JESUS IS THE VINE - WE ARE THE BRANCHES
John 15:5-12 - November 10, 2002
JOHN 15:5-12
5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
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Dearest Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:
When we think of the "Old West," we think of many things associated with the "Old West"--gunfights, sheriffs, posses and bounty hunters. The posses and bounty hunters often were looking for criminals who had a reward on their heads. There were criminals wanted "dead or alive," dead or alive depending on how evil and wicked society had considered these criminals to be.
In a sense we were like criminals in that a bounty was on our head, that we were dead in sin; but the Lord wanted us alive. The price or the bounty, of course, was God’s Son. God set His own bounty, and then God paid His own price so that we who were dead are now alive; because the Lord wanted us not dead but alive. Paul writes to the Colossians: "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins"(COLOSSIANS 2:13). That is the heart of this section of Scripture. (In Chapter 15--the Vine and the branches-- we are going to take just the middles verses.) The fact is that we are made alive, we who once were dead. So we want to look at the fact that Jesus reminds us of today, "He is the Vine, and we are the branches":
I. We are dead without Jesus
II. We are alive in Jesus’ love
I. We are dead without Jesus
The Lord Jesus comes to His disciples and speaks to them. He uses very simple language that anybody can understand--about plants, the vine, and the branches. Our text began, "I am the Vine; you are branches." Certainly the disciples understood that the vine was the main source of nutrition and growth and even life of the branches. The branches could not survive without the vine. Jesus said, "I am the Vine; you are branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit." Of course, during the time of Jesus the vine that they very often thought of was the grapevine. The grapevine took years of cultivation and careful nurturing for it to produce any fruit. It also needed those branches to produce fruit, but the branches without the vine would not live. They would be dead.
He goes on to say, "apart from me, you can do nothing." There was a little bit of warning there for the disciples that they would want to remain close to Jesus who was the Vine. If they would distance themselves from Jesus, they would not be able to do one single thing. In fact when Jesus sent them out, He sent them out with the power to cast out demons, to heal the sick and do other miracles. They came back amazed that they could do such things. Jesus reminded them that it was not their power, but it was His power that He had given them. But apart from Him they would be able to do nothing.
He carries on this illustration of the branches that are cut off from the vine and how they would be completely dead. He says, "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers." You and I have also seen branches that have fallen from trees. The leaves wither up and cannot grow. We have seen branches that we have cut off from trees either because they are dead already or because they needed to be pruned from that tree. They too wither up and are thrown away. Finally, Jesus says, "Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned." They are good for nothing; they are dead. They can’t do anything apart from the vine. They can’t do anything away from the tree.
We are coming to the end of another church year. As we listen to our readings, they remind us of the coming of the end of time. They remind us of the separating the wheat from the chaff, the wicked from the righteous, the sheep from the goats, and the dead from the living. We might think to ourselves that we would never separate ourselves from the Vine. We would never distance ourselves from Jesus, and yet it happens quite easily. It happens easily because of the fact our very nature with which we were born is a sinful nature. The Scriptures remind us that we were born, not
as friends of God, not as acquaintances of God, but as enemies of God. Our sinful nature doesn’t want to know what is divine, doesn’t want to seek out God, and doesn’t even care about anything religious. It’s a constant battle of our new man (our Christian nature) against our sinful nature. Any opportunity that we miss to hear God’s Word or any opportunity we miss reading God’s Word or study God’s Word, is a time we are cutting ourselves off from the Vine when we distance ourselves from the Savior. Proverbs gives us this warning: "A man who strays from the path of understanding comes to rest in the company of the dead"(PROVERBS 21:16).
Jesus says that they distance themselves from the Vine so much that they are like the branches that are cut off and cast into the fire. Sometimes we might wonder to ourselves why anyone would not want to live in the love that Christ has shown the world. The world around us seems to have distanced itself from anything, which is religious. The world around us cares very little about God and His Word. We see it in the lives and actions of mankind as they care very little about mankind themselves. All of this is because of our sinful nature. We are quite selfish if we are left on our own. We as human beings have a tendency to take the easy way out, don’t we? We look for the easy path. What does Scripture say? It says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it"(MATTHEW 7:13). Yes, the world, sometimes ourselves and sometimes even people we know, have chosen that wide and broad path that leads to destruction. Without Jesus, we are lost. Without Jesus we are dead.
This morning reminds us as believers we know what is the narrow path. We know the difference between right and wrong. We know that without the Vine we wither up and parish. But there is more to life, there is more to a Christian life than just knowing those things. The Lord says we ought to live our Christian faith. More and more in this world people look at actions before they ever get a chance to listen to our words. So it is more and more important in this world that we show that joy of salvation that is ours. We want to live a life of joy, letting actions emphasize what we know and believe in our hearts. James writes: "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead"(JAMES 2:17). He said that old saying is true, that actions speak louder than words. We know that our Lord is our Savior and we want to live our lives that way. We know that without Jesus we are dead. Instead we want to be alive in Jesus’ love. When we realize that Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches, rather being without Christ, we have Christ. We are alive in Jesus’ love.
II. We are alive in Jesus’ love
Jesus goes on again with very simple language, short sentences, but a very important point every believer is to remember. He said, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love." He wanted His disciples to picture that. They realized how much God the Father loved His Son, and it was a love, which surpasses understanding. They realized as they gathered together how much the Savior loved them. These words were spoken Maundy Thursday. These were words when Jesus sat together with them and instituted the Lord’s Supper showing His great love for them. So the Lord says, “As the Father loves me, so have I loved you.”
Now he also says, “Remain in My love.” Don’t forget that love which I have shown."
He tells them how to do that. Jesus says, "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commands and remain in His love." Again, they saw the obedience of Jesus to His Father’s commands and how He remained in His Father’s love. Jesus says to them, "Now obey my commands and you will stay in that love and understand that love that God has for you and the love that Jesus has for you too."
Then Jesus tells them not only how to remain in that love, but He tells them why they were to obey the commands and remain in that love. "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." Even in the face of death, Jesus was not full of despair. He knew that it was for the sins of the world. Jesus knew that it was for the sake of His Father, and He knew that it was for the salvation of mankind that He would face death. There was joy in that accomplishment even though it would mean His sufferings and death. So He says as they remain in His love and obey His commandments, they too would experience the joy of salvation. They would find joy in life.
He also tells them how to find that joy. He says, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." This sums up the whole section. They had experienced the love of Jesus and now they were to love each other just as Jesus had loved them. Of course, that would not be easy for the disciples. These men came from different backgrounds, different temperaments, and different ideas and yet by faith they would overcome all difficulties and love each other. So He says, "Remain in that love; obey; discover joy and love one another." He sums it all up, He reminds them with all of these things--with love, obedience and joy--come great blessings.
Listen to His promise to them, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." They may come to the Father anytime, and they would receive what they needed. He also says, "This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." They would understand that Jesus was the Vine, they were the branches; and they would show God’s glory. They would reveal to the world that they were Christ’s disciples.
We want to live lives of joy; because we are alive in Jesus’ love, His love that he had received from His Father, His love which he had shown His disciples and which He has shown to us through His Holy Word. We are alive in Jesus’ love as we live lives of Christian love. We read in I John: "But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did"(1 JOHN 2:5,6). Jesus walked on earth to show heavenly glory, and you and I walk also in our lives to show glory to our Heavenly Father. We live in Jesus’ love. We are alive in Jesus’ love, first of all the love He had for us and then the love we have for Him and the love that we have for one another. He gives us that formula of how we stay in that love which is through obedience to His commands. It is through experiencing joy in our life. Yet, sometimes we let the world around us get us down. We are not so happy. We are not so joyous. It seems that there are so many different things to worry about, whether it is the weather or the economy or our health or our family or whatever. This list could go on and on. There are a lot of cares and worries in this world. But there are not enough cares and worries in this world to take away our joy in life, at least there ought not to be. If we truly remind ourselves that Jesus is the Vine, we are the branches as we are connected to Him, we have joy in living. Time and again Scripture realizes that it is necessary to remind us to be joyful. Paul writes to the Philippians: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near"(PHILIPPIANS 4:4,5).
Again, as we come to those last days in this world, as we realize that Judgment Day is coming closer, the Lord reminds us to be even more joyful; because the world will be filled with despair, wars and rumors of wars, heartache and sorrow. If we listen to the news around us or listen to the opinions of the world, it would seem that there is nothing left that is good in the world. Sometimes, it seems that they almost make it seem as if the life that we have on this earth is hardly even worth living anymore. How sad that is! Oh, it’s true that sin is going to abound and increase until the end of time. Scripture tells us that the love of most will grow cold. It also reminds us as believers in this world that we face challenges head on, because Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches. We are attached to that life-giving source that gives us life to live here on earth and also eternal life.
Sure, we don’t know what the future holds. We do not know what challenges individuals always face or challenges as the church, a body of believers, faces. Our churches combined in the Synod face challenges. But we are also reminded that our Savior faced challenges and overcame them. He overcame them for His branches, His children, and us. Titus 2:14 tells us: "Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good"(TITUS 2:14). Imagine that! He says that now we have been changed, we have been purified from wickedness and eager to do what is good, even though our sinful nature is never eager to do what is good. Our sinful nature loves to do that which is wicked and evil, but God sent His Son who is our Vine and to whom we are attached as branches to make us alive in Jesus’ love.
Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches. May we think of that in this coming week and days ahead, especially when it seems the world comes crashing down around us. We should remind ourselves that Jesus is the Vine; we are the branches. We are attached to Him. How sad it would be, because without Jesus we would be lost, condemned and dead. With Jesus we are alive in Jesus’ love, because He wanted us not dead but alive. He paid the bounty to redeem us for time and eternity. Just as Ephesians reminds us, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved"(EPHESIANS 2:4,5). Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches. Amen.
Pastor Timm O. Meyer
