The Vine And The Branches

Where then is real joy found? John 15:11, Jesus tells His disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

1. To understand the setting of when Jesus speaks these words need to go back to John 13:1it is Passover and it is the night before Jesus’ crucifixion.

2. Jesus has just finished eating the Passover with the disciples and instituting the Lord’s Supper. We see more details about the Lord’s Supper in the other Gospels.

3. John records the dialog of Jesus as He tries to comfort His disciples and tries to explains to them what is going to take place.

4. In this discussion Jesus says that He is going to lay down His life and go back to the Father.

5. The disciples don’t understand what is going to happen. They are perplexed and confused.

6. Jesus comforts them by telling them that He is going to prepare a place for them (John 14:1-3) and also gives them instruction on how to continue after all this takes place.

D. In John 15 Jesus continues to teach and comfort His disciples by stating, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

E. So, what are the things Jesus spoke so His disciples would have joy?

Discussion

I. We need to know who Jesus is.

A. John 15:1 “I am the true vine.”

1. This is the seventh and final of the great “I am” statements in John’s gospel.

2. When Jesus states, “I am” He is identifying Himself as the True and Living God.

3. I Am Who I Am – Describe the eternal nature of God, “the one who is or the existing one.” God is without beginning or end. He has always existed. God is immortal. He is the only one of His kind. God is the living God!

4. The first we see I Am used in Scripture to identity the Lord is Exo 3:14, “God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

5. Jesus will use “I am” to identify Himself as God, as Deity, the true and living God.

B. In this “I am” statement Jesus uses an illustration that would have been very common in Judea, the image of the growing of grapes.

1. The grapevine is a productive plant when taken care of a single vine that bears many grapes. When it is properly pruned it can grow more and better grapes.

2. Jesus uses this image to illustrate His relationship with His Father, His people who follow faithfully, and those who are not.

C. Jesus’ declaration that “I am the true vine” means He is genuine or real as opposed to those who are fake or not real.

1. In the Old Testament the people of Israel were often compared to a vine. (Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21; Hosea 10:1).

2. The reality is that every time they were spoken of as a vine, it was in a derogatory way, like an empty vine.

3. Jesus is contrasting Himself with Israel and saying unlike the empty vine of Israel I am the true living vine and if you abide by me, you will not be empty but bear fruit.

II. We need to know who the Father is.

A. He is the vinedresser John 15:1

1. “The vinedresser is the one who has the care of a vineyard; whose job it is to nurture, trim, and take care of the vine, and who of course feels a deep interest in its growth and welfare.”

2. Jesus states this is the Father. He cares for the branches and makes them fruitful.

a. The fruitful branches are the true believers who live by abiding or connected to Christ.

b. Whereas the unproductive branches the Father will cut off and tossed into the fire and burned (Jn. 15:2,6).

3. In Heb. 12 the Lord is described as a father who shows his love for his son by disciplining him. If a father loves his child he is not going to let him do whatever he wants. He is going to correct him, help him, and teach him.

a. This helps to have a better child.

b. The vinedresser trims the grapevine, to have better grapes.

B. Each year the branches of the grapevine must be cut back drastically. The fruit only comes from new growth.

1. If a grapevine is not trimmed, it will grow long and not produce any grapes.

2. The same is true of our lives. The fruit is born from new growth. That which is pruned away must be moved completely away from the vine; otherwise, disease will begin in the dead branches and spread to the vine.