I AM the True Vine
John 15:1-8
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
11-01-2020
Connected
On June 29, 2019, I scratched another item off my bucket list. Joshua, Shiann, and I all jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. It was one of the most terrifying and amazing experiences I’ve ever had and I can’t wait to do it again.
There are two ways you can jump - solo or tandem. I jumped tandem, which means I was literally strapped to my instructor.
Where he went, I went. If he was going out the plane, I didn’t have a choice, I was going as well.
He had already made 8 jumps that day and would finish with about 30. He said he had jumped over 10,000 times all over the world. He knew what he was doing. I just had to stay connected to him and everything was going to be fine.
Did you know that the Christian life is a lot like that? The closer we stay to Jesus, the better.
This morning, we have come to our last I AM statement of this series. Jesus is continuing to encourage his distressed disciples and tells them that if they connected to Him everything is going to be okay.
Turn with me to John 15.
Prayer.
Identity
In the Gospel of John, there are seven “I am” statements that Jesus makes to help His disciples, and us, to understand who He is and what His mission was. [Slide]
1. “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51) As bread sustains physical life, so Christ offers and sustains spiritual life.
“I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12) To a world lost in darkness, Christ offers Himself as a guide.
“I am the door of the sheep.” (John 10:7,9) Jesus protects His followers as shepherds protect their flocks from predators.
“I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11, 14) Jesus is committed to caring and watching over those who are His.
“I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25) Death is not the final word for those in Christ.
I am the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6) Jesus is the bridge back to the Father house, heaven.
Four of these were spoken publicly to the crowd. The fifth was in a private conversation with Mary and the last two are given directly to His disciples.
Remember, that chapters 13-17 of John are called the “farewell discourse.” It covers about four hours on the Thursday night before Jesus would go to the cross on Friday.
He has washed their feet, told them that He would be betrayed, and rebuked Peter’s confident assertion that he was willing to die for Him by saying that before the rooster crows, Peter would deny Him three times.
Chapter 14 ends with these words:
“Come now; let us leave.” (John 14:31)
Jesus and His disciples are on the move. They have left the upper room and walking through Jerusalem eastward to a little garden called Gethsemane.
He looks at His frightened disciples and as Jesus turns and looks back toward the temple, He can see the huge golden grape vine that adorns the Temple doors. The grape clusters were said to be as big as a human.
He tells them, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” (John 15:1)
Remember that by using those two little Greek words “Ego emie”, “I Am,” Jesus was claiming to be God.
God gave Moses His covenant name, “I am that I am” (Exodus 3:14).
There are people that would say that Jesus never claims to be God in the Scriptures. Every time He made one of these I AM statements He was claiming deity.
The religious leaders understood this and this is why they were plotting to kill Him for blasphemy.
I am the true vine.
This short sentence would have exploded with meaning for His disciples.
Israel was an agricultural society and there were vineyards everywhere.
Jesus used the vineyard in several of His parables and the disciples would have understand the implications of what He was saying.
The vineyard was the symbol of national Israel. It was on even on their coins.
But every time the image of the vine was used in relation to Israel in the Old Testament it is a rebuke and judgement.
Isaiah sang this song about Israel:
“I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.” (Isaiah 51-2)
He finishes this song with sadness:
“The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.” (Isaiah 5:7)
God said through Jeremiah:
“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?” (Jer 2:21)
Jesus is the true vine. This was an astounding claim!
Like Israel, Jesus entered humanity and took on Himself the failure of Israel.
Unlike Israel, He thrives and bears fruit. He is the fulfillment of the Israel vine and the One who completes the mission.
Jesus clears the Temple and announces that He is the fulfillment of the Temple.
He announces at the different Jewish feasts that He is the bread of Life, He is the Living Water, He is the light of the world. He is the fulfillment of those feasts.
These places and practices have been replaced by a Person - Jesus Christ, the true vine.
So Jesus is the vine and His Father is the gardener or the farmer who is active in tending the vine.
A Contrast
“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.” (v. 2)
We’ve been introduced to the true vine - Jesus and the gardener - the Father.
Now we meet the “branches” and these are His disciples.
We see two types of branches.
First the gardener “cuts off” every branch in Me that bears no fruit. Dead wood contains insects and disease that can destroy the whole vine. We will look at this closer in verse 6.
But I want to stop and consider something important. This verse says that these fruitless branches were “in” Christ. And these branches are being cut off and, as we see in just a minute, thrown into the fire.
Is Jesus saying that we can lose our salvation? Absolutely not. I believe the Bible teaches clearly that once we are born again the caterpillar becomes a butterfly.
Remember what we studied in John 10:
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10:27-29)
Is it possible for someone to seem like they are a believer but then in the end are proved not to be?
This is something that would been on the disciples’ minds. They knew someone like that. He was with them for three years and they never saw his betrayal coming - Judas.
The Church consists of sheep and goats (see Matt 25), and wheat and weeds. (See Matt 13)
There are those who are born again and then there are those who just know how to play church.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)
John wrote in his first letter:
“They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” (I John 2:19)
But for the branches that bear fruit He prunes so the vine will bear more fruit.
A viticulturist is an expert in the scientific study of grapes and the production of wine. It actually takes about three years for someone to be trained in pruning vines.
They understand what must be done to the vine in order to make it most effective in producing the best grapes.
“pinching” - removing the growing tip of the vine so it will not grow too rapidly.
“topping” - cutting off a foot or two of new growth to prevent the loss of the entire shoot.
“Thinning” - removing clusters that enables the rest of the bunches to bear more fruit.
Cutting away of “suckers” gives more nourishment to the whole plant.
This work was done in the fall and you might be shocked to see only the stalks remain after the gardener is finished.
A grapevine will never produce anywhere near its potential without pruning. The health of the vines are directly proportional to the pruning the gardener does.
So Jesus is making the point that our fruitfulness is dependent upon God’s pruning of us.
David wrote:
"Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word… It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” (Psalm 119:67,71)
The writer of Hebrews says the same thing:
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:6,11)
Matt Carter writes:
“God is ruthlessness determined to shape you into something much better and more beautiful than you are right
now.”
In our Wednesday morning bible study, I’ve been introducing the group to people that are living for Christ in the area of the arts.
We watched a video about the guitarist Brian Head Welch. He said a very interesting thing in the video:
“In 2009, I lost my house, tow trucks come and picked the cars up from in front of the house. Everything I tried to do was failing, career-wise music wise. That went on for a few years. I had these glimpses of “Don’t worry, you’re getting crushed for a reason.”
When we can see a purpose and meaning in our pain it makes it a little easier to go through.
Maybe you are being pruned right now and it hurts. Remember, the Father loves you and wants you to bear more fruit.
Corrie Ten Boom, who suffered so greatly in the concentration camps, wrote these haunting words:
“ I asked the Lord, that I might grow
In faith, and love, and every grace.
Might more of His salvation know,
and seek more earnestly His face.
I hoped that in some favored hour
at once He’d answer my request,
And by His love’s constraining power
subdue my sins, and give me rest.
Instead of this, He made me feel
the hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry powers of hell
assault my soul; in every part.
Yea, more with His own hand He
seemed intent to aggravate my woe
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed
blasted my gourds and laid me low.
“Lord, why is this?” I trembled cried, “
Will you pursue your worm to death?”
“Tis in this way,” the Lord replied,
“I answer prayer for grace and faith.”
These inward trials I employ
from self and pride to set you free
And break your schemes of earthly joys,
so you may seek your all in me.”
God prunes us. He cuts away anything that doesn’t look like Jesus. He does this out of extravagant love. It may be painful and it may seem that God has abandoned you.
The pruning knife is the Word of God.
But remember that when the gardener is pruning the vine he couldn’t be any closer. He’s working for your good and his glory. He wants to grow us up to maturity so we can produce even more fruit for Him.
James said it this way:
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)
Clean
Jesus continues with some incredibly good news for his disciples:
“You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” (v. 3)
The Greek word for “clean” is the same word for pruning.
There are eleven faces staring back at Him. They have gone all in. They have followed in the footsteps of their Rabbi for three years.
Jesus tells them that they are clean. They have been, and are being pruned. They are alive branches. They are in Him. They are fruit bearing branches.
Why would this be important for them to remember this?
Because in less than three hours, every single last one of them would run for their lives and abandon Jesus in the garden.
Peter, bold, brash Peter would deny that he ever knew Jesus to a servant girl three times before the sun rose the next morning.
By the way, I will be preaching a message about Peter’s denials and we will consider the question of forgiving yourself on November 22.
These were the eleven guys Jesus was going to use to turn the world upside down going forward and they needed to know that their failure wasn’t final and they were going to be okay after Jesus left.
ABIDE
“Remain in me, as I also 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 you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)
Jesus continues by imploring the disciples to make it their top priority to dwell, stay, continue to live, remain in Him. This is the idea of “Abiding in Christ.”
Warren Wiersbe defines abiding as “a desperate dependence and a restful residence in the Lord.”
This is covenant language. In the Old Testament, God said, “I will be their God and they will be my people.” (Jer 31:33)
This speaks of our salvation.
When someone asked you what does it mean to be a Christian, what do you say?
John MacArthur when teaching on this verse makes the case that the most Biblical answer we can give is that the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) lives in me!
Paul wrote of this to the Colossian believers:
“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:27)
When Jesus prays for them in John 17, He says the same thing;
"I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity.” (John 17:22-23)
No branch can bear fruit apart from the vine. The verse tense of this sentence is emphatic. Without a connection to the vine, the branch is dead.
Remaining in the vine guarantees that the water that roots accumulate will reach the branches. The sap that runs from the vine to the branches will help that branch to thrive.
This speaks of our sanctification.
He repeats the I am statement again and promises that if the branches abide in Him that they will bear much fruit.
Jesus promises them that He will not leave them alone and that the Holy Spirit will come and be in them to guide and direct them after Jesus is gone and
“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (John 14:20)
Then He makes this profound statement - “apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Without a connection to Jesus, we can bear no spiritual fruit, we can do nothing of eternal consequences.
It is possible to do a lot of things without a connection to Jesus. It’s even possible to be a pastor or a Christian leader without a connection to Jesus.
But it is our union with Christ, our abiding in Him, that gives us the spiritual power to produce this kind of fruit.
I participated in a virtual conference this week for pastors and on of the speakers talked about our union with Christ. He said that our if our thumb represents us then as we fold our thumb into our fists, that represents being in Christ.
This doesn’t mean that we sit back and do nothing and say, “Well, Jesus is going to do it all any way. My job is just to get out of His way.”
God works in us and we bear fruit in the world. That’s the product of our union with Christ.
At the end of the sermon, we are going to consider what this abiding fruit looks like.
Fruitlessness
“If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” (John 15:6)
If we remain in Him, Jesus promises that we will bear much fruit.
But if we do not remain in Him, we will experience divine judgement.
Remember who Jesus is talking to - the disciples. And when they thought of a branch that was not connected to the vine, who was on their minds?
Their friend and fellow disciple, Judas Iscariot.
In the Upper Room, Jesus shocked the disciples by telling them one of them would betray him.
They all freaked out and asked who.
Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “You have said so.” (Matthew 26:23-25)
John records:
“As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” (John 13:27)
In the garden,
“Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.” (Matt 26:28)
Judas regretted his actions and tried to return the money he was paid:
“When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.” (Matt 27:3-5)
In Jesus’ prayer, Judas is described
“While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” (John 17:12)
After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples needed to replace Judas and pray:
“Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” (Acts 1:24-25)
This wasn’t just abstract theological talk. They had been with Judas for three years. He was their friend. And he was not connected to the vine so he was picked up and thrown into the fire and burned.
Jesus told this parable:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” (Matthew 13:24-30)
Their fruitlessness proves that they are not part of the vine and they are destined for destruction. They had a “form of godliness but denying its power.” (2 Tim 3:5)
Abiding Prayer
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15:7)
He says something very similar in John 14:
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)
Finally, something practical! Let’s pray!
God, you say to ask for anything in your name, so here goes.
I want a 1964 Fender Strat. I want a 1985 Trans-AM with T-tops. And of course, I need a jet.
Is that what Jesus is saying?
Let’s break it down.
First, if you are a “Judas” branch, if you are not connected to the vine, then God is under no obligation to answer any of your prayers.
There are two prerequisites for answered prayer in this context.
Remaining in Him and the truth of God’s Word dwelling in you richly (Col 3:16).
These two realities will supercharge your prayer life. No longer will you be praying for cars and guitars but you will be praying for things that bring the most glory to Jesus.
It flows out of a deep, indwelling, mutual relationship.
It centers on the glory of the Father.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray:
“Our Father, who is in heaven
Hallowed be Your Name
Your kingdom come
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.”
(Matthew 6:9-10)
It is only after we start with the glory of the Father that we move on to asking for ourselves.
James says it plainly:
“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (James 4:3)
But James also says that when our prayers are centered on Jesus as Lord and worthy of glory they will be “powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)
Our prayers and our fruitfulness is all about God’s glory.
Proof!
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8)
The largest grapevine in the world is in England and is over 240 years old. It’s in a greenhouse and still produces between 500-700 bunches of grapes a year!
We are not saved for good works but if we are saved we will do good works to glorify the Father.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
We are called to “bear much fruit” and that will be the proof that we are branches connected to the vine.
The the book of Psalms begins with these words:
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)
Paul gives the reason for this fruit:
“So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” (Rom 7:4)
This fruit is to be a lifelong endeavor:
"They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green…” (Psalm 92:14)
In His discussion about false prophets, Jesus said;
“ …every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:15-20)
I was walking on a trail in Florida and a guy walked past me with an Illini t-shirt on. I yelled out INI and he just stared at me. What should he have said if he was a true Illini fan?
Paul prayed that his spiritual children would bear much fruit:
"We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work…” (Col 1:9-10)
When people walk past your tree, does the aroma of the fruit cause them stop in their tracks to take a bite?
Applications
What are some this abiding fruit that proves that we are branches connected to the vine?
1. Fruit of the Spirit
Remember when we studied the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians?
“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.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
These fruit aren’t something we try to grow ourselves. That would be like stapling a pear to a fake tree. The pear can not make the tree alive. But a pear tree that is alive and healthy will produce juicy pears.
This fruit is the product of the Spirit’s work inside of us and not a product of behavior modification on our part. We don’t try to be more loving. We trust Christ to work the fruit of love in us:
2 Corinthians 5:17 says that once we are in Christ, we are “new creations.” Part of this process of being a new creation is that God grows in us new character traits that proclaim Jesus to a lost and dying world around us.
Is your life characterized by these attitudes of the heart?
2. Repentance
John the Baptist told the Pharisees coming out to him to be baptized to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:10)
In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul describes the difference between Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow:
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Cor 7:10)
One of the ways that you can know that you are a branch is that you are bothered by your sin. You still sin but when you do you feel Godly sorrow for it.
That’s why repentance is a continually action for the Christian. No matter what’s happening, no matter how far you’ve strayed, it’s only one step back:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)
Matt Chandler makes the point that when you believe you have offended someone you tend to avoid them. When you feel guilty, don’t run away from God. Run toward Him!
Again, this is a function of staying close to Jesus. Remember that when we sin, we’re not just breaking the rules, we are breaking the Father’s heart.
Are you quick to confess and repent of your sins?
3. Ultimate Authority is the Word of God
If you are abiding in Christ, then your heart will be drawn to the Word of God.
"But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” (I John 2:6)
Reading the Bible isn’t about checking off a box and God isn’t mad at you if you didn’t have a quiet time this morning.
Being in the Word is how we get to know Jesus better.
Warren Wiersbe wrote:
“The better we know Jesus the more we will love Him. The more we love Him, the more we will obey Him. The more we obey Him the more we will abide in Him. The more we abide in Him, the more fruit we will bear. And the more fruit we bear, the more we will experience abundant life.”
Is it your heart’s desire to read and obey God’s Word?
“Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11)
4. Identify Shame and Live in Freedom
Many of us live in a perpetual state of shame (should have already mastered everything).
I lived in a state of shame for many years and it can still come creeping back in.
When I lost my coat, it was a “Jeff thing.” Spilled the milk? Jeff thing. Locked my keys in the car? Jeff thing.
It wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I understood that other people did these things too.
Shame is that feeling where you want to crawl under the chair, where you feel like you’re not enough, when you want to run away from others and God.
But, as my friend Dale Petre,, says, “that is from the very pit of hell!”
If you are a child of the king that means that you are a prince or a princess. You have been redeemed, made new and the God of the Universe would rather die than live without you.
David wrote:
"Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” (Psalm 34:5)
When you feel that feeling of shame creeping in, look to Christ. Look to the cross. There is no greater example of how much God loves you.
Jesus said that the “thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy, but I’ve come to give life, and life to the full.” (John 10:10)
If we had time, we could talk about more fruit - sharing your faith with others, giving to the needy, speaking words that encourage and build up, living a life of purity. But let me end how Jesus ends this section.
5. The Fruit of Love
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. (John 15:9-11)
They will know we are Christians by the way we vote? By the signs in our yards? By our bumper stickers or t-shirts? By what we don’t do?
No!
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)
It’s starts here. It’s starts in the body of Christ. The world is watching us and it says if they can’t even love each other how could they ever love me?
Gordon and Norma Yeager were 94 and 90 respectively when they involved in a car accident. They both had broken bones and other injuries and it became apparent that the trauma was too much for their frail bodies.
They were moved into a room together so they could hold hands. Gordon died at 3:38 pm.
The family was amazed that although he had stopped breathing the monitor still showed a heart beat.
That’s when the nurse said, “It’s not his heart beat. The monitor is picking up your mother’s heartbeat through his hand.”
Can the world hear God’s heartbeat through your life?
Ending Song: He Will Hold Me Fast
