Jesus: The True Vine
Notes
Transcript
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1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
Jesus’s Final “I AM” statement in John
(7 total in John; each tells us something of who he is and what he does)
The Bread of Life (6:35, 41, 48, 51) - Jesus is the one who satisfies our spiritual hunger and thirst
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
The Light of the World (8:12, 9:5) - Jesus is the one who gives us spiritual sight
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
The Door of the Sheep (10:7, 9) - Jesus is the means by which we enter God’s kingdom
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
The Good Shepherd (10:11, 14) - Jesus is the one who cares for and protects and provides for his people.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
The Resurrection and the Life (11:25) - Jesus is the source and sustainer of physical and spiritual life
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
The Way, the Truth, and the Life (14:6) - Jesus is the only way to get to the Father
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
The True Vine (15:1, 5) - Jesus is the source and sustainer of our spiritual life.
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
The Vine
The Vine
Vines in Israel
Vines were very common in their agricultural society.
Fruitful vines in Israel were considered a sign of prosperity and of God’s blessing.
How many of you have a grapevine or some other kind of fruit vine?
OT Imagery of Israel as God’s Vine
Multiple passages in Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea refer to Israel as the vine or vineyard of the Lord. In every case the focus is on their failure to produce the fruit of righteousness that God desired and on God’s judgment on Israel for their unfruitfulness.
1 Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?
5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
7 For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!
See also Jeremiah 5:10 and Hosea 10:1-2.
Jesus is the TRUE vine
John 15:1 (ESV)
1 “I am the true vine...
He is claiming to be the true Israel (the fulfilment of Israel) - Jesus has already claimed in John that he is the true Temple and the fulfillment of their feasts, the true offspring of Abraham and the true Son of God; now he claims to be the fulfilment of Israel itself.
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.
14 Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine,
15 the stock that your right hand planted, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
17 But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
Under the Old Covenant, people had to join Israel if they wanted to get to God - outsiders could become part of Israel if they wanted to worship God.
But now, people don’t need to be connected to the nation of Israel to be saved; they need to be connected to Jesus.
The Vine is the Source of Life and Fruitfulness
To have eternal life and bear fruit for God, you must be connected to the vine - to Jesus.
3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
To his disciples Jesus says that he has already cleansed them by his word (“clean” in v. 3 is very similar to “prune” in v. 2 - a play on words in Greek). They have already become part of the vine, they are already connected to him; yet there is a need for greater connection.
The Gardener
The Gardener
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
“Vinedresser” in the ESV is translated as “gardener” by multiple English translations, and “husbandman” by the KJV; this implies that he is the owner of the vineyard, the one who cares for it, and the one is responsible for its productivity.
This same role is attributed to God in the OT as well.
The Work of the Gardener
2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
What kind of fruit is the gardener looking for?
v. 9-10, 12-13, and 17 speak of love (we’ll come back to this more next week)
Love for God
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
Love for others
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
v. 11 speaks of joy
11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
These are the first two in the list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
What we can gather from this is that the kind of fruit that the Gardener (Father) is looking for isn’t just outward actions, but godly character, a godly heart. The kind of fruit God will produce in us will start inside us and change us from the inside out.
Two kinds of branches in v. 2
1. Branches that don’t bear fruit
John 15:2 (ESV)
2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away
Are these Christians who lose their salvation? That’s how some interpret this verse. Notice he says, “every branch in me...”
No. John has some of the strongest teaching on eternal security.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
Those who truly come to Christ belong to him and have eternal life; and no one else can take that away, and he himself will never cast us away.
But John also shows us that there are so-called believers who are not true believers. There are so-called disciples who are not true disciples. And even among the 12 apostles Jesus chose there was a devil, Judas Iscariot.
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.”
71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.
30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.
So there are those who appear to be believers and disciples of Jesus Christ, who appear to be connected to the vine, and perhaps they themselves believe that they are. But what gives them away is the fruit.
The kind of fruit that God desires (the fruit of the Spirit) does not grow on branches that are not truly connected to Christ. It can’t, because Jesus says,
John 15:4–5 (ESV)
4 ... As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 ... for apart from me you can do nothing.
The kind of fruit Jesus is talking about here will not grow in your life if you are not staying connected to him.
And what happens to this kind of branches?
John 15:2 (ESV)
2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away...
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Lack of fruit doesn’t just mean you’re an immature or carnal Christian, it means you’re not a Christian at all. This is a matter of life and death, heaven and hell. If your life does not produce the fruit of righteousness that God desires, you will be like one of these branches, cast out into the fire, forever separated from God in the torment of hell. If your life has no fruit of godliness, this is the destiny that awaits you, unless you turn to Christ. So come to him today!
2. Branches that bear fruit
The other kind of branch is one that bears fruit - the true believer
John 15:2 (ESV)
2 … Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
The branches that do bear fruit are the true believers, those who are truly connected to Christ by faith, who persevere in that faith and produce fruit because of their connection to Christ.
What does the Gardener do with those branches? He PRUNES them so that they will produce more fruit.
One thing this tells us is that we should never be satisfied with our current level of fruitfulness. However fruitful we are, God knows we have more growing to do, more fruit to produce. And he will make sure this happens.
From Better Homes and Gardens, on Why you need to prune grape vines:
“To put it simply, pruning grape vines allows the plants to get enough sun. If you let your vines grow freely, shoots and clusters will overwhelm the plant and create barriers that block the light. It's also important to get rid of older, less healthy canes and old wood to promote new growth and avoid diseases.”
We need more of the Son (capital S - O - N); sometimes things get in the way of our focus on Christ, and God has to take those away. There are sometimes things in our lives that keep us from close fellowship with him and need to be removed.
Sometimes pruning helps promote new growth - growth in areas we haven’t considered or thought about before.
Sometimes pruning helps us avoid diseases - being contaminated with the corruption of this world.
“Not cutting back the shoots to limit the amount of fruit a vine produces may give you a higher yield in your first year, but it hurts your plant in the long run.”
Pruning keeps us from having a false start in the Christian life - from having an apparently fruitful season at first and then falling away.
“Pruning should be done each year during the winter or dormant season ... To cut your canes, invest in a pair of handheld pruners or loppers. Stay away from saws (especially chainsaws).”
God’s pruning in our lives tends to take place often in specific seasons. As the master Gardener, he knows just the right time to prune.
He also knows just the right tool to use for pruning us. It might sometimes feel to us like he’s using a chainsaw, but he’s using the tool that he knows will bring his desired result.
God never accidentally cuts off something that he didn’t mean to (Sarah told me she did this when cutting off some zucchini - she accidentally cut off a stem or two in addition to the zucchini, and it died - that never happens with God, the Master Gardener)
“The most common mistake home growers make? They don't clear out enough canes... If the thought of aggressively chopping back your grape vines causes you slight panic, just remember pruning means prosperity. It might seem contradictory, but the more growth you remove, the healthier your remaining vines will be.”
We might be tempted to question why God prunes us as much as he does. But we must remember that he is the master gardener. When he cuts away things in our lives, he does it for our good - he knows it’s best for us. He’s cutting away the things that hinder us from being fruitful for him. He prunes us so that we will be healthier and more fruitful.
How does the Gardener prune the fruitful branches?
He does this through the testing of our faith - through various trials and tests that he brings us through to strengthen our character. Hebrews refers to this as God’s discipline - not necessarily correction for wrongdoing, but his means of forming our character and producing the fruit of righteousness that he desires in us.
5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
This pruning is for our good, and it’s evidence of his love for us.
Purpose of the Gardener
Fruitful branches - branches that bear much fruit
2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
Glory - fruitful branches glorify the Gardener (We don’t praise a zucchini or apple or tomato or whatever fruit you’re growing for growing so well - “good job for how big and tasty you are”; we praise the wisdom and hard work of the Gardener that cultivated the fruit, pruned it, and provided the nutrients it needed)
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
We don’t get glory for the fruit our lives produce - even though we have a responsibility here, all the glory goes to God - he gets all the credit, all the glory
He is working for His Glory and our Good
Abide in Me
Abide in Me
The source of our fruitfulness is close fellowship with Jesus Christ. The occasions for our greatest growth are in the times of God’s pruning, and it is in those times when we learn to lean most heavily upon Christ, we come to know him more deeply, we trust him more, and grow deeper in our love for him.
He says,
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
We cannot accomplish anything of lasting value outside of fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Abiding in Him means
Spending lots of time listening to his voice in his Word (we need to hear his voice more than the other voices we hear on TV, on the radio, on social media; reading and listening to his Word must be a high priority in our lives). I think the fruitlessness of so many professing Christians today, including some of you, is the lack of commitment to spending time in God’s Word. That has to be a high priority for you. You need his Word. It is your life. If his word is not important to you, you might not even know him at all. If you long for his word and to know more of him, it shows that you already do know him.
It means drawing near to him in prayer. The closer we get to him, the more our prayers will align with his desires, so we will pray for the kinds of things that he wants to give us.
Staying close to other Christians in fellowship (gathering together as Christians is one of the means God uses to preserve our faith and grow us in our holiness)
Questions to consider
Are you connected to the True Vine?
What fruit is growing in your life?
How is God pruning you?
Are you abiding in Christ?