In Hampton Court near London, there is a grapevine which is about 1,000 years old. This grapevine has one root which is at least two feet thick, and some of the branches are 200 feet long. Despite its age the vine produces several tons of grapes each year. Although some of the smaller branches are 200 feet from the main stem, they still bear the sweet and delicious fruit because they are connected to the vine. Life flows from that single root and throughout the vine bringing nourishment and strength to each of the branches.
Jesus promises to do the same for us. He is the “true vine” bringing life to each of the branches. The purpose of the vine is to bring nourishment to the branches in order that they might produce fruit. When separated from the vine the branches wither and die. The vitality of our spiritual life is dependent upon our connection to Christ the “true vine.”
Each of us must answer two questions. First, are we connected to the vine, or is the life of Christ flowing within us? Secondly, if we are connected to the vine and we are joined to Christ, then how much fruit are we producing through our lives; is there no fruit, some fruit, or an abundance of fruit?
READ (Verse 1). Jesus tells His disciples, “I am the true vine.” Why did Jesus say that? I think I may know why. Think with me a moment about what has happened and where Jesus and His disciples most likely are.
If you remember this is the night of Jesus’ betrayal, but before that happens, Jesus and the disciples have been in the upper room. As they celebrated the Passover in the upper room, Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet and spoke with them about the events that were to take place. After a great deal of discussion with His disciples Jesus ends chapter 14 saying, “Come now; let us leave.”
Matthew, another one of the disciples says that following the Passover meal Jesus and the disciples sang a hymn and then went out to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:30). I believe that it is as they are making their way from the upper room to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus continued to instruct this group who had walked with Him for the last three years. Jesus knew that time was running out, but He still had much that He wanted to share with the disciples.
John 15 continues Jesus’ teaching with, “I am the true vine.” Jesus was a master teacher. He didn’t talk over people’s heads. He used things which were common to those He taught so that they could understand His teaching. So, I believe that as Jesus and the disciples were making their way, they walked beside something familiar to everyone in Jerusalem–a grapevine.
Picture Jesus walking up to the vine and telling His disciples, “I am the true vine.” Now He had their attention; now Jesus was using something that they were familiar with and could understand as an “illustrated sermon.”
In the upper room Jesus had told His disciples some things that would be difficult to understand, but now Jesus could help them to comprehend what He had told them. Two things stand out from what Jesus had told His disciples in the upper room from John 14.
First, Jesus had told His disciples that He was “the life” (John 14:6). Second, He said that the Holy Spirit, that is, another of the same kind coming with strength, would come to be in them (John 14:16-18). Jesus clarifies the upper room teaching with an illustration that we can all understand when He says “I am the true vine.”
Everyone living in Jerusalem, and even those rough fishermen among the twelve who walked with Jesus knew that life flowed from the vine into the branches. So, Jesus uses this common sight around Jerusalem to bring further understanding to what He had said earlier. Jesus is showing His disciples and us that He is the source of spiritual life. Jesus is the source of life, a resource made available by the Holy Spirit when He comes to dwell within the believer. John spells it out plainly for us:
+ 1 John 5:11-12 11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (NIV)
Now before we move any further we need to stop and deal with our first question, “Are you connected to the vine?” If you are not connected to Jesus through the forgiveness of your sin, if you have not let Jesus rescue you from sin, then you are as good as dead. The life you are living is empty and meaningless because you aren’t connected to the source of life. When you are connected to Jesus, suddenly everything will be made new and alive.
Jesus is the life source and His life within the believer is for one purpose–to produce fruit. The question we need to think about for ourselves is, “How much fruit is being produced, is there no fruit, some fruit, or an abundance of fruit?”
Remember, Jesus is talking with His disciples. Jesus is the true vine and His disciples and those who believe in Him are the branches. So, when we think about the quantity of fruit in an individual’s life, we are talking about believers– that is those connected to the vine. As we said, anyone who is not connected to Jesus cannot bear fruit.
The question as to how much fruit is being produced in your life does not deal with your salvation; if you have been saved then you are connected to the vine. The quantity of fruit deals with the issue of what you are doing with the life source that is within you.
What is this fruit we are supposed to be producing.
· OBEDIENCE. This fits with the context, those who love Christ will obey His commands.
· To REPRODUCE OTHER BELIEVERS. One of the signs of life is that it reproduces itself. Fruit carries within it the seed which has the ability to reproduce.
· FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are the fruitful evidence that you are connected to the vine.
So which one is it? Let’s have Jesus answer that question.
+ Matthew 7:16-18 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. (NIV)
Jesus says you will recognize the fruit; we are fruit inspectors. So, let’s check out the fruit.
· Is OBEDIENCE to Christ’s word something that the life of Christ would produce within the life of a believer? YES!
· Is REPRODUCTION of new believers something that Jesus’ life within you will yield as fruit? YES!
· Is the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT a byproduct of Christ’s life at work within a believer? YES!
So what is the fruit of the believers’ life that is connected to Jesus, the true life-giving vine? ALL OF THE ABOVE! Those who are Christ’s branches should desire to produce more and more of ALL His fruit. That brings us back to the question of quantity. How much fruit is your life producing; is there no fruit, some fruit or an abundance of fruit?
1. The branches that produce NO FRUIT. (Verses 2a, 6)
Does it surprise you that there can be branches connected to the vine which produce no fruit? I believe Jesus identifies two such branches. On the surface we may think both receive the same treatment by the gardener. The fruitless branch is cut off and thrown into the fire; right? READ John 15:2, 6.
“Are these the same kind of branches?” Both are branches without fruit but notice the difference between the two. In verse two Jesus says the branch is “IN ME,” but in verse six the branch “DOES NOT REMAIN IN ME.”
A healthy grapevine puts out new shoots which grow into branches. However, these new branches often grow along the ground; they get covered with dirt and are shaded from the light of the sun. Although they are alive, they can’t produce fruit. The gardener will wash the dirt from the leaves and lift these branches up onto the trellis to get the needed light from the sun. The branch is cleansed, lifted up and trained to grow in a place where it can produce fruit.
The fruitless branch in verse two is like the believer who has not been discipled or trained how to live the Christian life. Would the Father cut off such a branch? NO!
+ 2 Peter 3:9 [He] is not willing that ANY should perish (KJV)
Jesus said the Father’s desire is that all who are in Christ will produce fruit bringing glory to the Father. The Father receives no glory by cutting off branches that are in Christ. The Greek word translated “cuts off” or “takes away” also means “LIFT UP.” That’s what a gardener does for the new branches; he lifts them up giving them the support and training that they need in order to produce fruit. Jesus uses another word all together in verse six when He talks about what happens to the branch that does not remain in Him.
Left to ourselves we all would remain branches IN CHRIST, but unfruitful because we are growing in the dirt of this world. The life source is within us; God’s Holy Spirit is in our lives, but God does more to make us fruitful. God lifts us up; He disciples and trains us in order that we might grow and produce fruit. How does God lift up these fruitless vines?
· He places us in relationship with other believers. We need each other to grow effectively and be fruitful; none of us can make it alone. I believe this is the single most important thing that God does for us. Being a part of a church and sharing in loving relationships with other Christians is vital to your spiritual health.
· He instructs us in His Word. The Holy Spirit is our teacher; through our personal devotions, sermons, teaching and interaction in small groups the Holy Spirit will cleanse and strengthen our lives through the Word of God.
· God renews our minds so that we no longer conform to the ways of this world but pursue His kingdom; He teaches us to hate sin and desire righteousness in our lives. When we have sin in our lives we want to be restored in our relationship with God and He is faithful to forgive us.
If we don’t let God lift us up then we are in danger of becoming a fruitless branch that chooses not to remain in Christ. If we don’t enter into relationships with other believers, if we don’t apply His word to our lives, if we don’t let the Holy Spirit renew our minds, then we are cutting off the flow of Christ’s source of life that He places within us.
Now don’t miss this warning! These are branches that were once in Christ, but they do not remain in Him. These branches once had the source of life flowing within them; they have produced fruit in the past but not now. They are cutting themselves off from the source of life believing that they can find life in other vines; the deceitfulness of sin has ensnared them. If we turn away from Christ and do not remain in Him then we become a withered fruitless branch that will ultimately be thrown into the fire.
2. The branches that produce SOME FRUIT. READ (Verses 2-4)
Not all branches are as fruitful as others. Some branches may have bushels of fruit while another branch may only have a single bushel, and still other branches while not barren have very little fruit at all.
NOW DON’T CONFUSE QUANTITY AND QUALITY. As a believer you are joined to the vine. The life of Christ within the vine is what produces the fruit. Any fruit produced in your life, obedience, reproduction, or the Fruit of the Spirit, IT IS ALL GOOD FRUIT. Christ’s life in you will not produce inferior fruit. Christ, the true vine, only produces the best quality fruit. However, each of us as branches can restrict the quantity of fruit produced in our lives. Look again at what Jesus said. READ John 15:2-4
What is it that restricts the production of fruit? In a word it’s SELF. We love Christ; His Spirit is within us, and His fruit is evident in our lives. But from time to time we stop relying upon Christ and His life within us and live our life in our own strength. Jesus said, “No branch can bear fruit by itself!” didn’t He?
In those times when we stop depending on Christ and rely upon our own strength and ability, it is then that the branch is unable to continue to produce fruit. Often times, we may fall into sin once again simply because we didn’t depend upon Christ the source of life to help us.
What does the Father do for the branch that only produces some fruit? Does He cut the branch off and throw it away? No, the Father’s desire is that each branch produces an abundance of fruit; that’s not possible if the branches are cut off of the vine. What did Jesus say the Father would do? “Every branch in me that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”
What is the Father doing when He prunes the branches? He is causing us to stop depending upon self in order that we might rely fully on Christ and bear more fruit.
Have any of you noticed, PRUNING IS PAINFUL? But have you also noticed that although pruning is painful, PRUNING IS PRODUCTIVE. When the branches are pruned back more fruit really is produced. The pain of cutting accomplishes what the Father intends–FRUITFULNESS!
3. The branches that produce an ABUNDANCE of FRUIT. READ 15:5
These are the branches that have been properly trained through the discipline of pruning. They have crucified self and have learned that apart from Christ they can do nothing. READ 7-8.
Why can Jesus say what He does in verse seven? Those branches that remain in Him, and His word remains in them, will not ask selfishly. They have died to self and the passions of the world; they live for Christ. Whatever they ask for is what Jesus would ask for. When we mature as believers that we bear an abundance of fruit, the Father is glorified as we show ourselves to be Christ’s disciples.
So, Jesus gives His disciples, that includes us, some things to think about. Jesus, the true vine is producing fruit within His branches. Christ’s fruit is good; it alone will endure. But the question is, “How much fruit are you letting be produced through your life? Is there no fruit, some fruit or an abundance of fruit?
