The True Vine

John 15:1-17
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

I have a love-hate relationship with Christian bookstores. On one hand, I really enjoy browsing through
hundreds of books. I'm really a geek in that way. Tari hates to go into those places with me. I can 'window shop'
for hours if you let me... especially if they have a bargain rack. But, on the other hand, all of the silly "Jesus
Junk' that they stock (like Jesus is my Homeboy tshirts and the toothbrushes with Scripture verses) is kind of
embarrassing. Unfortunately, the book selection sometimes isn't much better.

A lot of what's on the shelves have very little to do with the gospel. Mostly glorified self-help books. You want
this from God? Do this. You want to grow this way? These five steps. You want this, that? Then follow these
hoops.
The only problem is those hoops will only lead you to frustration. They sell books, but they will only lead you
to frustration. One thing we know is that Christianity is not a self-help proposition. If I could do-it-myself, I
wouldn't need Jesus. That's not only true for salvation, it's true for Christian growth, as well. Jesus is the source!

Now, we know that, but it's so easy to lose sight of it. I've wasted a lot of years trying to figure out how to
become more spiritual. Basically, I tried a lot of self discipline. I'd do ok for awhile, but in the end, my
undisciplined self would always win. You just can't approach the Christian life like a diet or exercise plan. I'm
just now starting to figure it out.

The Vine
Ever wondered what prompted Jesus to say some of the things he did? Some of his most noted teachings seem
to come out of nowhere. For instance, In John 8, we see the scene where a woman caught in adultery was
brought to him - the "he who is without sin cast the first stone." And then the next thing we see is Jesus saying
to the crowd, "I am the light of the world!" What? Where did THAT come from?

Well, these events occurred during the celebrations of the Feast of Tabernacles. One significant part of the
celebration was the lighting of a huge lamp that was set up in the temple courtyard. It was said that this light
filled every court in the city. So, you could imagine that the lamp was lit, and everyone's attention went
immediately to the brilliant light. And that's when Jesus said, "Wait a minute. You think that's something? That
light may illuminate the entire city, but I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WHOLE WORLD!

I say all that just to say that He didn't just blurt disconnected thoughts out of the blue. There’s always a context
to what he was saying. What’s the context of John 15? Well, remember where we’ve been - the upper room.
Lots happened there. The foot washing where he declared the disciples to be clean, The promise of the Holy
Spirit, Judas’ betrayal. I believe all these things were rushing through his mind. And then he says, “Come on,
let’s get going.” They’re on their way to Gethsemane, literally, he’s on his way to the cross.

As they walk through Jerusalem from the upper room (thought to have been on the SW corner of the city),
through the Kidron valley east of the city to the Mount of Olives, they may have passed through a vineyard. Or
they may have passed through the temple area (the gates would have been open well into the night for the
Passover) On the temple entrance, they would see a huge plaque of a grape vine covered in pure gold as large as
a man - said to be worth several millions of dollars in today’s money. I think it was this sight that sparked
Jesus’ statement “I am the true vine.”

The vine on the temple signified Israel as the vine that God planted and tended. In fact, during the Macabean
era, they minted coins with the vine symbol just as our coinage features the American eagle. I think this is the
context and the contrast that Jesus was pointing to. Israel was God’s vineyard. Isaiah 5:1-7:

1 I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard:
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.
He built a watchtower in it
and cut out a winepress as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.
3 "Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?
5 Now I will tell you
what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
and it will be destroyed;
I will break down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
6 I will make it a wasteland,
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain on it."
7 The vineyard of the LORD Almighty
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are the garden of his delight.
And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

There are various examples in the O.T. that show Israel as God’s vineyard and they all point out that the fruit is
always bad - sour grapes. God says “You tell me - what did I do wrong? Is it my fault?” No, of course not. He,
as the vinedresser did what he was supposed to do. It was the bad vine that produced the bad fruit.

So Jesus says that he is the true vine, the real thing, the ultimate good vine that will produce good fruit., not
sour grapes. This is a huge statement. Things are about to change, drastically. The bad vine is about to be dug
up and replaced by a good vine, one that will, for sure, produce good fruit. Jesus, the perfect man, the Son of
God is the true vine. He is the source of this new life. It flows from Him.

The Branches
Fruit-Bearing Branches
So He says “I am the vine and YOU are the branches. Who? His disciples. Immediately the 11 there with him.
But, ultimately ALL of his true disciples - you and me, we are his branches. If you're a genuine believer, you
are intimately attached to the life-giving vine. We're not considered Christians because what we do, or where
we worship, or what creed we recite. We are Christians because we are inextricably attached to Christ and His
life flows through us.

We’re attached to the vine and our purpose is to bear fruit. Now be careful how you think about that. We don’t
produce fruit, that’s the vine’s job, we’re to bear it.

Non Fruit-Bearing Branches

He also says that there are other branches, ones that bear no fruit at all. Barren, dead branches that don’t
produce a thing. They’re good for nothing but to cut them off and throw them in the fire. Ezek. 15:1-5:

1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, how is the wood of a vine better than that of a branch on
any of the trees in the forest? 3 Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful? Do they make pegs from it
to hang things on? 4 And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle,
is it then useful for anything? 5 If it was not useful for anything when it was whole, how much less can it be
made into something useful when the fire has burned it and it is charred?

So, the question is: who are these non-fruitful branches? Are they believers who aren’t productive? Some
would say that they are Christians who just never got with the program, living their lives carnally and God
eventually just takes them out of the world.

That doesn’t line up for me. Jesus said: “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither
can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John the Baptist said in Matt.3:10: The ax is already at the root of
the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” Matt.
12:33: "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is
recognized by its fruit.” James tells us that “faith without works is dead” dead branches = no fruit. Paul tells the
Ephesians “we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in
advance for us to do.” Created for the expressed purpose of doing good works (bearing fruit) and in the end, the
works are God’s doing all along.

So, if every true believer is to bear fruit, it must be that these branches aren’t true believers. They identify
themselves with Christ, they do Christian stuff. They seem, for all the world, to be a part of us, but they aren’t
real, they bear no fruit. We read about these kind of folks in I John: went out from us, but they did not really
belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that
none of them belonged to us.

To appeal back to the context, remember that Jesus had just earlier sent Judas out to do his thing. Now he
wasn’t taken by surprise that Judas was a traitor, but I think he was deeply grieved to think that this one who
had spent so many intimate hours with him, this one who had received so much love from the Savior was the
son of the devil. Nobody suspected it. When Jesus said that one of the 12 was a traitor, nobody pointed a finger
saying that obviously it must be Judas. He looked like them, he sounded like them, he acted like them. But yet,
Judas wasn’t like them. He was an unfruitful branch.
I think this is the contrast that the Lord was pointing out. The true branches, the ones who would abide and the
dead branches who didn’t have that connection to the vine; the life of the vine doesn’t flow through them.

Abiding

Jesus tells us that the difference between the two types of branches is Abiding. Again, the point of the whole
illustration is that we are vitally connected to Jesus and his strength, his very life flows through us. It’s the
picture of ultimate union with Christ. It’s not about how hard we work, it’s not about what we do. It’s just about
being connected, plugged in, so to speak and letting Christ work through us. It's not a state of doing - it's the
state of being.

It’s the very life of Christ surging through us. And if I have fruit, it’s because that life is flowing through me
and producing it. It’s a natural process. It only demands that I abide, remain, stay plugged in. That’s why the
branch is expected to bear fruit. As long as the life flows, the fruit will be formed.

So, in one sense, being a true branch - a genuine believer who is trusting in Christ, is abiding. He’s attached to
the vine. But, I think there’s also a sense of abiding that we have to be deliberate about. We have the
responsibility to maintain the direct connection to Jesus. It’s a relationship and as in any relationship, both
parties have to be engaged.

So, the question is: how do we abide? In general, I think it’s just getting close and staying close to Jesus. It’s
communication, it’s meditation, it’s seeing the world through his eyes, taking on his values. Now, exactly how
all that is done can be another question... and the answers may vary with each of us. So let me ask you: how do
you abide, what is your strategy for staying connected?

Obedience
Now, here comes the part that can trip us up if we're not careful. See- Obedience... it IS about what we do! Yes,
Obedience is involved but if we’re truly abiding, really connected, obedience is part of the process of Christ
living his life through us. That’s why he can say “My yoke isn’t burdensome” To a branch that's abiding,
obedience is natural. I do things for my wife because I know it pleases her. Not just to stay on her good side (ok
maybe sometimes to stay on her good side.) You can grit your teeth and do what Christ commands or you can
grow so close to Him that you enjoy doing what he wants you to do... it's just a matter of perspective.

Love
A noted theologian who had spent his life studying and teaching the great truths of the Bible was once asked
what was the greatest theological discovery that he’s made. He said “Jesus loves me this I know for the bible
tells me so.” There’s something about Christ’s love that is so simple that a preschooler can grasp and so deep
that we’ll never plumb the depths. And it’s ours for the abiding. He lavishes his love on us to the degree that he
died for us. The greatest expression of love. We walk in his love. We share his love. And he commands us to
share that love with one another. He's displayed the 'greater love.' If we're really plugged in, we'll not only
absorb it, but reflect it.

Joy
Now here's a concept that can be tough for us to grasp. How do you define joy?
It's obviously something different than "don't worry - be happy." James says "Consider it pure joy when you
face trials." so it must not be too reliant on circumstances.

It is an emotion, but goes beyond our emotions. I'm reminded of my brother's funeral a few months ago. We
certainly weren't happy to be burying him so early in life, but the room seemed filled with joy, knowing that he
was in heaven and his suffering was over forever.

I think of joy in the same way as shalom. We translate it as peace, but it means much more. Well-being,
rightness, wholeness.

I think it's possible to be joyful even when circumstances bring sadness. If you're vitally connected to the vine,
you have joy. You know that He loves you and is caring for you in ways you can't even fathom. You know that
He's in control of all of your circumstances and is working them all together for good. There's pure joy in
abiding.

Friendship
Jesus says "I don't consider you merely servants... but I call you friends." Jesus, my homeboy is near blasphemy
in my way of thinking. As if I can bring my Lord and Savior down to my level. But, he is one who delights in
coming down to my level. That's what he does. He humbles himself. What a thought... yes, the preschoolers
know that Jesus loves me. That's not new. But, He also considers sinful, pathetic little me as his friend! He
chose me! ... to be his friend, to bear his fruit.

Answered Prayer
He also says if you abide in me, as you maintain that vital connection where I'm living my life through you, the
Father will give you whatever you ask. Wow... a blank check! I can get whatever I want? Well, yes (and no) If
you mean is God a genie in a bottle that will grant me every selfish wish I can come up with, then of course, the
answer is no. But, yes if, by abiding his thoughts are your thoughts, his priorities are yours, and his desires are
yours, then you can be sure that God will answer a prayer that comes out of that. When he says "in my name"
he doesn't mean we tack "in Jesus' name" and we got it covered. To ask in his name means to ask, not for
ourselves, but for him. To truly pray in Jesus' name would be as if I'm saying: Father I'm asking this because I
know it's what Jesus wants.

The Fruit
When I was young, my Mom used to love to display fake fruit in her kitchen. She’d have a bowl of wax or
plastic bananas, apples, grapes. It would just amaze my Dad. “What good is fruit that ya can’t eat?” Dad had a
point. The stuff looked good, it looked tasty but it really isn’t good for much. It certainly doesn’t fulfill the
purpose that fruit is suppose to fill.

I’m afraid that it’s really easy to tie a bunch of fake fruit onto our branch. We do it all the time. We try to
produce fruit from our own efforts and then we wonder why it’s not really working. We decide that we need
patience, for instance and we grit our teeth and work up some patience... and eventually explode when we’re in
some trying situation. What happened? Fake fruit. “apart from me you can do nothing.” So it’s the process of
abiding that produces fruit. The vine is the fruit producer, not the branches.

What is the fruit? Well, we could take a full hour to consider the question. But to sum it up:

The fruit of the Spirit - What A Believer is

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-
control. Against such things there is no law. Gal. 5:22,23

Good works - What A Believer Does

In the end, it can be summed up as Christ likeness. Once again, it’s simply allowing Jesus to live his life
through me. These are the sort of fruit that will be evident to some degree in the life of every believer.

The Vinedresser
He says that he is the vine and the father is the vinedresser, the one who tends the vine. He was the vinedresser
for the vine of Israel. He did everything a vinedresser could do but the fruit turned out bad. Now He has a new
vine, one that surely will provide good fruit. But He doesn't leave the vine alone. He makes sure that the vine
will be as productive as possible. In other words, God is intimately involved and doing everything possible to
make sure I bear as much fruit as I can.

Clearing Away the Deadwood

Yes unfortunately, there are "Judas branches" among us... those who seem to be true believers but aren't in
reality attached to Christ. They are dead, unproductive branches that Jesus said will eventually be gathered up
and thrown into the fire.

There are some 'wannabe' branches that we can easily detect. Not only is their fruitlessness obvious, but some
espouse beliefs that are definitely not orthodox. They're not an issue. But some appear in virtually every way to
be like true branches, how do we distinguish them? We don't! It's the Vinedresser's job to deal with them. It's
not our job to pass judgment on every professing believer.

Pruning the Productive Branches

I don't know much about grapevines, but I've learned that left on their own, they tend to produce more leaves
than grapes. Pruning excess leaves and sucker shoots is essential to a productive vine. Without the pruning,
there will be some grapes on the vine, but pruning allows for much more fruit.

So, again the Father is fully involved in our fruit bearing. He's engaged in doing whatever is necessary to
produce an abundant crop. He prunes us individually to produce more fruit. But, what is the pruning. Well, the
text doesn't tell us. It sounds painful to me. It involves cutting away non-productive parts of the branches.

It's the cutting away of anything in our lives that's inconsistent with Christlikeness. It's the necessary discipline
that forms our character.

Heb. 12:4-11
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And you have
forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."[a]
7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If
you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true
sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much
more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as
they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems
pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those
who have been trained by it.

So this pruning is the process of removing all the things that would hinder our fruit bearing. The Father wants
us to bear much fruit. And in order for us to operate on a maximum fruit-bearing capacity, He's got to whack off
things, sins and hindrances and little things that attach themselves to us, sucker growths and all the other
diseases and pests that might get on to us as branches the Father needs to remove. How does He do that? He
uses a lot of different methods, but more often than not, they're a bit painful - suffering, hardship, problems. The
process usually isn't pleasant, but it's effective. I'm not sure I've ever learned any valuable life-lessons through
ease and comfort, when things were going well. But, hard times, trials, suffering have been effective.

If you have fruit, expect pruning. If you want more fruit, it will take some pruning. Much fruit, more pruning.
Can you trust the Father to be a wise vinedresser? When you face trials, do you have the perspective that
you'll come through it transformed?

So, this is the Christian life. It's not a self-help program. It's not working hard to appease God. It's a living,
intimate relationship. It's Christ's life flowing through us. It's God working to ensure that we are fruitful
branches. And all we have to do is ABIDE.