The I AM Statements of Jesus: The True Vine

Gracious and loving God, in this time, we come before you looking for your words and wisdom for us this day. As we enter into this time of reflection, help us to be the fruitful branches of your Son’s love as we open our hearts, minds, and spirits to your still speaking voice, Amen.

Gardening

Let’s talk a moment about gardening…as you already know, I do not have a green thumb. Some would argue that I should because my maternal grandparents both had the gift of being able to grow some beautiful plants. My grandfather in particular had some of the most beautiful rose bushes I have seen in my life. Luckily, my mom got their gift because she now has the roses and the ability to create many new plants from one tiny stalk. Yes, I am a bit envious because I have a love of lush, green, fruitful plants. I just did not get their gift.

I believe that the reason they are and were able to do such great things with their plants is because they have/had an understanding of what it takes to make something not only beautiful but also fruitful. So, let me ask you all…do you have a green thumb? Do all of your houseplants thrive and grow? Is your landscaping the envy of all of your neighbors? Do you have a garden that serves up produce for every meal? If you do, then I am guessing the parable we heard today will mean so much more to you than to someone like me.

You see, it takes a lot of work to make plants beautiful, but it takes even more work to make them fruitful. If you have a green thumb, you know that to make a plant more fruitful, sometimes you need to sacrifice ok or even good branches to make the best ones healthier, right?

For us today, if you do not have a green thumb, like me, knowing which are the best branches is difficult and therefore understanding what Jesus said to his disciples is also difficult to understand, let alone hear because the idea of pruning is foreign to us…with me so far?

In our passage this morning, Jesus uses the example of the grapevine. For many of us, this is a totally foreign concept, unless you have a grapevine in your garden or live on a vineyard. So, I did a little research on how to grow grapevines, not because I want to grow one, but rather to understand Jesus’ comparison of the grapevine to his disciples.

A bit of background first...

The grapevine is something that is prevalent in the area surrounding Jerusalem. They have been around for thousands of years. It grows in just about any climate and thrives in the sandy soil around Jerusalem because the sand in the soil has a tendency to hold more moisture than much of the soil around here. In addition, the soil in the Mediterranean area also has the kinds of nutrients the plant needs to thrive the best.

What I found most interesting in my research is that when you start to grow a grapevine, there is a ton of work that must be done in the first two years after its planting in order to make it thrive…in order to develop good strong roots, it is recommended that you water and feed the plant a very particular mixture of fertilizer. Then as it grows, you should water it 2-3 times per week and saturate the soil so that the water goes to deepest part of the root. What I have learned in this is that the root system of a grapevine may be just as deep, and in some cases deeper, than the height of the plant itself. So this is why it must be watered so heavily.

Now, when the plant begins to grow, it is recommended that you stake and train the vine with posts and wires. In the first three years after planting, in order to train the vine and get a good hearty stalk, you need to prune away all new growth except for the two strongest vines. Now, that seems pretty harsh but it makes sense. If you want to have the most fruit, you need to choose which will be the strongest of the vines and which will grow the best.

This really struck me as I continued reading about how to tend and grow grapevines. Much like us as we are children and young adults, we need to be instructed along the way about the things that will make us stronger and our parents, hopefully, made decisions and helped us to make decisions as we got older, about what would be “good” things for us to do. WE needed to be pruned and tended, fed the right kinds of foods, the right kinds of advice, and most importantly, be taught how to grow in the most efficient way.

What the Old Testament Says...

Now, how this all relates starts with the Old Testament. It is here that God is often described as a gardener, a farmer, a vinedresser who cares for vineyards. The people of Israel are the vine that God so carefully planted and tended.

In the Book of Psalms, the writer says, “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it” (Psalm 80:8). God brought the precious vine out of Egypt, freeing the Israelites from slavery. God spent considerable time guiding and sheltering the Israelites through their wilderness journey. When they reached the Promised Land, God planted the people, the vine and ultimately, God expected that vine to bear the fruit of obedience and faithful worship, but it did not.

You see, the people of Israel rebelled against God, their vinedresser. They turned from worshiping God to worship the false gods of the nations around them. They did not bear the fruit of obedience to God’s laws or the fruit of love for their neighbors. They oppressed the poor, the widows, and the orphans. They did not carry out the justice that God commanded. They did not listen to the prophets God sent them. They did not return in repentance and they did not believe God’s promises. God told them through the very same prophets, “I planted you a choice vine, wholly of pure seed. How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine?” (Jeremiah 2:21)

But here’s the thing, God continued to send the prophets to proclaim the truth. The time was coming when God would plant a new vine. This vine would grow out of the family line of King David and of his father Jesse, it would be “a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots” that would bear fruit as God intended. It would be a faithful and obedient vine, “a righteous Branch.”

This righteous Branch of the house of David was born in David’s hometown of Bethlehem. This choice and perfect vine named Jesus grew “and increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” He was obedient and faithful to God in all things and in every way. He resisted every temptation put before him. He came to carry out his God’s will. Through Jesus’ obedient death and triumphant resurrection he would “fill the whole world with fruit” (Isaiah 27:6).

Jesus is the True Vine...

What we heard this morning happens shortly before his death. In this passage, we hear Jesus, God’s righteous Branch, telling his disciples and us, “ I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.” What you have to kind of read between the lines is this…the fruit bearing branches growing from that true vine are those who believe in Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. Jesus wants us to know though that we, those branches, cannot bear fruit by ourselves.

Jesus said, “As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me … Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” However limited your gardening experience might be, you know that to be true. A branch cannot grow and thrive if it is cut away from the main stem. Even cut flowers, for all their beauty, will eventually wither and die because they have been cut from the plant that nourishes them. A dried up branch from an apple tree, torn down in a storm, is not going to grow apples, even if it is lying on the ground right under its tree.

Just as every farmer or gardener loves to see a rich, full harvest growing in fields and gardens, God, the vinedresser, rejoices in the abundant fruit that grows in the lives of those who trust in Jesus for salvation. Jesus said, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” This then begs the question, how do we “abide” in Jesus our vine? What is the fruit we bear in order to glorify God?

Being Fruitful...

Jesus said, “Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love...” He went on to say, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” That is what the love of Jesus looks like, that is the great love he has shown to us—that he laid down his life for us on the cross. Through his redeeming death, we have forgiveness for our sins. In his resurrection we have the sure and certain hope of eternal life.

Listen, we may never be called to actually die for one another, to lay down our lives as members of the armed forces might do for one another on the battlefield, or like first responders who risk their lives to save others. Yet daily we can follow in Jesus’ footsteps of love. Scripture tells us, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

The apostle Paul describes obedience and loving one another this way, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” What kind of fruit would we bear, if we put the interest of others ahead of our own, as Jesus did for us? We are commanded, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Do we tend to desire for our neighbors, whoever that may be, everything that we desire for ourselves—that being health, well-being, forgiveness and salvation? That is what bearing fruit looks like gang, bearing good fruit happens when we pray for others for these basic needs, and when we step outside and do to help those who do not have as much as we do. It is in doing these things, reaching out beyond ourselves and our community, that God is glorified.

None of this can be done, as Jesus said, on our own. We must remain rooted in Jesus, connected to the true vine, who laid down his life to save us. Jesus feeds and nourishes us with his Words. Jesus feeds us with his holy Supper, giving us his true body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins. When we are fed and nourished, attached to the true vine and growing, we as the branches bear the fruit of love and service to others. And trust me, the Holy Spirit is at work here and now, in this place and in each one of us, keeping us connected to the vine, drawing others to God through the Gospel message that we live out in our doing and thereby grafting us and them into the vine. And in all of this, our God, the vinedresser, is glorified.

God said through the prophet Isaiah: “A pleasant vineyard, sing of it! I, the Lord, am its keeper; every moment I water it.” And, all of this is to say that even if you don’t have a green thumb, our God does and God is continually working to keep us healthy and growing. Amen.