John 15

Introduction

Introduction story

Text background

Our text this morning 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 him.

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 (3 Slides)

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.

But instead it produced worthless grapes, some translations use the term sour or wild grapes. The NLT says the grapes that it produced were bitter.

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 “…my Father is the vinedresser (gardener). 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.”

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.

To prune a plant it to take sheers or some cutting tool and remove the dead stuff or removes the things that keep your plant from going the way it should.

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

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.

My wife has a bit of a green thumb and for years we have worked on our garden and tried to get it looking nice and for it to be fruitful. Last year we got this strawberry plant and it is by far our most fruitful plant. It's big and healthy and produces several strawberries for us. When the Strawberries are ready we pick them for 2 reasons. One, because we want to enjoy the fruit and two so that it will continue to produce strawberries.

Its the same with our rose bushes. They are the pride of our front yard, because they produce bright pink flowers, but when those flowers wither we have to cut them.

And so what we see here is the vines that produce fruit, God prunes so that it will produce more fruit. What does that look like for us?

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

Hebrews 12- The discipline of God. In Hebrews 12:6 it says that the Lord disciplines the one he loves.

Every parent here knows what this is saying.

We discipline our children because we love them.

We want to see them bear good fruit. And they may not like it or understand it now, but later when they are parents they will understand that discipline is essential to growth.

Here it is the same with God, we may not like or understand what He is doing but it is for our own good.

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

The pruning that is taking place will be for us to bear more fruit. And maybe the pruning that is taking place is not discipline but trials.

James 1:2-4 “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

I'm sure we can all think of a time when we faced trials. Or maybe you are going through a trial now.

No matter where you’re at, weather you find yourself in the midst of trials or the discipline of God, I would invite you at ask yourself “What is it that is keeping me from producing righteous fruit?”

What is it that God is working on cutting out of my life?

What is it that God wants to cut out of my life?

In what ways is God pruning me?

“...You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.”

The word prune in Greek is “Kath-ah-ee-ro” (Kathy-row) and it means to cleanse or purge.

So what Jesus is saying here to his disciples is that you are already clean (or pruned) because of the word which I have spoken to you.

So how do we become clean? How does God prune us?

His Word. His Word, the Bible is His pruning tool.

Hebrews 4:12- “For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

This sounds a lot like pruning to me.

So how are we made clean?

By what standard does God prune us? His Word.

John 1:1- “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Abide in me and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.”

This word Abide means to stay or dwell.

This means that we are to dwell or live in Christ.

If we want to bear fruit, and we should as Christians then we must abide or dwell in Christ.

My wife is not one for flowers. I mean if I was to get her some fresh cut roses, of course she would smile and say thanks but she doesn't really want them. Why? Because in only a few days they will wither and die. She would much rather me buy her a plant. Something that will live.

I think a lot of times we are like those fresh cut roses. We look great, healthy and full and that may last for a while.

We may even be able to boost ourselves with various temporal things around us, much like the pack of nutrients that come with your roses to give them a boost.

We may be able to sustain ourselves for a while, but eventually we will wither, dry up and die because we are not connected to the life source. We are not connected to the Vine.

How prone are you to live off the “plant food packet” rather than staying connected to the vine?

This goes right into our theme for the year. Jesus is saying that we are called to a connected life with Him.

We are called to be connected to the Vine so that we may produce the fruits of emotional, spiritual, and relational maturity.

“I am the vine, you are the branches he who abides in me and I in him will bear much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing.”

As if the disciples were not understanding what Jesus was saying he reiterates- “I am the vine, you are the branches.”

Our fruitfulness depends on our living union with Christ.

Does this mean that those not connected to the vine can't produce fruit?

Of course not, even unbelievers can bear some fruit. But what we are talking about is bearing righteous fruit.

Remember the vine/vineyard in Isaiah produced grapes, just not the ones they were intended to produce.

Again here we need to understand the context in which this conversation is taking place.

Jesus has been betrayed

Him and the remaining 11 are on their way to the garden where Jesus will be arrested and later crucified.

Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure. And yet he says…

Apart from me you can do NOTHING.

I wonder if this is how the disciples felt in the days between Jesus’ death and resurrection?

And then when he rose it clicked?

What Jesus is saying here is, “If you want to have any significance or play apart in my kingdom you must bear fruit and to bear fruit you must abide in me.” “You must stay connected with me.”

Now we know from John chapter 3 that to see the Kingdom of God we must be born again, but here Jesus is building on that and he is saying that you must be connected to me to bear fruit because apart from me you can do what? NOTHING.

That is nothing of Kingdom significance.

“...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.”

This is what happens if we do not dwell in Christ. We dry up, the term for dry up means to waste away.

If we do not stay connected to the vine (Christ) we dry up, we waste away and the only thing a dry branch is good for at that point is to be thrown into the fire.

If we do not stay connected to the Vine we will not bear fruit and in doing so we will forfeit our union with Christ.

*WORSHIP TEAM COME UP*

Closing

John 15:9

There seems to be two main themes in this passage and they are.

One- We (Christians) are to abide in and stay connected to Christ.

Whenever the vital connection ceases, the separation has begun.

Though a separated branch may look like its still connected and in union with the Vine, The reality of the separation will show itself as the branch dries, withers, and eventually dies, because it is not connected to the source of life.

Two- To be a follower of Christ we must bear righteous fruit.

Vese 8 “ My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so PROVE to be my disciples.”

So how do you prove to be a disciple of Christ? You bear fruit.

Going back up to verse 2, “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit , He takes away…”

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 abide in the vine.

Because without the vine you can do nothing.

“...Just as the Father has loved me, I also loved you; abide in my love.”

Do you know what the term love is translated from in this text?

Agape- Unconditional love. The Highest form of love. The love of God.

I'm not so sure the disciples understood everything that was happening here.

We have a huge benefit in that we know how this story ends, we have an understanding of the love and sacrifice that Jesus made for us. But the disciples at this moment, they don't know how this story ends.

Remember Jesus is with the remaining 11 disciples and is on His way to the garden where he is going to be arrested and then crucified.

Here Jesus is telling them to abide in that love. Abide, live, dwell in my love for you.

That is how we will bear fruit and in doing so prove to be His disciples.

The worship team is going to play and we are going to sing this song, but some things I would invite you to consider as we close are this:

Am I truly connected to the vine?

Am I in union with Christ, bearing the fruit that he wants me to bear or am I simply going through the motions, drying, withering, and dying inside?

Am I, even now in the midst of life's circumstances, abiding in His love?

Do I follow the world's standard of righteousness or do I follow THE standard of righteousness by abiding and dwelling in His love?

Prayer