Two hunters were out hunting and come upon what appeared at first as an abandoned farm. The barn was sagging, the house was in disrepair, and there were junk cars and car parts lying around. The only thing that made it a working farm was a few chickens pecking away and a goat wandering around.
As they entered the yard, they came across an old well.
One asked the other "Wonder how deep it is."
The other said, "We'll have to drop something down and listen for the splash."
They look around for something to drop down the well, but the only thing close by was an old transmission. They both hauled it over to the well and dropped it in. They counted and waited a long time for the splash. It was deep, deep one all right.
They turned to leave and saw the goat was charging at them, head down, horns headed straight for them. At the last moment, they jumped aside, and the goat went right past them and straight over the side and down the well. They looked at each other in amazement.
As they started to leave, the owner of the farm came up.
They chatted for a moment and got permission to hunt on his land. The farmer asked, "Have you seen my goat?"
They said, "Your goat almost killed us charging at us.
You should have had that goat tied up."
The farmer, "I thought I had him tied up to an old transmission."
LESSON: You follow what you're tied to (Rick Pendleton)
Today we will teach about the last I AM statement that Jesus will make. So far, we have learned that Jesus used the Hebrew word “haya” (hay-yaw) which is the same word God used when introducing himself to Moses. We learned that this word was interpreted in Greek to be a combination of two words. One was ego, which meant with emphasis. The other was eimi (I-mee) which meant to be. Jesus was emphasizing his right to make the claim that He was equal to God based on his very existence. He was claiming to be God. He claimed to be the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Gate to the sheepfold, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection and the Life, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
As the fifteenth chapter of John begins, Jesus and his disciples have just finished the Passover meal. Judas has the left the group to set up the betrayal. Jesus and the remaining disciples are headed to the Garden of Gethsemane. This will be his last chance to teach them.
As they are heading in that direction perhaps they pass near some grape vines. Jesus may have picked one up and begin teaching scriptures that they would have been familiar to them. Scriptures such as Psalm 80:8-10 where David painted a picture of the fruitfulness of Israel. “You brought us from Egypt like a grapevine; you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us into your land. You cleared the ground for us,
and we took root and filled the land. Our shade covered the mountains; our branches covered the mighty cedars.”
Then He may have quoted Isaiah 5:1-2 about Israel beginning to fall away. “Now I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard
on a rich and fertile hill. He plowed the land, cleared its stones,
and planted it with the best vines. In the middle, he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were bitter.”
Next He may have taught on Jeremiah 2:21 who, speaking for God, said “But I was the one who planted you, choosing a vine of the purest stock—the very best. How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?”
Perhaps it was in this setting that He makes his next claim.
John 15:5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” He would have made the point that Israel failed to produce the refreshing fruit.
His claim; I AM the vine, not Israel. I AM the vine, not traditions. I AM the vine, not rituals. I AM the vine, not sacrifices. I AM.
We must understand the necessity of the clarity to his followers that no longer would their past religion be sufficient. These guys were Jewish. They would have been steeped in their traditions, rituals, and sacrifices. They would have considered these things to be the life giving nutriments for their spirituality. He needed to be sure they understood that He was the vine that would provide what their religion failed too. Today, as Christmas approaches, we need to be reminded that only Jesus can state, “I AM the vine.”
Jesus is the vine not traditions. The world is filled with Christmas traditions. We spend more. We eat more. We decorate our homes and trees. Some radio stations dedicate their entire format to Christmas music every year.
Most churches concentrate on singing Christmas hymns, doing Christmas cantatas, hanging the greens, lighting Advent candles, having Christmas Eve services and other things. When asked why the response is mostly “its tradition.” We even put special emphasis on inviting others to join us that Sunday before Christmas.
We celebrate the birth of Jesus at a time that most scholars agree is the wrong time of the year. The early Christians picked this time to coincide with a pagan festival in hopes of introducing them to Christianity. We continue to do so in the name of tradition.
What if we decorated in June? People would call us kooks. Why? Because tradition dictates that we decorate in December.
Do not misunderstand me. I am not the Grinch wanting to steal Christmas. But when we allow our traditions to overshadow the True Vine then we are no longer remaining in him. Everyday should be Christmas Day for us. We should give of our resources every day of the year. We should have carols in our hearts proclaiming his birth in the middle of July. We should spread the good news of his arrival 365 days a year.
The Jews had plenty of rituals. They followed 613 commandments. They were required to pray 3 times a day. Solitary prayer was acceptable but it was better to be in a group of at least ten. Their food had to be kosher, that is acceptable to God.
The church can also become a place of rituals. We come in, greet each other, sing three songs, hear the word, maybe do a closing song, and then leave with a challenge to make a difference. What if we heard the word first? What if we had a service of just music? What if in the middle of my teaching someone stopped me to ask a question? If we change the routine, would someone get upset? Possibly, I guess.
We seem to be willing to sacrifice a little more this year. We fill shoeboxes to make children happy then do not give them a second thought until next November. We contribute money to meals for needy families so they can have food at Thanksgiving and Christmas without wondering how they will be fed the rest of the year.
All these things are wonderful but dangerous. Jesus was concerned that his disciples would continue allowing traditions, rituals, and sacrifices to be the vine of their spiritual nourishment. I believe that He is concerned that his church has allowed traditions, rituals, and sacrifices to become the vine for their spiritual nourishment. He said, “I AM the vine.”
Here is a quick lesson on grapevines. There are roots to anchor the vine to the soil and serves as the conduit where nutrients and water from the soil are absorbed. Along with the trunk, the roots also serve as a storage reserve of carbohydrates, which the vine can use for energy in the winter after the leaves have fallen and are no longer conducting photosynthesis. The function of photosynthesis in the grapevine is to produce glucose, which can be combined with other molecules to form larger carbohydrates that can be used to create other structures in the vine, such as branches, energy reserves for the plant and, for fruiting grapevines, can be concentrated in grape berries, which contain the reproductive seeds of the vine.
Jesus is the vine. Jesus, in his statement, “I AM the vine” is making it clear that nothing can anchor us but him. It is through him that we receive all of our provision. It is through him that, when tragedy strikes our lives and we feel as if we are in the dead of winter, He provides us with comfort and hope. Through him, we get our energy to serve God. Through him, we can effectively reproduce the kingdom. It is through our vine, Jesus, that we became branches by his choosing.
Romans 11:18 “But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.”
We were grafted into the vine. He chooses us because we had something to offer. The nation of Israel was broken off because they choose traditions, rituals, and sacrifices to be their vine. We must guard against being boastful because we are merely a branch and not the vine.
We are the branches. Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. The vine produces fruit. That fruit is the branches. It is the branches that produce the grapes. We are to produce the fruits of the spirit. It is our nature to produce sour grapes. It is only when we surrender our selves to Jesus that our grapes become sweet.
Galatians 2:20 “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
When a branch is grafted in, it begins to draw from the sap in the vine. It will conform to the health of the vine. The new sap of the vine will overtime replace the sap that once ran through it. Paul is comparing himself in that manner. His old nature has been replaced by the life giving nature of God. We are to become more like him. We are to behave more like him. We are to be burdened by those things that burden him. In other words, we are to develop the mind of Christ.
We are to remain in him. Unlike a real branch on a grapevine, we can choose to break ourselves free. Let us look three scriptures quickly. Philemon 1:23-24 “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. So do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my co-workers.”
Colossians 4:14 “Luke, the beloved doctor, sends his greetings, and so does Demas.”
2 Timothy 4:10 “Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica.”
It is dangerous to not remain in Jesus. Peter knew this when he wrote 2 Peter 2:20-21 “And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life.”
A grafted in branch would have been better off staying a wild branch than experiencing the grace of the true vine and deciding to break free. They just become a withered branch set to be gathered and thrown into a pile to be burned.
Let me share a story with you from October 19, 2011 as reported on ABC news.
“A devoted Iowa couple married for 72 years died holding hands in the hospital last week, exactly one hour apart.
The passing reflected the nature of their marriage, where, “As a rule, everything was done together,” said the couple’s daughter.
Gordon Yeager, 94, and his wife, Norma, 90, left their home Wednesday to go into town, but never made it. A car accident sent the couple to the hospital with broken bones and other injuries.
When it became clear that their conditions were not improving, the couple was moved into a room together in beds side- by- side where they could hold hands. His right hand held her left hand.
Gordon Yeager died at 3:38 pm. He was no longer breathing but the family was surprised by what his monitor showed. It showed a heartbeat.
When they asked how that was possible the nurse replied, “Your Dad is picking up your Mom’s heartbeat through her hand.”
The son gasped and said ‘Oh my gosh, Mom’s heart is beating through him.’”
As we hold hands and hearts with the Vine, his pulse becomes ours and his life becomes ours. He is the vine, we are the branches, and his heartbeat is the fruit. That is the desire of Jesus. He wants his heart to beat through us, not just at Christmas but everyday of our lives.
