The Farewell Discourse 

Jesus’ farewell discourse took place on Thursday evening, April 6, 30 CE, following the last supper in the upper room of the Mark home. The apostles were still standing after the singing of Psalm 118, but Jesus asked them to sit down while he spoke further to them.

In his discourse, Jesus foretold his departure and introduced a new commandment: to love one another as he loved them. He compared himself to a vine, his followers as branches, emphasizing unity and bearing spiritual fruit. Jesus encouraged prayer aligned with God's will. He warned of worldly hostility and assured his presence through the coming Spirit of Truth. Jesus affirmed his identity as the way to the Father, promising that those who knew him would find the way to eternal life.

At the conclusion of the last supper in the upper room, the apostles were ready to leave, but Jesus asked them to sit back down so he could talk further to them. He asked them to remember how he sent them out to preach the gospel without any money or food, depending on the kindness of those to whom they would minister; and he reminded them that they never lacked for anything. He then warned them that the times had changed; they could no longer rely on such ministries from the multitudes. So, when they went out now, they should be sure to take whatever they might need along with them.

Next, he told them that the time had come when he would no longer be with them. He was going to a place where they could not follow just then; they had to wait until their work on earth was finished, and then he would receive them there, just as the heavenly Father was going to receive him very soon.

Jesus told the eleven apostles that he wished to give them a new commandment that would define how they were to love one another. He reminded them of the commandment that said “love one another even as you love yourself.” But then he said that he wanted them to go further than even that sincere devotion for one another. He wanted them to “love one another even as I have loved you. And by this will all men know that you are my disciples if you thus love one another.”

He continued by telling them that this new commandment was not meant to be a burden; instead this new commandment would bring them great joy and pleasure. He said that he was about to experience supreme joy through the trials that he was about to undergo; that even though he would endure outward sorrow, that the bestowal of his sincere affection upon them and all other mortals was a great joy for him.

Jesus said: “When I invite you to love one another, even as I have loved you, I hold up before you the supreme measure of true affection, for greater love can no man have than this: that he will lay down his life for his friends. And you are my friends; you will continue to be my friends if you are willing to do what I have taught you. You have called me Master, but I do not call you servants. If you will only love one another as I am loving you, you shall be my friends, and I will ever speak to you of that which the Father reveals to me.”

He told these apostles that while they had chosen him, he had also chosen them; he had ordained them to live their lives as he had lived his – in loving service to others and revealing the love of the Father to all people. He promised that he and the heavenly Father would work with each of them, and that they would also experience divine joy if they would obey this new commandment to love each other as he has loved them.

To partake of the Master's joy, one must also partake of his love. Sharing his love implies sharing in his acts of service. This profound encounter with love doesn't exempt us from life's challenges but it undeniably revitalizes the existing world and makes it seem new.

It’s important to remember that Jesus requires loyalty, not sacrifice. The idea of sacrifice suggests a lack of wholehearted devotion that could have transformed loving service into a profound delight. The concept of duty implies a servant mentality, missing out on the exhilarating experience of serving as a friend, and for a friend. The impulse of friendship surpasses all notions of duty, and service by a friend for a friend can never be thought of as a sacrifice. The Master told the apostles that they were the sons of God. He referred to them as brethren, and as he prepared to depart, he addressed them as his friends

Jesus likened himself to a grapevine and likened his Father to the husbandman, or master gardener. He said: “I am the vine, and you are the branches. And the Father requires of me only that you shall bear much fruit.” Jesus further spoke about the vine and the branches, saying in effect: As branches springing from the vine, if you don’t have any fruit, the gardener will prune you from the vine. But if you do bear fruit, the gardener will cleanse you so that you will bear even more fruit. You must stay close to the vine in order to receive the continued spiritual connection with me. The vine and the branches share the same living energy, and if you continue to stay close to me – to live in me as I live in you – you will continue to exhibit the fruits of the spirit and the joy of loving service.

He continued: “If you abide in me and my words live in you, you will be able to commune freely with me, and then can my living spirit so infuse you that you may ask whatsoever my spirit wills and do all this with the assurance that the Father will grant us our petition.”

The Father is glorified through this connection to us. And when the world sees these living branches and witnesses the love that we have for our brethren and the service that we do for them, they will know that we are truly his disciples.

Jesus continued: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Live in my love even as I live in the Father’s love. If you do as I have taught you, you shall abide in my love even as I have kept the Father’s word and evermore abide in his love.”

The eleven had scarcely ceased their discussions of the discourse on the vine and the branches when the Master, indicating that he wanted to say more, continued: “When I have left you, be not discouraged by the enmity of the world. Be not downcast even when fainthearted believers turn against you and join hands with the enemies of the kingdom. If the world shall hate you, you should recall that it hated me even before it hated you.”

Jesus went on to explain that, since spirit-born believers are not “of the world,” they cannot expect love from that world. He clarified by saying “You are in this world, but your lives are not to be worldlike.” He told the eleven that he had chosen them from the world so that they could represent the spirit of a better world even while they remained a part of the world.

None of us is better than Jesus; since he was persecuted, we can also expect persecution. Just as his words offended unbelievers, so our words will do the same; the ungodly will always find our words offensive and hard to understand. But even if we are persecuted for the sake of the gospel, we can take comfort, remembering that Jesus suffered first.

Finally, Jesus told the eleven that, even though he had to leave them very soon, he would not be far from them. He reminded them of the many “tarrying places” that he had mentioned to them numerous times. And he told them that he was going to be returning to those worlds of light when he left them, worlds to which they would also someday ascend. He assured them that, even though he was going to leave them, they would always have his spirit presence with them, and that he would call each of them to ascend to him, just as he was now going to ascend to his Father.

He then made this promise: “I will not leave you alone in the world.” He explained that he would send a spirit helper that would take his place, that would continue to teach, and even comfort them.

Jesus finished by saying: “And what I have told you is true and everlasting, even though you may not fully comprehend it. I go to the Father, and though you cannot now follow me, you shall certainly follow me in the ages to come.”

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man goes to the Father except through me. All who find the Father, first find me. If you know me, you know the way to the Father. And you do know me, for you have lived with me and you now see me.”

Over the centuries since Jesus was with us, his teachings have become distorted, as his words were recalled decades after his departure by followers in their well-meaning intent to write narratives about him. The content of his farewell discourse to his apostles was no different.

Regarding prayer, believers eventually came to believe that all they had to do was ask in the name of Jesus and their prayers would be answered. The truth is that we can’t just invoke the Master’s name; we must abide in him and heed his words and seek God’s will in all things. And when this is one’s sincere attitude, anything that one desires – if it is indeed aligned with God’s will – will be granted. Jesus is the true vine and his spirit life flows through him, just as the grapevine provides sustenance to its living branches.

Praying for selfish things and ego-satisfying accomplishments will be answered by more fruit-bearing opportunities. The living branch exists only for fruit bearing – to love our fellows as we are loved by God. Our primary objective in life is this fruit-bearing activity. And if our branch is not productive, it is pruned until it is productive. God prunes us with love, and only in order that we become more productive of the fruits of the spirit. In this way, prayer is only truly effective when practiced by spirit-born believers in the spirit-dominated kingdom of heaven.

Jesus also told his apostles that “no man goes to the Father except through me.” While we know this to be a literal truth since our path to Paradise travels through the local universe headquarters where he resides, it has been taken by many to mean that only those who believe in Jesus can be saved. In Jesus’ tour of the Mediterranean world, he clarified to a Chinese merchant that he should worship only God and that he will see him again in the worlds of light. Later, in his seventeenth resurrection appearance, Jesus emphasized the important truth that a simple faith in God alone assures eternal life: "If you are the faith sons of my Father, you shall never die; you shall not perish." Jesus made it clear that the door to eternal life is open to those who believe in God and does not necessitate a specific belief in him.

No loving Father would penalize individuals born in parts of the world where there is no knowledge of Jesus to a destiny that precludes their ability to have eternal life. This extends to the belief in the atonement doctrine, repentance, or other constructs that Christianity later attached to Jesus’ gospel of the kingdom of heaven – that is, the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of all mankind.