John 15:1-2 (short version)

Introduction- Read the Text

What we just read was that IN ORDER TO REMAIN IN CHRIST, TO BE HIS DISCIPLE WE MUST BEAR RIGHTEOUS FRUIT.

Text background

Our text this evening takes place on Thursday night of passion week. The night before Jesus is crucified.

In verse 31 of chapter 14, right before our text Jesus says “Get up, let us go from here.”

This indicates that they are no longer in the upper room and that Judas has already left and is on his way to meet with the leaders of Israel to betray Jesus.

Therefore it is deep into the night and Jesus and the remaining 11 disciples are en route to the garden of gethsemane where this discourse (our text takes place).

This is the 7th I” am” statement of Jesus recorded in John. He uses a physical terminology to describe a spiritual truth. Up to this point Jesus has said I am…

The bread of life

The light of the world

Door for the sheep

The good shepherd

The resurrection and the life

The way the truth and the life

And here he says “I am the TRUE vine.

What is Jesus talking about here?

What does he mean when he says I am the TRUE vine.

Text

John 15:1

“I am the True Vine…”

When we look back at the OT and see the term vine or vineyard we will see that what God is talking about is Israel.

Here Jesus says I am the TRUE vine.

Isaiah 5:1-4- READ

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 5

I will sing about the one I love,

a song about my loved one’s vineyard:

The one I love had a vineyard

on a very fertile hill.

2 He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones,

and planted it with the finest vines.

He built a tower in the middle of it

and even dug out a winepress there.

He expected it to yield good grapes,

but it yielded worthless grapes.

3 So now, residents of Jerusalem

and men of Judah,

please judge between me

and my vineyard.

4 What more could I have done for my vineyard

than I did?

Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes,

did it yield worthless grapes?

Notice how God tends to His vineyard.

This is the image we get of Gods people. God did everything to insure that His vineyard produced good grapes and what happened?

They messed it up. This is a theme we see in the OT time and time again.

God prepared the ground, he removed obstacles from it, he placed a tower in the middle of it and constructed a winepress all to allow the vineyard to grow and produce good grapes.

The point is that the fruit that was intended to grow did not grow out of the nation of Israel did not grow.

This is the context of the term vine. That's why Jesus says that “I am the TRUE vine…” not just any vine the TRUE vine.

The first vine did not produce the way it was supposed to.

Jesus is the True vine and the fruit of righteousness that was intended to be produced is going to be produced through him.

Jesus is the true vine and he says “..and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.”

Every branch in me. We are talking about those who are connected to the vine. Those who believe in Jesus.

There are 2 branches. The first is the one that does not bear fruit, what happens to the branches that do not bear fruit?

He takes it away.

The greek term used here for taken away is airo (eye-row) and it can mean lifted up as well as take away.

Sometimes it is argued that God does not take the branch away but rather lifts it up off the ground so that it can bear fruit, however in the context of this passage that is less likely as we see in verse 6 that fruitless branches are thrown out and cast into the fire to be burned.

What we are left with then are branches (those who are in Christ) that are not fruitful and therefore forfeit their connection with the vine (Jesus).

The second branch is the one that does bear fruit. And that branch He (God) prunes.

Pruning removes dead and dying branches and stubs, allowing room for new growth and protecting your property and passerby from damage. It also deters pest and animal infestation and promotes the plant’s natural shape and healthy growth.

So that is what is happening here, the branches that produce fruits are pruned so that they will continue to produce fruit.

What does that look like for us?

It could look like removing the things that inhibit us from producing fruit.

It could look like the discipline of God we read about in Hebrews 12.

Remember He is the Gardener, He knows what is best for us.

By what standard does God prune us? His Word.

If we are followers of Christ we must show the fruit of that relationship.

Not because we have to work for our salvation.

Please understand today that there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, it is a gift given to us and it's only by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone, and Scripture alone that we are saved.

But what Jesus is saying here is “You connect to me, I produce the fruit.”

You connect to Jesus. He produces the fruit in you.

The fruit is not on you, it's on Jesus.

The command that we are to follow here is to remain in the vine.

Because without the vine you can do nothing.

Remember, IN ORDER TO REMAIN IN CHRIST, TO BE HIS DISCIPLE WE MUST BEAR RIGHTEOUS FRUIT.

As we close consider these questions.

1. Am I truly connected to the vine?

2.How is God pruning me in preparation for the fruit that is to come?

Thank you