"The Vine"
Introduction: Well this morning, we are going to look at the last of the 7 I AM statements of Jesus found in John. So far we have looked at these I AM statements from Jesus:
• I am the Bread of life
• I am the Light of the World
• I am the Door
• I am the Good Shepherd
• I am the Resurrection and the Life
• I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life
These are some unique claims of Jesus…as you talk with people at work, school, and the coffee shop you will meet folks who doubt or reject the claims of Jesus. I want to commend you to study some apologetics books like Lee Strobel’s Case for Faith and Case for Christ. (show other books from the church library). These books can help you give a reasonable answer to skeptics.
Today we are going to look at Jesus last I AM statement in John 15:1 (NIV)
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” What prompts Jesus to use this metaphor? Jesus may have been leaving the upper room at the end of chapter 14 and might have stopped in front of the Temple to teach. One of the glories of the Temple was the great golden vine upon the front of the Holy Place.” (Barclay) It was a gigantic grapevine of pure gold. He may have been prompted to share this metaphor by the golden wonder at the Temple.
We also know that the vine had become the symbol of the nation of Israel. Isaiah 5:7 (NIV) The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel...
Psalm 80:8 (NIV) You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
The vine represented the covenant people of God, planted, and tended by God so that Israel would bear fruit. Often in the OT, when Israel is depicted as a vine or vineyard, the nation is being chastised for not bearing fruit or for going wild.
Jeremiah 2:21 (NIV) I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?
In this gardening metaphor there are three characters introduced: the vine, the gardener, and the branches. Let’s look at each character and see his role in the garden. First…
1. The Vine produces branches. God has always been interested in seeing fruit come from His garden. Israel was chosen to bless the nations, to produce branches that would extend God’s garden, His Kingdom.
Isaiah 5:1-5 (NAB) Let me now sing of my friend, my friend’s song concerning his vineyard. My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside; He spaded it, cleared it of stones,and planted the choicest vines; Within it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a wine press. Then he looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes. Now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard: What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done? Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? Now, I will let you know what I mean to do to my vineyard: Take away its hedge, give it to grazing, break through its wall, let it be trampled!
So Jesus steps on to the scene and makes the claim that He is the true vine. What a shocking statement that must have been to Jewish ears!! Jesus is the representation of God to the nations and His vessel of salvation. He has taken Israel’s place as God’s true planting. Israel was not fruitful vine. God has always been eager to see fruit come from His garden…and the true vine produces branches.
In talking about the Gentiles coming to Christ, Paul wrote this. Romans 11:17-18 (NIV) If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. The wild shoot—the Gentiles now share in the nourishment of the olive tree. So the picture in scripture is that when we come to Christ we are grafted into Christ and into His nourishment as a source of life.
The first thing we learn from this gardening metaphor is that the vine produces branches. Secondly…
2. The Gardener prunes branches. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15:2 (NIV)
The gardener (the Father) cuts off branches that do not bear fruit, and prunes the branches that bear fruit, so that there will be even more fruit. I don’t know very much about vineyards—I’m a Baptist preacher! So I did a little investigating on the internet and visited a family vineyard website.
(http://www.henryofpelham.com/wines.php?sub3_id=89) . This is what one vineyard owner wrote on his website:
During the cold winter months, gardeners pore over seed catalogues and dream of the frost-free days ahead when they can sharpen up the secaturs and head outside to prune the roses. However, in the vineyard it’s a different story. As the vines lay dormant in their winter sleep, pruning begins as early as December. The viticulturalist…faces the bitter cold (to participate in the) vital pruning process.
Pruning, which is quite simply the cutting back of dead wood and superfluous plant growth, is the single most important step in vineyard management.
Pruning saves a cultivated vine from self-destruction. Left alone, it would simply reproduce until it killed itself. The seemingly aggressive act of pruning allows the vine to maintain a healthy vigour and achieve its best crop potential.
Later in the summer they write: We’re currently in the initial stages of canopy management, reducing and establishing the potential crop load and opening the canopy to allow for better sun exposure as the fruit matures later in the season. The shoot growth has been phenomenal and we’re accelerating our pace thinning and controlling excess shoots and suckers. There’s a lot of sucker growth at the bottom of the vines that must be removed and it’s also important that that we remove unwanted fruiting shoots that could cause shading. We’re also cultivating the ground to stimulate growth. This is the time when vines are growing the quickest and are in their most aggressive growth stage. In this heat you can practically watch them develop – they’ve been growing two inches a day!
Wow…the gardener prunes the branches to protect itself from self-destruction and to produce aggressive growth. The Father does this for us.
The Greek word for ‘pruned’ here is kathairo and is similar to the word ‘clean’ in verse 3: John 15:3 (NIV) You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. The Greek word for ‘clean’ is katharos. There seems to be a relationship with being clean and being pruned.
The vine produces branches, the gardener prunes branches, and…
3. The Branches produce fruit. John 15:4-8 (NIV) Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Have you thought much about your purpose in God’s vineyard? If we aren’t careful, we can buy into pop spirituality that says that God wants to make you richer, healthier, and a more successful person…We can become like Israel. God’s chosen people to be blessed, when God intended them to be a blessing. As God’s children we are blessed, but not for our selves, but so we can be fruitful.
What’s the goal of our life: comfort or bearing fruit? Let’s look at verse 8 again: This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. God is more interested in you producing fruit, than your comfort. That is why He prunes us! And pruning hurts!! It’s not comfortable! The goal of our life should be bringing glory to the Father by bearing fruit.
Do you need more proof…let’s look at John 15:16-17 (NIV) You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other. We are chosen by God to go and bear fruit. That’s our purpose!
What exactly is this fruit that we are to bear? I believe that there are at least two kinds of fruit: inward and outward.
Inward fruit has to do with our character and becoming more like Christ. Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. God wants to produce these into your character and that takes pruning!
Outward fruit has to do with share Christ with others… Col. 1:6 (NIV) All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.
We are called to bear fruit! Listen to what God says about fruit bearing in the NT:
Matthew 21:43 (NIV) Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
Matthew 12:33 (NIV) Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.
Conclusion: Let’s not forget Jesus claim to be the true vine.
1. The vine produces branches
2. The gardener prunes branches
3. Branches bear more
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, Col. 1:10 (NIV)
