John 28 I Am The True Vine
I AM THE TRUE VINE
#28
John 15:1-17
“1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. 11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.”
I Am the Vine
There are traditionally seven "I Am" statements made by Jesus in the Gospel of John. He uses the expression ego eimi "I Am" more than just these times, and sometimes you can't even tell that's the expression because of the way it's translated (John 6:20; 8:24; 13:13, etc). These seven statements have a particularly powerful impact in revealing the true identity of Jesus:
I Am the bread of life (John 6:35, 48, Lessons 13, 14).
I Am the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5, Lessons 16-20).
I Am the door (John 10:7, 9, Lesson 32).
I Am the good shepherd (John 10:11, 14, Lessons 32-33).
I Am the resurrection and the life (John 11:25, Lessons 21-22).
I Am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6, Lesson 38).
I Am the true vine (John 15:1-11). THIS FINAL "I AM" statement comes right in the heart of Jesus' farewell address to His disciples. "I am the true vine" (John 15:1). That word "true" is what separates Jesus from all the competition. There are other literal vines you can see in any vineyard, but they are merely shadows, simple illustrations of who the true vine is. They have branches, they bear fruit, and there is a farmer or vinedresser who prunes and cares for them, but the life of the fruit and branches is found in the vine. So it is with Jesus. In this statement, Jesus gives roles to every part of this process. Remember how Jesus provides the best wine (John 2)? All that begins right here.
Jesus is the true vine. His Father is the farmer or vinedresser. His disciples are the branches stemming off from that vine. They go out and bear fruit. Notice John 17:20, "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for all those also who believe in Me through their word."
In this passage, Jesus (the vine) prays to the Father (the vinedresser) for His disciples (the branches) and all who believe (the fruit) in Him (the Vine) through the branches’ word. He is praying for the fruit. The phrase "bear fruit" or "bear much fruit" is used seven times in this short section (John 15:2, 4-5, 8, 16). The fruit has no life without the branches, and the branches have no life without the vine.
The Vine
The life of the kingdom flows through the Messiah. Nothing survives without Him. That's why He is the vine. As invaluable as Scripture is, Scripture is not the vine. The Bible is nothing without Jesus. Before the New Testament was written, there was a church. Before the books were canonized and bound together, there was a church. Before mass printing was available, there was a church. Most people who have been part of the church from the beginning until now have never owned a Bible, and even if they did, they couldn't read it or study it. Production, literacy and translation are essential to the Bible's transformative power.
Not so with Jesus. As long as Jesus is the Son of God, there is life and hope. Scripture stems from the Vine and the branches, but it is not the Vine. The church is also not the vine. Again, the church stems from the vine. Without the Messiah, the church has no vitality or power. The church is the "body" of Christ, but without Christ, the church becomes an empty shell.
No theology or doctrine, no ministry or minister, no sermon or book, no congregation, eldership, or seminary has any life without Jesus. He gives life to all we are and all we do. He is the foundation of the church, the Bible, and every ministry we could ever dream up. We are the fruit that comes from Him. Never ever mistake the fruit or the branches for the Vine.
Abiding in Him
In order for the branches to have life and bear fruit, they must remain connected at their root to the vine. This connection to the vine is referred to with the word "abiding."
This word is used ten times in this little section (John 15:4-7, 9-10, 16). Take a grape, remove it from the branch, set it on the ground by the vine, and what happens? It rots and dies. Take a branch, cut if off the vine, set it on the ground by the vine, and what happens? It withers and dies. Why? "The branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me ... he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5-6).
To abide in Jesus, in this passage, seems to include several things: Jesus abiding in you (John 15:5), His words abiding in you (John 15:7), and abiding in His love (John 15:10). Jesus explains, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love" (John 15:10). What are the commandments Jesus is talking about? This is where context matters so much. Jesus discusses His commandments quite a bit in this section of Scripture.
All those commandments seem to center on love for one another. In fact, Jesus says just a few sentences later:
"This is My commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you ... You are My friends if you do what I command you ... This I command you, that you love one another" (John 15:12, 14, 17). After dining with the disciples and washing their feet, Jesus gave them a new commandment:
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35).
If you want to abide in Jesus, listen to His words and obey His commandments. Those words and commandments are that you love one another. Truly and deeply. Christian unity and mutual love matters. It's how you abide on the vine and how you bear fruit for Him. Loveless churches do not remain on the Vine or bear fruit for the kingdom.
The Farmer or Vinedresser
Actively working through this whole process is God, the vinedresser. This is not God's first time to be portrayed as One who tends a vineyard. Isaiah 5 details God as the owner of a vineyard who prepared it, built for it, cultivated it, and "expected it to produce good grapes" (Isaiah 5:2, 4). The vineyard was Israel, and He cultivated it expecting it to produce grapes of "justice" and "righteousness." Instead, it only produced "bloodshed" and "a cry of distress" (Isaiah 5:7).
In Hebrew, this is intentional play on words, the word "justice" sounds strikingly similar to the word "bloodshed" (mishpat; mispach) and the word "righteousness" is almost identical to the word "a cry of distress" (tsedaqah; tsa`aqah) (Isaiah 5:7). The point is God planted Israel to produce something valuable for the world, but upon closer inspection, it was producing something worthless.
Jesus grabs this image and takes for Himself the role of Israel. He will bear good fruit, He will produce justice and righteousness, and His Father will prune and tend along the way. To the branch that does not "abide in Him" or "bear good fruit," the vinedresser "takes it away," "he is thrown away as a branch and dries up," and they are cast "into the fire and they are burned" (John 15:2, 6). The branches that do bear good fruit are not cut off or ripped away, rather, they are pruned (John 15:2). There are parts of them that are cut away, and they become healthier and purer for it.
John 15:2 and 3 contain an intentional play on words with "prune" (kathairei) and "clean" (katharoi). The disciples are those who have been made clean by the words of Jesus (well, not all of them - John 13:10- 11). God cleanses you through pruning, cutting away your imperfections, so you grow, flourish, and produce healthy fruit. And God Himself is glorified as you do so (John 15:8).