Remain, Restore, Return (Pew Bible p. 848-854)
GRACE VIDEO
Happy Resurrection Sunday! He is risen! Please open your Bible to John 15.
Several years ago, I baptized a boy on Easter Sunday morning. The next week I asked him if he was reading his Bible that the church had given him. And he said, “Yes—and I have a question. How did Jesus die the second time?”
I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “Well, I mean I know he rose from the grave three days after he was crucified. But what happened after that? Did he get married? Did he have kids?
Most people, whether they believe in Jesus or not, have a pretty good handle on the Easter Story. They know about Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey while people waved palm branches and cried out Hosanna. They know about the last supper, and the garden of gethsemane, and Jesus praying, and Judas’ kiss, and Jesus arrest and trial. They know about the scourging and the crown of thorns and Simon carrying the cross and the crucifixion.
And they know about Resurrection morning. They know about the women coming to the tomb, and the stone being rolled away, and the soldiers, and John outrunning Peter, and all of that. what happened then.
But the funny thing is most people, even those who have been in church they’re whole life, know very little about what happened after the resurrection.
From Easter to Christ leaving there are 40 days of things He did. On our calendar this year, with Easter today, March 31, that would mean the day Jesus left earth to go to heaven would be May 10th. That’s more than a whole month away!
So think about it for a second, do you know what Jesus did after Easter? We’ve been in the book of John this season as we’ve studied Jesus’ I am statements. And twice, John said that Jesus did a whole lot of things that aren’t recorded in his gospel. At the end of John 20 he said,
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God,[f] and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Did you catch that? We don’t have a record of everything Jesus said and did. In the very last verse of John, the gospel writer tells us the world wouldn’t be big enough to contain all the books it would take to tell everything.
But the Bible tells us everything we need to know in order to believe in Jesus and have life in his name.
So this morning, we are going to look at one of those events that happened during the forty days between Jesus’ resurrection and the day he ascended back to heaven. But before we get to it we are going to look at the last I AM statement of Jesus—I am the True Vine. Because here is the truth: What Jesus did with His disciples after Easter doesn’t mean anything if we don’t do anything with Jesus after Easter.
Jesus wants his followers to remain with Him like grapes on a vine. He wants us to remain with him so much that he went to the cross in order for it to happen. He wants the same thing for us as well.
That’s what we are going to talk about this morning. Please look at John 15:1-8 with me. Let’s stand to honor the reading of God’s Word.
The Call to Remain (John 15:1-8)
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be[a] my disciples.
[This is God’s Word—Let’s thank him for it Pray]
This is a continuation of the conversation Jesus had with His disciples in the upper room. Remember that one quarter of John’s entire gospel—chapters 13-17, are about this one conversation. So every word of it matters.
It’s impossible to say which part of this conversation is the most important. But given that this is the last night Jesus is going to be with His disciples, that he is going to be dead before the sun goes down the next day, and that after the resurrection Jesus is only going to be with the disciples for another month before ascending into heaven, this teaching about what it means to abide in Him is huge.
Unlike the other gospels, John doesn’t mention the Passover meal Jesus shared with the disciples. We assume it happened, because he says that after the meal Jesus washed the disciples feet.
During the Passover meal, four cups of wine were drunk, which gives some context to Jesus teaching about being the true vine.
The first cup of wine is the cup of sanctification. It’s when the Jews remember that they are set apart for a special relationship with the king of the universe.
The second cup is the cup of deliverance. Here the Jews remembered the ten plagues that God used to deliver them from Egypt. The disciples would have performed a fascinating ritual on this night: they would remember the ten plagues, in order, and they would dip the fingers of the right hand into the cup and say “Blood, blood, blood. Frogs, frogs, frogs, gnats gnats gnats, and so on. Darkness darkness, darkness… Firstborn, firstborn, firstborn…” and by the time they finished the plate, the table cloth, the person sitting next to them, themselves—were all spattered with drops of red wine.
The third cup was called the cup of redemption. It was drunk together after the father told the part of the story in which Pharaoh and his armies were drowned in the red sea. The great enemy had been defeated, and now the Jews could enter into the Promised Land.
The fourth cup was the cup of Praise. It was called the Cup of Hallel (think Hallel-lu-jah). Initially, it represented when the Jews entered into the Promised Land. After the Temple was destroyed in AD 70, it anticipated the time in which all the Jews would dwell together with God in a rebuilt Jerusalem.
This is what I think Jesus was talking about when he said he was the true vine. In Christ we are sanctified, delivered, and redeemed. And in Christ is all our joy.
And guys—we are Baptists—we really don’t know much about wine. It’s a little like me trying to say anything about NASCAR. But we can’t overestimate how much wine was part of daily life for Jews in Jesus’ day. It was used for celebration, for funerals, for worship. It was used for healing and disinfecting wounds. In places where there wasn’t a good water source, it was in place of water.
So here, Jesus says, “I am the true vine. My body is like the bread we’ve just shared. My blood is like the wine you’ve just drunk. And you are going to have to remain in me and rely on me for sustenance and depend on me daily just like you do this wine. I need to be part of every celebration. I need to be a part of every time of mourning. I need to be a part of every table conversation.
Any vinedresser knows, you have to tend to the branches. Jesus said, My father is the vinedresser, and he is going to cut away all the branches that aren’t bearing fruit, because they aren’t staying connected to the vine.
I need to stop and ask you right now—are you remaining with Jesus? Are you staying connected to the true vine? Are you connecting with him every day through personal Bible study, through prayer? Are you growing in community with other believers? I know we have lots of guests today because its Easter, and I am not about to shame any of you. I am glad you are here. But I need to tell you as a pastor that if you are not staying connected to a faith community, you are not going to bear fruit. And verse 2 says that if you aren’t bearing fruit you are going to be removed. Look down to verse six—if you aren’t producing fruit, you are withering. And if you have dried up, you’re thrown into the fire and burned. This isn’t me saying this. It’s Jesus.
You say, James, I am staying connected. I am following Jesus. I’m growing in my understanding of the Word. I’m in community with other believers. Why am I experiencing hardship? Well, look at the second part of verse 2: every branch that produces fruit, the gardener prunes, so that it will produce more fruit. What does it mean to prune? We have some master gardeners in here—what does it mean to prune? That’s right—it means to cut away from a branch that’s producing fruit so that a healthy branch might produce more fruit. With the ultimate goal (look at verse 5) of producing—wait for it—much fruit.
[talk about how trials and hardship are part of the pruning process. Talk about how even good things may be pruned away to make room for better things.]
So to recap: On the last night of Jesus life, one of the last things He said to his disciples was “Remain in me.” Seven times. Remain in me.
But what happens when you don’t remain in Jesus? What happens when you fail? What about when you try and try and try to be good but you just don’t measure up?
If you read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, you’ll see that human history is just a series of God telling human beings to remain with Him, and then they fall away. From the very beginning, where God planted a Garden, put the first man and the first woman inside it, and said, Remain here with me; to the very last chapter, where God says, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with men (Rev. 21:3-4)
And maybe you’re thinking—wait—what? If you are going to be dead in less than twenty four hours, how are we supposed to remain in you?
The Plan to Restore (John 19:28-30)
After the supper and the Upper Room discourse, Jesus and the disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus said to Peter, James, and John, Remain with me (there’s our word again) while I pray. But the disciples keep falling asleep (remember—four cups of wine).
And Jesus begins talking about another cup—the cup of God’s wrath. Jesus, the true vine, begs God to let the cup pass from him. But he knows it won’t.
He is arrested, put on trial, and sent away to be crucified.
28 After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now finished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he said, “I’m thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it up to his mouth.
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.
This was the second time Jesus was offered wine that day. The first time was just before they put him on the cross. In Mark 15:23, it says that Jesus was offered wine, mixed with myrrh. Myrrh is a mild narcotic or sedative. It was intended to dull the pain. But Jesus refused that one.
But notice that Jesus received this sour wine.
I think this last mention of sour wine represents the cup of God’s wrath that Jesus asked God to take away from him. But God didn’t take it away. And Jesus didn’t refuse it. After he drank the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.”
What was finished?
The Invitation to Return (John 21)
So I want us to jump ahead to John 21. Seven of the eleven remaining disciples are back on the Sea of Galilee. Peter is there with Thomas, Nathanael, James, John, and two of the other disciples. And he says, “I’m going fishing.” And they said we’re going with you.
So they go out to fish, and they fish all night, and they don’t catch anything (just like last time). And Jesus calls out “Friends—you don’t have any fish, do you?” And they all say no. Then Jesus says, “Drop your lines on the other side of the boat” and they do, and they haul in so many fish they can’t even haul the net in.
Just like last time.
Then Peter says, “It’s the Lord” and he jumps out of the boat (just like last time). For a fisherman, Peter sure has a hard time staying in a boat. Or catching fish, for that matter.
He swims to shore, and there’s Jesus. He’s already built a fire, and there’s already fish on it, but still, Jesus says, “Bring me some of the fish you just caught (verse 10). You know why? Jesus didn’t really need the fish. He wanted the fisherman.
And there is where he asks Peter the three times whether or not Peter loves him.
Conclusion: What is that to you?
So as we wrap this up this morning, I want to ask you,
What will you do after Easter? Easter is often the high attendance day for churches. But after we are done with Easter, what happens next?
This isn’t me saying I want you to commit to coming to church every week and increase your tithe by 2% or volunteer to serve in the nursery (although I wouldn’t try to talk you out of any of those things). What I am saying is, maybe this experience of looking at these seven portraits of Jesus we’ve studied has drawn you closer to him. Maybe this season has been a spiritual high for you.
So how do you go from information about Jesus to a personal, intimate relationship with him?
In John 21, Jesus told Peter to follow him. It was really a full circle moment for Peter. Way back in Mark 1:16, Peter was on the shore of the Sea of Galilee when Jesus called to him, “Follow me.” Now, three years later, the two of them are in virtually the same spot when Jesus again says, “Follow me.” Follow me isn’t a one time thing. It’s a daily thing.
And I’d like you to notice something else too: In John 21, right after Jesus said follow me, Peter turns around and looks somewhere else:
20 So Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them, the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is the one that’s going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”
22 “If I want him to remain until I come,” Jesus answered, “what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”
Right now, this isn’t about anyone else. This isn’t about how your parents follow Christ, or whether you are in a faithful, Bible believing church. This is about you. As for you, follow me.
[INVITATION]
