The Purpose Of The Vine

The Purpose of the Vine

Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz

John 15:1-11

John 15:1 “aI am the true vine, and My Father is the bvinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He 1prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 “aYou are already 1clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 “aAbide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit 1of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he abears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is athrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, aask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 “My aFather is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so 1bprove to be My disciples. 9 “Just as athe Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 “aIf you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as bI have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “aThese things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your bjoy may be made full.

This story was written for a community that suffered from membership decline because of Roman persecutions. It is documented that the Roman Empire persecuted the Christians. In 66 CE, Nero blamed Jews and Jewish-Christians for causing fires that destroyed Rome, leading to their persecution. The Jews and Christians were ordered to leave the city and the general area. When the Christians declared they were not a Jewish sect, but a new religion, the faith opposed Roman law about what religions were acceptable. Judaism was accepted, not preferred, in the Empire. No other religion was acceptable. The emperor was considered a god and whatever religious rites and rituals he selected became the religion of the Empire.

Domitian was the Emperor of the Empire when the Gospel of John was written. The persecution of Christians was at its heights. Members of the faith were banned from holding any government job. Members of the faith struggled to get a job because a Roman official could punish their employer. Christians came together into commune type of communities. It was done for self-protection and because together they could grow crops and raise animals to feed the community. The Christian communities had to learn to be self-sufficient.

Even though the Christians kept to themselves, they could not help but spread the Word of Jesus Christ. Evangelism was a large part of their lives. Jesus told His disciples to spread the Word about God’s love and grace. The faith grew, and the communities grew, while the Roman government probably watched in amazement. As the persecutions grew more intense, it fueled the growth of the Jesus movement. The message of hope, love, and grace through faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is much stronger than anything humankind ever created.

So, why does John’s Gospel need a narrative that discusses staying in the community and the faith? There must have been disciples who determined that the confined community life was not for them. Perhaps, as more Christians were being killed because they were disciples of Jesus Christ, they lost their courage and left the faith. An analogy would be what happened to banks in the United States at the beginning of the Great Depression of the twentieth century. Once people learned that large sums of money were being withdrawn from a local bank, a bank run occurred. The bank would run out of cash and would collapse. If a community had several people leave because of the Roman persecution, it could easily evolve into a “run” on the faith and would leave the community devastated or destroyed.

The narrative insists that to be connected to Jesus Christ is something you do not want to quit. Each disciple is metaphorically a branch of the vine. Jesus is the vine and connects us together. The vines that do not bear fruit and are cut off are metaphorically the people who were part of the faith and then left the faith. While being a member of the Christian community, one is connected to the other members through Jesus. If a person left the community, then metaphorically, they are a branch that bears no fruit. Therefore, bearing fruit is the metaphor for staying in the community. Unproductive branches and ex-community members are removed and cast into fire in the story. This would have meant that the disciples who left the community were no longer under Jesus’ protection.