The Vine and the Branches
Introduction:
When I lived in the Bavarian city of Wurzburg I admired the vast hillsides of grapevines. Grapes are the most widely grown fruit in the world. Grapes have been cultivated as far back as ancient Egypt, 2,500 years before the birth of Christ.
The grapevine was a symbol of ancient of ancient Israel and is part of modern Israel’s national emblem. Grapes have always been central to Israel’s agriculture and economy. The climate of Israel is ideal for viticulture. The grapevine represented Israel’s fruitfulness in doing God’s work on earth. This symbol was on Israeli coins during the between-the-testaments time of the Maccabees.
A very important product of ancient Israel was a grape honey made by boiling the grapes into a molasses-like jelly, which was very sweet. When Israel is referred to as the “land of milk and honey”, it is referring to this product rather than honey from beehives.
In the time of Jesus, a golden vine hung over the entrance of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, a gift from Herod. It was made of delicately-twisted gold wire and beads. Israel appeared outwardly healthy, but was spiritually withered. Jesus, in one of many “I am” statements declared, “I am the true Vine.” (vs 1)
John 15 is a continuation of Jesus’ Upper Room message as to why our hearts should not be troubled (from ch 14). Why should we be free from anxiety? Because He is the Vine and we are the branches! He will take care of us.
In verse one we see that God the Father is the Owner of the vineyard, as well as the Cultivator of the crop. Vines require constant, attentive care. A vineyard calls for harder and more regular labor than any other form of agriculture. The Israelites built watchtowers by their vineyards to guard against thieves and wild animals. The Father tends His grapes, waters and protects them, and cultivates a harvest so that it will produce a maximum yield. We can trust the Gardener to nurture and watch us. His eye is on every branch. God makes His garden grow (c.f. I Cor 3:6).
Verse two explains the fruitful union between believers and Christ. It also reveals the essential “pruning process.”
Pruning has 3 aspects:
New plants are pruned for 3-5 years to “train” them before they are allowed to produce a crop. New believers require time to grow and training to help them become rooted in their new faith. You don’t ask new believers to teach Sunday School—you feed them with the milk of God’s word.
Pruning is also necessary to remove any dead wood, which can harbor disease and decay.
The pruning of live wood improves the vines potential for fruit-bearing. Untrimmed vines develop unproductive growth--long, rambling branches that produce few grapes because the strength of the vine is given to growing wood. Fruit contains the seed for more fruit, so the process continues on and on.
For their size, vines are extremely productive, yielding as much as 80 lbs of grapes in a single season. And good roots can continue to produce grapes for nearly 100 years. Jesus is saying to His followers that we are re-born to re-produce. We’re able to do so, because we abide in Him.
Verse 3 assures us that we are healthy branches. Jesus did not equate the word “clean” with “perfect”. As Jesus applied the words the Father gave Him to the lives of the disciples, they underwent a pruning process that removed evil from them and conditioned them for further service. The words “cut off” in verse 2 can mean to take away or remove, but also to cleanse or trim clean. Judas was an example of a dead branch that was cut off; Peter an example of a live branch being pruned for greater productivity.
Verses 4-5 highlight the importance of fruitfulness in the Christian life. These verses reveal the Source of our success. Our fruitfulness is not the result of human achievement, but of abiding in Christ. We are fruitful because of the Vine. We cannot bear fruit on our own. We cannot survive apart from Christ. Our effectiveness depends on receiving the constant flow of life from Christ. “Without Me you can do nothing.” We can accomplish nothing of permanent value apart from Christ, the True Vine.
If you’ve ever lived by the beach you’ve likely seen sand sculpture competitions. Sand artist labor to make remarkable images in the sand. But their artistry is fleeting; their work lasts a day and is swept away by the tide. Apart from Christ, our aspirations have as much permanent value as sand art. What’s the point of anything we do if our aspirations have no eternal value?
How can we know we are “abiding” in Christ? We know when our lives are producing fruit. This happens when we are in union with the Source of life and fruitfulness. The fruit of the Spirit will not appear by human effort. We would wither spiritually if we were severed from the Vine that sustains us. A disciple is one in the process of becoming like Christ. The command to “abide” is not fulfilled in a single act--it is an on-going life committed to and united to Christ.
George Whitfield conducted outdoor evangelistic campaigns in the 1700’s throughout the American colonies, a period of revival called the “Great Awakening” in America. Although thousands responded to his Gospel message, when asked how many were converted after one of his sermons he replied, “We’ll know in five years.” The point Whitfield was making was that the passing of time should reveal which decisions were superficial and which were genuine, lasting commitments to Christ.
“Apart from Me you can do nothing.” No prophet would have dared to make such a statement. For any mere person to say such words would be shamelessly egotistical and perhaps even schizophrenic. Yet God-the-Son, the True Vine has spoken. Each of His “I am” statements recall God’s words to Moses: “Tell them I Am has sent you.” “I am”—one of the earliest Names for God. Apart from Jesus we are unable to please the Father. None of our works are acceptable unless we are connected to Christ. What we do will have lasting value, eternal worth, only if we are doing it for Christ, and by His power. Apart from Jesus we cannot be holy. But joined to Him we overcome the world, the flesh and the devil, and walk with garments unspotted from the world.
Because Jesus is the all-powerful Vine, we have nothing to fear. Every so often some philosopher or professor writes a book sure to destroy the Christian faith. Yet for the past 2000 years no one has come up with any objections to faith that would cause the collapse of Christianity. The ridiculous book and movie Contact implies that if there were life on other planets that would negate our faith. Religious author C.S. Lewis wrote a trilogy of Science Fiction saying just the opposite. Ray Bradbury wrote of Christ visiting other inhabited planets. I’m not here to debate the subject of UFOs, but to say that skeptics are hammering away at the anvil of Christianity—the hammers ware out; the anvil remains.
In a New England church, in the midst of Sunday worship, a mentally-deranged man entered the sanctuary, denounced the minister, denounced Christianity, then said he would pull down the church. Like Sampson, he grabbed one of the pillars. The congregation erupted in chaos; people screamed, men rose to grab the intruder…then suddenly a deacon calmed down the congregation with a single sentence, saying: “Let him try.”
In verse 6 we need to consider whether these words constitute a warning or simply a statement of fact? It depends on our Lord’s perception of His followers. If He questioned the commitment of His audience, then this is a warning. If He had confidence in His hearers, then His words describe how some branches are fruitful while others disappointingly are not.
God removes fruitless branches. The dead branches that are cut off represent those who turn away from Christ after making a superficial commitment. If the branches are to bear the right kind of fruit, they must be a part of the True Vine. Commentator Leon Morris observes that the use of the definite article with the word branch may imply that it refers to the person who did not abide in the vine at the outset. Jesus pointed out elsewhere, “By their fruit you shall know them” (Mt 7:20). No fruit means no life. John explains in his first epistle that those who leave the fellowship of faith show that they never “belonged to us”; if they were truly genuine believers they would have “remained” (2:19).
In verse 7 we see that our connection to Christ is maintained by prayer and Scripture. We speak to Him, and He speaks to us through His word. We do more than just believe in Jesus’ words; we let His cleansing words abide in us. We’re also given a promise that our prayers will be answered. If we are a part of the Vine, we will want the right things. We will want what God wants us to have. As we mature in our faith, so will our prayers mature. We won’t ask for foolish things, and we will want more than anything else God’s perfect will to be accomplished in the situations we lift up in prayer. We will understand God’s will more as we study His word, which will help our prayers to be intelligent and wise.
In verse 8, the proof of discipleship is fruit-bearing, and the ultimate result is glory to God. Just as Jesus glorified the Father by His life, so His followers glorify Him by theirs. The word “glorified” is in the Greek aorist tense which indicates a point of time in the past—in other words, Jesus is expressing the certainty and completeness about our lives bringing glory to God. The aorist tense was often used this way—to indicate something is so certain, it’s as good as if it’s already been accomplished. It is a foregone conclusion that God will be glorified in us; and this is no small matter. The Westminster Confession, a creed many Christians adhere to, declares that our “chief end is to glorify God.” Our primary purpose is to bring God glory. Paul declared in I Corinthians 10:31, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
Verses 9-11 show that love is what unites us to Christ, as branches are united to a vine. Two results stem from our relationship to the True Vine—obedience, and joy. Obedience marks the cause of our fruitfulness; joy is the result. Jesus never planned failure for His disciples. Joy results when we realize that the life of Christ in us is producing fruit.
Verses 10-11 should be read with certainty. It would be better translated, Since you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.” We are as secure as the True Vine we are trusting.
We often read these verses with apprehension, afraid that if we mess up we’ll be cut off. But Jesus takes us as we are, and is more patient with us, more accepting of us, then we could ever be. It wouldn’t be grace if we deserved it. We can trust the care of our heavenly Gardner.
Prayer: Lord God, loving Gardener: Help us to see if we are truly living branches of the living vine. Bring to life any dead branches. We know Jesus, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—help us to know Him according to personal fellowship. Then cause Your vineyard to grow and flourish. For Your glory we pray, Amen.
Bulletin Insert>
Abiding in Christ means:
• Believing that He is God’s Son (I John 4:15)
• Receiving Him as Savior and Lord (John 1:12)
• Doing what God says (I John 3:24)
• Continuing to believe the Gospel (I John 2:24)
• Relating in love to the community of believers (John 15:12)
