The True Vine

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Last week, Pastor Mark completed Jesus’ explanation of the promise of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will teach us and cause us to remember the things that Jesus taught. Jesus encouraged the disciples by granting them peace. Jesus told them these things so they would believe. This morning, Jesus gives one of the most powerful metaphors in this gospel.

Take a look at our passage today that’s found in John 15:1-11.

We start with the symbolic nature of the metaphor. Metaphors are important in Scripture because it helps us understand difficult concepts. In Jo. 6:35 Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” In Jo. 8:12, He said, “I am the light of the world.” In Jo. 10:7, “I am the door of the sheep.” In Jo. 10:11, “I am the good shepherd.” In Chapter 14, Jesus emphasized the relationship between the Father and the Son and what that meant spiritually and practically for the disciples. And now, Jesus once again uses a metaphor to help move the disciples from the love of God and Christ as it pertains to obedience to fruitfulness in the believer’s life. In Chapter 14, the comparison was love to obedience. Here the comparison will be fruitfulness and unfruitfulness. Jesus calls Himself the true vine. There are a number of fruits and vegetables that grow on vines including pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, strawberries, tomatoes, and all melons. Particularly familiar to the disciples would be grapes that grow on vines and this metaphor would not be lost on the disciples. The fruit or vegetable that grows on the vine is dependent upon the vine to bring nutrients to the fruit that allow it to grow in a healthy, mature fruit.

Jesus says, “I am the true vine.” Fruit that has been designed to grow on a vine cannot grow apart from that vine. If you take a fruit off the vine, it will begin to die. In this metaphor, Jesus provides life giving nutrients to the fruit. Jesus goes on to say, “and My Father is the vine dresser.” In continuing the metaphor, since Jesus is the vine, then there has to be a vinedresser. Vinedresser is another word for gardener or one who cultivates and prunes. In order to have healthy vines, regular pruning is required. Why is pruning necessary? It gives the vine shape and structure. It controls the amount of fruit the vine produces. If you’re a vine, you need a vinedresser. Jesus says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” According to Gardening Know How, “When it comes to pruning grapes, the most common mistake people make is not pruning hard enough. Light pruning doesn’t promote adequate fruiting whereas heavy pruning provides the greatest quality of grapes.” We know this is a real thing that occurs in the production of fruit.

In the church, we’re talking about a different kind of pruning. Remember the context that we are in. John is an evangelist and he wants to draw people to Christ. He’s still making the case for the abiding love of Christ and what that means in the life of a believer. So what are the branches and what of the branches that are taken away? This is not a case of saved versus lost, this is a case of fruitful versus unfruitful. When you consider the church, even in John’s time the idea of fruitfulness was important and it remains very important today. Pruning also means to make clean or cleanse. The gardener takes the time and effort to clean the vine, to prune it to help it grow more productive. The useless parts of the vine are cut away. The unproductive parts of the vine are cut away allowing nutrients to be directed where they are needed. It takes care to properly prune a vine. Cut too much and the growth could be stunted or otherwise negatively affected. Cut too little, and the vine can grow in the wrong direction. Unfruitful believers present a challenge to church leaders today as I’m sure they did back in John’s day. There is a need to identify unfruitful believers in the church. One of the primary problems in doing this is the blurry line of legalism and judgment. Invariably, the one that is challenged for their unfruitfulness will scream we are saved by grace through faith and not by works. To this, I of course would agree. The dilemma becomes do we really remove unfruitful believers from our midst? That’s not what John is saying and there are many other passages that speak to the real need for discipleship to take place.

Who is clean? Remember, John is talking to the disciples and He says, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” Clean here means pruned like a branch. In verses 1-2, Jesus is speaking in generalities and now he speaks directly to the disciples. The obvious question is what words did Jesus speak that provided the cleansing? Given the context of this passage, there are no specific words, doctrines, or commands that Jesus is referring to. These are the general principles that have been taught for the nearly three years Jesus has walked with the disciples. Principles like Jesus being in the beginning with God and later appearing in the flesh. The miracles Jesus performed. The principle of the temple being destroyed and raised again after three days. The teaching that you must be born again to see God’s kingdom. The fact that God so loved the world that He gave Jesus as a free gift. The principle of love that was demonstrated to the woman at the well. The warning that people will only believe if they see signs. The principles of persecution and the promise that it is coming for those that believe in Christ. I could go on and on, but Jesus spoke and taught many things which are not recorded. Those are the words of Jesus that enable redemption that purifies the soul and makes one clean.

Jesus says, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” We have seen the theme of abiding before. John emphasized it in Chapter 14. Back in Jo. 6:56 Jesus said, “He who eats my flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” 1 Jo. 2:6 says, “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” Abide here is in the imperative mood indicating it is a command. This isn’t an option for the believer. A branch cannot exist apart from the vine. A Christian cannot exist apart from Christ. A believer is completely dependent on Christ to be fruitful. There must be a consistent and direct connection to Christ to live the life that Christ intends. When that connection is severed, the fruitful life expected of a believer is not possible. We have truly experienced this during Covid. Covid revealed the hearts of people.

Jesus goes on, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”  This is very similar to v. 1, but Jesus uses pronouns to refer to the disciples and Himself. “I am the vine. You are the branches.” The disciples must be directly connected to Christ in order to be effective for the kingdom. Here’s the sobering conclusion: “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” Remember, Jesus is talking about fruitfulness here. There is an expectation that we will actually do the things He has spoken about. Love others. Help others. Serve others. Teach others. This is all part of the discipleship model that Jesus lived out with the disciples. The flip side is, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” Jesus sets up two groups of people: fruitful and unfruitful. Fruitful people abide in Christ: unfruitful people do not. Fruitful people are connected to Christ and grow and are nourished. Unfruitful people are not connected to Christ and wither and die and are cut off the branch. Those cuttings are gathered together and thrown into the fire. Fire often represents judgment, and in this context, it seems appropriate.

Jesus says, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Jesus provides the link of the abiding presence of Christ and prayer. Do you ever feel like your prayers bounce off the ceiling? Do you ever wonder if God hears what you are asking for? My experience is that this occurs when there has been a slide into unfruitfulness that can result from normal life. We’re not intentional about our relationship with Christ. The expectation is to abide in Christ, and we modify that to abide with Christ as long as we believe it to be possible. I would love to abide in Christ, Pastor Ian, if only I had more time. Our relationship with Christ is withering because we’re not connected. We haven’t put forth the effort in the relationship and we blame everything and everyone else for the problems and then we really complain when our prayers don’t seem to be making an impact on God.

Think about your prayer life for a moment. What do you consistently pray for? If you’re like many Christians, the prayer life is me centered. Prayers for your job, your children, your family and friends. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. When was the last time you prayed seeking God’s direction in your life? Praying for what God wants you to personally do for the kingdom? Our faith is an active faith, not passive. In other words, we don’t sit back and watch. The, “whatever you wish, and it will be done for you,” that Jesus mentions is not a wish list presented to God like He is some kind of eternal wish granter. Biblical scholar G.L. Borchert says, “There is a direct connection between how one prays and the primary commitments of one’s life. Jesus in this core mashal demands that the fundamental commitment of a disciple’s life is abiding in him. That means that the model of Jesus in life and word must permeate the life and words of the disciple. When this happens, praying ceases to be selfish asking and becomes aligned with the will and purposes of God in Christ.”

Look at the results. “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” There’s that familiar word glorified that we have looked at in depth. It’s not just fruit that Jesus wants you to have in life, it’s much fruit. Don’t get confused. God the Father is not glorified by your works of fruitfulness directly although that may also be true. The point here is that as believers, we are consistently abiding in Christ, we are connected to God the Father through Jesus and are bearing fruit, present tense, that proves our life is connected to Jesus and that glorifies the Father. Note the progression: salvation, abiding presence of Christ, fruitfulness, proof of life in Christ, glorification of God. Jesus then says, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” You know with John the theme of love would be tied into this. Look at this progression: The Father loves the Son. The Son loves His followers. The followers love and obey the Son. Loving and obeying the Son means being loved by the Father. Being loved by the Son means loving others. 1 Jo. 4:7 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” In Jo. 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Here He says, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” The order is reversed. It’s not a contradiction: love and obedience are so interrelated that you cannot have one without the other. V. 11 provides the conclusion to this great passage: “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” We haven’t heard the word joy since Chapter 3. Jesus ties up this section nicely.

We started the passage with pruning. That can be a painful process, but in the end, proves very valuable to the productivity of the plant. In the metaphor, we are the branches, Jesus is the vine, and God is the pruner. There is a direct correlation between the abiding love of Christ and the fruitfulness of a believer. Fruitfulness results from abiding in Christ and Him in you.

Abiding in Christ is connected to prayer. When you keep the commands of God, you demonstrate your abiding love in Christ. God is glorified by this entire process and Christ’s joy is in you and your joy is made full or complete, room for no more. We’ll see joy as a theme as we move forward in this gospel.