Key Verse: "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."
John 15:5
We are still in the passage of scripture known
as "The Upper Room Discourse." However, with Jesus’ words of John
14:31B, "Come now; let us leave," it's easy to imagine that even
though they may have left the room, the conversation continued as they made the
trek to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. After all, we can
imagine that Jesus did much teaching as He traveled the land with His
disciples. Why should tonight be any different?
Perhaps, as they were talking, they happened
to pass by a vineyard, inspiring Jesus with yet another one of His wonderful
illustrations. "I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener.” Jesus
is finding yet another way to help His disciples understand how the oneness
between He and the Father and They together with us, is lived out. We are
branches of a cultivated vine. The vine has not been left to grow wild and we,
the branches, are watched and our productivity is observed.
Jesus goes on to say: "He cuts off every
branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit is
pruned so that it will be even more fruitful." (John 15:2) Paul reflects
back on this metaphor when he says: "If some of the branches have been
broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the
others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast
over those branches. If you do, consider this: you do not support the root, but
the root supports you." (Romans 11:17-19)
Do not be frustrated that Paul is talking
about olives while Jesus uses grapes. The analogy can still hold. Jesus is the
vine. The vine is connected to the root. We are branches and we can be removed
and replaced if we do not remain in Him and recognize that He is the source of
life, not the other way around. Too often, we get it backwards, thinking God is
grateful for what we do for Him. The truth is that we are, too often, not
grateful for what He does for us right down to giving us life itself.
In Paul's example, he is talking about our good
fortune, as Gentiles, that the Jews rejected the vine, because that’s what made
room for us. However, it will not always be that way. No matter what, Jew or
Gentile, the gardener is looking for fruit and He will do what is necessary to
help Jesus, the vine, be fruitful.
And, let's remember that Jesus taught earlier
that not any fruit will do. "Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad
tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot
bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the fire." (Matthew 7:18-19,) The gardener is always inspecting the
fruit to see how well the branches are being nourished by the vine. Bad fruit
means poor circulation from the root to the stem. "Apart from Me, you can
do nothing." (John 15:5C)
The Father would care about our fruit because
our fruit advertises His care for us. "This is to My Father's glory, that
you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples." (John 15:8)
Again, as with so many times before, Jesus is concerned with bringing glory to
the Father, the creator, who is worthy of all praise. Again, there is the theme
of oneness. What we do reflects on God, either for His glory or not. The Holy
Spirit enables communication, or in the case of a plant, circulation, between the
branches which is us, and the vine, and root, which is Christ. The Father tends
us all and cares for us and prunes us so that we will reflect His character.
Isn't it amazing how it all works?
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