. All of the various political/religious factions that had something to fear or to lose because of him have now come together in one massive conspiracy.
Many people think Christ is Jesus’ last name. But it was a title. We use Christ, which is derived from the Greek for “anointed one” which in turn was a translation of the Hebrew Messiah, “the anointed one.” What were you anointed for? As King of the Jews.
So, Rome in the person of Pilate did not want a King to rise up. The Pharisees didn’t agree with Jesus view of holiness. The Sadducees who wanted collaboration with Rome as a strategy for the survival of the Temple and the nation, didn’t like the way he stirred up the crowds. In fact, the crowds wanted someone to lead them to victory over the Romans.
The only way out was for Jesus to die. So, he had to prepare his disciples for life after him. It is interesting that several times he tells them to bear fruit. Jesus himself didn’t travel over about 30 miles during his ministry. After he is gone, each disciple will multiply Jesus’ ministry and reach thousands all over the known world.
We are part of that legacy. Because they each went to work forming communities of believers, and the communities begat new communities, we are now followers of Jesus.
And our job is to continue to bear fruit, because there will always be those whose life has strayed and needs the love and power of Jesus. It’s up to us to do the work begun by Jesus’ death.
Faith Venture 
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