As we approach the Easter holiday season we are looking at some of the “I AM” statements of Jesus found in the Gospel of John. The “I AM” statements of Jesus open our hearts and minds to a deeper understanding of who Jesus is as the Savior and Lord of His people and the relationship He has with His people. Last week we looked at the implication of Jesus’ words when He said, “I AM the Good Shepherd.” Today we are going to seek to understand the implications of Jesus’ words found in JOHN 15 when He says, “I AM the vine…”
JOHN 15:1-11
“I AM the True Vine…”
HISTORY OF “THE VINE” (ISRAEL). The imagery of the vine and branches Jesus uses in this discourse is deeply rooted in Israel’s history. Throughout the Old Testament Israel is called a vine or a vineyard—PSALM 80:8; JEREMIAH 2:21a. Israel was God’s vine/vineyard and they were to be a people whose lives produced a fruit of holiness and righteousness among the nations for God’s glory. The problem, however, was that Israel had produced bad fruit rather than good fruit—JEREMIAH 2:21b; ISAIAH 5:1-4. Their inability to produce fruit in accordance to righteousness resulted in discipline in the form of divine judgment upon His people. When Jesus comes onto the scene of human history, Israel is still experiencing the results of God’s discipline as they live under Roman rule while in the land of Promise.
JESUS THE TRUE (PERFECT) VINE. Jesus comes as the fulfillment of Israel’s prophetic existence. Everything about Israel’s existence pointed forward to the Messiah that was to come. Jesus comes to us and announces that He is the true (perfect) vine and where Israel had failed to be the true vine that produces branches of godly righteousness He would succeed. He would be the Perfect Son who would walk in Perfect Righteousness before His Father and because of His Perfect Life salvation would be accomplished for those who are unable, in and of themselves, to produce the fruit of godly righteousness and thus in Him the righteousness fruit of God will be manifested to the world.
IMPLICATIONS OF BEING THE VINE. The point of this discourse between Jesus and His disciples is to help them understand their relationship to Him as the Vine. With Jesus being the vine we, those who have turned from sin and self to trust fully in Him as Savior and Lord, are the branches. The imagery we get from this illustration is that we, the branches, are dependent solely upon the Vine for life, sustenance and provision. There are two characteristics of branches that our text brings out for us:
BRANCHES PRODUCES FRUIT
FRUIT PRODUCERS. This characteristic most clearly sets the true branches apart from the false branches. The branch that abides in Jesus will be a fruit producing branch. This is quite natural and makes sense given the illustration Jesus uses. When a branch is connected to a vine there will be fruit. Consider these two pictures [SHOW VINEYARD]. The one shows a vineyard that is dormant because it is out of season. However, as time goes by the natural result of all these branches that are connected to these vines is that fruit will be produced. Jesus says the exact same thing about His branches. They will produce the fruit of righteousness and holiness—that which Israel had failed to do—because of their relationship with the Vine. The natural result of any person who is grafted into the Vine (Jesus) through salvation is that fruit will be produced in the life of the one grafted in because of the new lifeblood flowing through the veins of the branch!
FALSE TEACHING—SALVATION WITHOUT SANCTIFICATION. If you claim to be a follower of Christ here today I ask you, “Is your life producing fruit in keeping with righteousness and holiness?” Real branches who are connected to the True Vine will be fruit producers. There is a dangerous FALSE TEACHING that has infiltrated the Church that says one can be saved by Christ but a change of life is optional. This false teaching feeds the desires of those who want to escape eternity in hell but do not want to surrender their life to Christ in His Lordship. In other words, they want to have the security of salvation but not the life of the saved. I have called this a FALSE TEACHING and rightfully so because it is. Jesus says in our passage clearly and without apology that the difference between REAL BRANCHES AND FALSE BRANCHES is that real branches will produce the fruit of righteousness while false branches will not produce fruit and will consequently be removed and burned.
GROOMING THE BRANCH. True branches will be fruit producing branches and will be groomed so that they may produce more fruit. If you are much of a gardener then you know that there are times when you must groom a branch of that which is harmful in order for fruit to come forth. The idea we see here is that God will continue to groom us as His branches so that we may produce more fruit.
• CUSSING WAS GONE BUT PATIENCE WAS NEEDED. As an unbeliever I had a very ungodly mouth. Let’s just say that my speech was such that I not only could make a sailor blush but I could make the entire Naval Academy blush. As a young Christian I knew that this was not godly and this is one of the areas of my life that was changed nearly immediately upon Jesus saving me. One of the other issues I had, however, was with patience and it was through tough situations at work and home—many times very unpleasant in my eyes—that the Lord was grooming me as His branch taking away from me my quick temperedness and impatience and replacing it with patience.
BEING GROOMED AND WILL FULLY BE GROOMED. As Christians we are God’s branches and He is our Vine and throughout life He grooms us, removing from us the ungodly and harmful so that more of His character and nature can come forth in our lives. We are continually being groomed in this life and there is coming a day when we will be perfectly groomed when this old sinful nature is totally taken away and we stand with Him as He is.
THE BRANCH ABIDES IN THE VINE.
Everything I have said up until this point hinges on this point—THE BRANCH IS TO ABIDE IN THE VINE. The fruit that God desires from His people cannot be produced in and of themselves. Israel’s history attests to that. The fruit that God desires from His people comes from Himself as we, the branches, simply abide in Him, the Vine.
ABIDING IS DEPENDING. The idea of “abiding” in Jesus, the Vine, gives us the picture of a daily, personal relationship with Jesus characterized by continual intimate trust and dependency manifested through time spent with Him in prayer and His Word. Just as the fruit a branch produces is completely dependent upon the vine for everything necessary for life so are we (branches) dependent upon Jesus (Vine) for everything necessary for life. Jesus says here in this passage that “Apart from [Him] we can do nothing.” Therefore, abiding in Jesus the Vine is that daily personal relationship with Him that manifests itself through time with Him in prayer and His Word whereby He molds us and shapes us through our abiding in Him and fruit comes forth. Jesus says “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
If abiding in Christ is characterized by a continual and daily spending of time with Him in prayer and in His Word, depending upon Him for the life we have been saved to live, then how are we doing at that? How are you doing in your prayer time? How are you doing in personal devotional time in the Word? Is your prayer time more than just a brief blessing of food or a time of asking for something? Is your Bible time more than just what we do here on Sunday’s and Wednesday’s?
TOO DEPENDENT ON HIM TO BE TOO BUSY FOR HIM. Many times we begin well in our commitment to spending time in prayer and Bible study and then before long, because of our overcrowded lives, we find ourselves so busy that we end up thinking that we are just too busy in life to spend the time with Jesus our souls are longing for in prayer and His Word. On the other end of the spectrum we can be so busy that, while we do not neglect time in prayer and His Word, we hurry through it so much that is of no gain for us other than to have something marked off of our “to do” list for the day. We can never be too busy to abide in Jesus. WE ARE TOO DEPENDENT ON HIM TO BE TOO BUSY FOR HIM—2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17.
DRIED UP AND LIFELESS? NO JOY IN YOUR LIFE? I wonder how many of you are here today and as “branches” you feel lifeless and dried up. You hear me preach and teach about the great joy of salvation and the fruit that flows from it and you simply wish that for your life. Or maybe you look around at other Christians and see spiritual life and fruit in their lives and you long for that in your life. Could it be that the sustenance for the life you long for is available to you but you have refused to partake of it? Jesus says, “If you abide in my, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
