Of Vines and Branches (Part One)
Text: John 15:1-8, Psalm 80:8,
Ok… we’re in John 15, and today I want to talk to you about fruitfulness. We’re going to spend a couple of Sundays, maybe even three on this passage, so that we can really get it down and understand what Jesus is saying here. Remember, these are some of the very last words that Jesus is going to say to the disciples while He’s still, physically on earth.
But before we get to our text in John 15 this morning, we’re going to have to back up a little bit and look at a few other passages.
First – Psalm 80:8-9, “You brought a vine out of Egypt; You drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.”
Hosea 10:1-2… “Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars (now just for reference, a pillar was an obelisk type stone that represented a false god). Hosea goes on, “Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars and destroy their pillars.”
Jeremiah 2:21, “Yet I planted you a choice vine, wholly of pure seed. How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine?”
Church, the Bible is full of imagery. And throughout the Old Testament, the nation of Israel was often referred to as a “vine” or as “God’s vineyard”. And we need to know that and understand that in order to have a clear picture of what Jesus says in our text this morning.
So let’s turn to John 15:1-8 (READ)
If you were to jump into your car today after church, and head towards Enid, you’d eventually pass the Fairview turn – the town, not our church… Then you’d go past The Curve, a little gas station, and then the Cleo Springs turn off, and you’d next go past a winery. It’s actually a pretty nice place. I got to do a wedding ceremony there once… well a renewing of vows ceremony actually. But the place itself is nice. It’s an actual vineyard, they grow grapes and make wine. And if you went there during the growing and harvesting season you’d see a bunch of luscious vines and branches growing up lattices full of grape clusters.
But if you went after the harvest season, you’d see a whole bunch of vines with branches that have been pruned drastically. Cut way back. The way I understand it, is that is what you have to do this with grape vines. You have to work them before the harvest in order to remove dead branches, and then you prune them at the end of the season in order to make them much more fruitful.
And these disciples who are with Jesus, most likely would’ve known all of this… and they would’ve known that throughout the Old Testament, God’s people Israel were called the “vine”.
And so when Jesus says to them, “I am the TRUE VINE, and My Father is the Vinedresser” It would have shocked them to the core. I mean… I probably lack the vocabulary to describe how shocking of a statement this was to them.
Now what Jesus was saying here is that ALL of those things you read about in the Old Testament, all of God’s promises, all of God’s works and plans, and purposes was leading up to, and pointing to Jesus. Jesus was saying what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “All the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ.”
He’s saying, what Paul says in Galatians 3:29, “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, and heirs according to the promise.”
He’s saying, what Paul was saying in Romans chapters 9, 10, and 11 – specifically Romans 11:17-20, let me just read that… “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grated in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.”
So if you go to that winery near Cleo Springs, on the way to Enid, during the winter, you’ll see all the branches pruned back – some of them drastically… but you know what you won’t see? You won’t see the vine itself cut back. The vine is the source, the branches are attached to the vine. If the branches aren’t attached to the vine, they don’t produce any fruit. In-fact; they can’t produce fruit. So the root isn’t pruned, the vine itself isn’t pruned, the branches that shoot out of the vine are pruned.
There is ONE VINE, and has always only been ONE VINE – JESUS CHRIST!
Abraham BELIEVED and it was counted to him as righteousness.
And that’s the case all down through the Old Testament. Hebrews 11…
By faith Abel… By faith Enoch… By faith Noah… By faith Abraham… By faith Sarah… By faith Isaac… By faith Jacob… By faith Joseph… By faith Moses… By faith The People… and then it mentions Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets… BY FAITH.
So, Jesus is saying, “I AM the True Vine.” I AM the Vine that Abel and Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham… and all those others were attached to… BY FAITH!
And My Father is the Vinedresser.”
And if you’re not connected to that Vine – you have no life in you. That’s verse 2
Now here’s the thing… sometimes we try to find other things to be our vine… sometimes it’s our spouse, or our kids, our friends… Our job or career… Our standing in the community. The devil, the world, and the flesh will put anything and everything out there that they can, to try to get you to think that’s your vine… that’s the thing that gives you life, and nourishment, and causes you to be fruitful. You need a bigger income to be happy and content in life. You need attention and praise to be happy and content in life. You need “this” or you need “that”… No… Jesus is the Vine!
He alone is the source of life, and true – lasting joy and contentment.
And on the flip side of that, sometimes we can get to thinking that we are called to be the “vine” for others. That we need to be their source of joy, or happiness, or inspiration. We get a Savior Complex and think that we can fill the God shaped void in their soul. YOU CAN’T! And neither can I.
And I think… I think that sometimes, this is an error that we get from our culture… We get this idea in our head that the goal in life is to be successful… or to be comfortable. Our goal is to be FRUITFUL.
According to the Scriptural definition of that. I mean… think about this with me. In today’s world, if a person was to examine the life of Jesus and judge Him based on our culture’s idea of success… they would say that Jesus probably wasn’t very successful. He didn’t have a house – He said, the “Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” He had a lot of opposition and hardship. He didn’t build a fortune 500 company or anything like that. He sure wasn’t comfortable by our standards. He had to walk everywhere He went. He had multiple threats against His life.
The world would not say Jesus was successful… but look around this sanctuary. And look at churches all over the world on this day – the Lord’s Day – at the Christians who have gathered in His Name… or down through history at the millions and millions throughout history who have been saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus! The Gates of Hell have not, and WILL NOT prevail against what Jesus has built – His Church! Was Jesus successful? YES! He accomplished and achieved exactly what He intended to. Was Jesus fruitful? YES! You and I, and every other believer are proof of that!
Jesus says, “I AM the TRUE Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser.” Then in verse 2 He says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He (that’s the Father) takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” So the goal is fruitfulness… But we need to address verse 2 a little more. Because there’s several ways people interpret it. They can’t all be right. They might all be wrong, but they can’t all be right.
Verse 2 says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away…”.
So… the first way some people interpret this verse is they read it and say, “I don’t like that… every branch that doesn’t bear fruit gets taken away… or cut off…”. And they read it in the ESV, and the NIV, and RSV, and the New King James, and that’s what they all say… but then they hear that this word that our English Bibles translated as “takes away, “ or “cuts off” is the Greek word “airo” and they are told, that sometimes that word means “to be lifted up”. And they go, “Oh that sounds better… if we’re not bearing fruit, God lifts us up so that we’re not on the ground, getting covered up by weeds and dirt, so that we can bear fruit.” And that sounds wonderful… but that’s not actually what the word means.
Its used about 101 times in the New Testament, and about 24 of those times are in John’s Gospel. 2/3rds of those times it means “To be taken away”… and the 1/3 of those times it means “To be lifted up… AND CARRIED AWAY.” Like John 5:8 “Take up your bed and walk.” Take it with you, don’t leave it here. Take it up and carry it away.
Now at times, Jesus does come alongside us, and lift us up, and carry us along… but that’s not what this verse is talking about. And verse 6 makes this very clear. So, if someone is an unfruitful branch and is getting lifted up… they’re also getting carried away.
The second way people interpret this is to say, “If you’re a believer, and you don’t produce any fruit, you lose your salvation – you get removed from Christ, and are thrown into the fire.” But there are serious problems with that interpretation too… First of all it contradicts what Jesus has already taught in John’s Gospel and what the rest of the Bible teaches. For example: John 6:37-39, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will NEVER CAST OUT. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will by the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose NOTHING of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day.” Or John 10:27-30, “MY sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and THEY WILL NEVER PERISH, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are One.”
So this second interpretation is more problematic than the first one…. And I’ll tell you why… not only does it contradict what the rest of Scripture teaches… it’s to add to the work of Jesus. It’s saying that I need to do something else besides trust in Jesus and believe in His finished work. Jesus doesn’t go to the cross, bear the wrath of God on your behalf, and say, “It is finished.” Then look at you and say, “Ok, now it’s your turn.” JESUS DID IT ALL!
The third way people have interpreted this verse is to say, “Well yes, this means to lifted up or taken away in the sense of death.” In other words, if you’re not producing fruit, if you somehow become unfruitful and the pruning process doesn’t work, you’re taken home. You don’t lose your salvation, you just get taken out of this world because you’ve lost your saltiness.
And this interpretation has more merit than the other two we’ve looked at, because of the warning we see Paul give when he gives the instructions for COMMUNION. He tells the Corinthians, in 1 Cor. 11 that “Anyone who easts or drinks without discerning the Body eats and drinks judgment upon themselves. That is why many of them were weak, ill and some died.” So some say, “That’s what Jesus is talking about here too. That they fall into some sin, and are just taken out.” And let me just say, that you can say that sort of thing happens based on other Scriptures, but I don’t necessarily think that’s what this passage is saying either. You’re free to disagree. But I’m not buying that particular interpretation for this passage.
The fourth way… Contextually speaking… Jesus says, “I AM the TRUE VINE, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” Now look at verses 3 & 4 (READ)… this is going right back to where we started this whole sermon. Israel was a type of the Vine… Jesus is the TRUE VINE. Paul says it like this in Romans “Not all Israel is Israel.” “If you have the faith of believing Abraham, then you are Abraham’s offspring, or seed, or… fruit. And if you are in Christ, you are Christ’s offspring, or seed, or fruit.”
We saw in Romans that Israel has been removed from the One True Vine because of unbelief. You have been grafted in because of faith. You can’t bear fruit unless you’re connected to the Vine… if you don’t bear fruit… you’re not connected to the Vine – that’s verse 4… Unbelieving Israel didn’t bear fruit, because they were not connected. They rejected the Messiah – the Christ – They didn’t believe.
And again, think of the context here. The disciples have just seen this happen. Which one of the 12 is no longer with them? JUDAS. Judas did not believe. Judas had a false faith. And so he went out from them, to show that he was not of them. What has John been showing us throughout His entire Gospel account is the distinction between real believers and false believers. Those who abide and those who don’t.
What does it mean to abide? It’s the Greek word meno and it literally means to dwell with permanently. To persevere. To continue on unchanged.
Now I want to direct your attention to verse 16 (READ).
So… Jesus chooses… but He not only chooses, He appoints that those He has chosen bear fruit… meaning, they aren’t fruitless, and their fruit abides… and since they are bearing fruit, that must mean they’re abiding in the Vine… because like He said in verse 4, “The branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the Vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” And in verse 5, “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.”
So verse 6 – If you don’t abide, you obviously weren’t chosen and appointed… you obviously aren’t connected to the Vine – which is Christ, because apart from Him, you can do nothing.
I’m going to close with this – If you’re connected to Jesus Christ. If you have been saved by the grace of God, through faith in Christ. You have assurance – You have a guarantee, that the Author and Perfector of your faith, is working in you to both will and do what is required to bear fruit. It’s the marvelous, wonderful, assuring, promise of God!
CLOSING
