BACKGROUND:Jesus begins John chapter 15 by instructing His disciples on three vital relationships. Disciples are to be rightly related to Jesus (v. 1-10), to each other (v. 11-17), and to the world (v. 18-16:4). Disciples have three respective duties: to remain (abide) in Christ, to love each other, and to witness to others.
Jesus declares in John 15:1 - "I am the true Vine." This is the last of the seven great “I am” statements in John.
"I am the bread of life" John 6:48
"I am the light of the world" John 8:12
"I am the door" John 10:9
"I am the good shepherd" John 10:11
"I am the resurrection and life" John 11:25 (posted above Washington's tomb @ Mount Vernon)
"I am the way, the truth and the life" John 14:6
"I am the the true vine" John 15:1
Israel was God’s choice vine on which he lavished care and attention (Psalm 80:8; Isaiah 5:1-7). He longed for fruit, but the vine (Israel) became degenerate and produced rotten fruit. Therefore Jesus, as “the true Vine,” fulfills what God had intended for Israel. The Father is the Gardener who cultivates and protects the Vine.
He (the Gardener, the Father) desires fruit, which is mentioned eight times in this chapter. A progression is seen: fruit (v. 2), more fruitful (v. 2), and “much fruit” (v. 5, 8). The fruit which God desired from Israel was loving obedience, righteousness, and justice.
Jesus states that "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit" He cuts off. The phrase “in Me” does not mean the same thing as Paul’s words “in Christ.” Here it is part of the metaphor of the Vine and seems to mean, “every person who professes to be My disciple (a ‘branch’) is not necessarily a true follower.” A branch that bears no fruit is obviously dead. Therefore, it is cut off. Every year in Palestine gardeners prune their vines. They cut off the dead wood which has no life in it and trim the living branches so that their yield will be greater.
Fruitfulness is the result of the Son’s life being reproduced in a disciple. The disciple’s part is to remain. The word remain, a key word in John’s theology, occurs 11 times in this chapter, 40 times in the entire Gospel, and 27 more times in John’s epistles. What does it mean to remain?
It can mean to continue or persevere in believing. I can also mean believing, loving obedience. Without faith, no life of God will come to anyone. Without the life of God, no real fruit can be produced: Thus Jesus' statement - "Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me."
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
When I think of John 15, the title of a future message pops in my mind - "What’s the Absolutely Indispensable Key to Living the Christian Life?" Now, I know there’s all kinds of things that people say are absolutely indispensable. You can turn on the television and in ninety seconds of commercials you’re going to find five things that are absolutely indispensable to your life. At least they say that they are.
But John 15 really is absolutely indispensable. It’s not me saying this. It’s Jesus Christ. It’s when He said this that’s so vital. It’s the night before He’s going to die on the cross. Jesus is in that upper room with His disciples talking to them. He begins to talk to them about the most important things in life. If it were your last night, if you had this opportunity that you knew would be recorded for Christians to read for all times – They weren’t talking about the playoffs. Whether the Jerusalem Jets were going to win that night or not. Jesus said let’s talk about the most important things in life.
Jesus had a word for a satisfying, significant life. The word He used in John 15 was “fruitful”. A fruitful life. In fact, in John 15 Jesus shows us how to live fruitful life. He says you live a fruitful life by abiding/remaining in Me. That means we remain in His word - daily. We remain in prayer, moment by moment everyday. This is foundational to your faith. You must get this.
Let me set up John 15 if I can. At the end of John 14 Jesus said, Let’s get up and leave here. They were in the upper room. Jesus had just finished serving them the first communion. He told them he was going to die. After communion, they got up and left the upper room. They went to the Garden of Gethsemane. They had to walk through Jerusalem, outside the gate, through some vineyards into the garden. They’re walking along, it’s likely they passed by the temple. It might have even been when they passed by the temple Jesus said, “Look! I’m the true vine.” Or it might have been when they were outside the gates and they were passing through the vineyards, Jesus said, “I’m the true vine!” But whatever He was saying to them, on that moonlight stroll that night I’m the source of life. I’m the true vine. In the midst of Jerusalem, in the middle of Israel, Jesus is saying, I’m it!
It’s like going into a courtroom and saying, I’m justice! Or going into a hospital and saying, I’m the great physician. It’s like going into Memphis and saying, I’m Elvis. He’s saying, I’m it! I’m the source of life. He wanted to make it extremely simple for us. I love the way Jesus teaches. He has a way of making the absolutely vital astonishingly simple. Why? Because He knows human nature - how we can miss things sometimes. We all do. What is it that we CAN NOT miss? Three things.
#1. I am the branch.
That’s what I am. Useful, fruitful people have a good handle on who they are. That’s one of the keys to being fruitful in life. Jesus says God is the gardener. I am the branch.
It’s interesting that we’re compared to a vineyard. Some people have said that vineyard is the most difficult kind of agricultural pursuit than anyone can enjoy. It takes more constant care in a vineyard and more hard work than any other agriculture. It’s a good comparison to us. God’s the one who gives that care. God’s the one who tends our lives. He’s the gardener.
Jesus says he is the vine. I’ve got to remember, God’s the gardener, Jesus is the vine. For His disciples, Jesus was saying, you can’t find life in your heritage, you can’t find life in a nation. It’s in Me. To us today, Jesus is saying you can’t find life any where else besides Me. Have you ever tried letting anything else be your vine besides Jesus Christ? We all do. We all try to find life somewhere else. Jesus said remember this. It’s simple. I’m the only place to find life. I’m the way, the truth and the life.
Then Jesus said I’ve got to remember that I am a branch. That means I’ve got to stay attached to the vine. It means I’ve got to be under the constant care of the gardener. I’m dependent on the vine. But that also means that’s where the growth happens. That’s where God wants to bear His fruit in this world is on those branches. That’s who I am. That’s who I am. I’ve got to have a handle on who I am.
John 15:2 Jesus lays this out for us. He says “God cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit. While every branch in Me that does bear fruit He trims clean – He prunes – so that they can be even more fruitful.” A key to growth is don’t try to be the gardener, don’t try to be the vine. Be a branch. 15:2-3 Jesus says to us, “Here’s what the gardener does. The gardener cuts off and cuts back.” He cuts off the dead branches. He cuts back the fruitful branches. That’s what a gardener does.
Don’t try to be the gardener. Don’t try to figure out which branches need to be cut off. That’s judging, trying to figure out somebody’s eternal fate. If we try to do that, we’re not going to be fruitful. Our lives aren’t going to be satisfying. We weren’t made to do that. God does that. Don’t try to prune yourself. Let God do that. You’re probably more guilty of that than the other, trying to figure out what you have to do to your life to be more fruitful. Leave that to the gardener. He is the one who knows best. Trust Him even in the times when I don’t understand Him.
There’s a lot of talk about fruit in this passage. There’s a lot of talk with people about what this fruit is in John 15. I’ll show you in a minute why there was so much interest in what the fruit is. Is it prayer? Joy? Love? It’s really all of those. It’s a simple thing. Jesus says, I’m the vine, you’re the branches. The branch needs to reproduce within the vine.
What is the fruit? Let’s make it as broad as Jesus did. The fruit is being like Jesus Christ. Not just inside but also in our actions. In the way that we think, the way that we speak. The more I become like Jesus Christ, the more fruitful my life is. The more I allow Him to impact my life the more fruitful our lives are. The vine gives life to the branch. The branch reproduces the life that’s in the vine.
To be like Christ you and I have to remember our place in the garden. I can’t become like Christ by judging others. I can’t become like Christ by depending on myself for life. I have to remember I am branch. If you’re like me you have to remind yourself of that everyday.
#2. Jesus goes on and says here’s a second thing to remember. I will be pruned.
Since we’re not inanimate objects, since we’re living, breathing, thinking human beings it is vital that we as branches understand pruning. If I don’t understand pruning I’m going to be confused the rest of my life. It’s going to look like God’s doing great things in your life and you’re growing, then all of a sudden snip! “God, why did You do that? That was my best looking shoot! It had great leaves on it.” You’re going to be constantly thinking, “Why is God doing this to me?” until you understand pruning.
Pruning is unavoidably necessary for fruit. You can’t get fruit out of a branch without pruning. To qualify for pruning I must be bearing fruit and the reason for pruning is so I can bear more fruit. It’s all about fruit, the fruit of Christ’s likeness in my life, me acting like Him in my everyday experience.
Vines need drastic pruning. I've been told by a gardner that works his own vineyard - that he cuts off 90-95% of a vine in the pruning process. What a great picture of us. Have you ever felt like, “God, You’re just demanding too much of me!” The pruning is just too great. It’s a great picture of what God does in my life and your life so that fruit is born in our lives.
Some of you probably feel like I have been facing more than my share of pruning lately. I’m looking at the other branches and they’re not getting pruned like I’m getting pruned. And I’m a lot more holy than they are, by the way. I wonder what God’s preparing you for. I wonder what fruit God’s preparing you for in your office, at your home, in your church that He’s pruning you in that way. He’s not doing it to be mean. He’s doing it because of His love. He’s doing it because He’s preparing you for something great. That’s pruning.
The Father has only one criterion for pruning. That is how can I get the most fruit out of this branch? It’s not punishment. It’s pruning. It’s vital to understand that as a believer. If I don’t I’ll be constantly confused. God is pruning us to get the most fruit. If my goal is the length of the branch, the beauty of the leaves on that branch, how impressive it is to everybody else, we’re going to be constantly frustrated. John 15 reminds me that God's for my goal is the fruitfulness of my life. How much fruit can he produce in my life. Becoming like Christ, acting like Christ, serving like Christ, that’s my goal. Then pruning begins to make sense.
God is not nearly so interested in what you and I have accomplished as He is in what we’ll become because of him.
A third truth about pruning I learned from experience. Pruning hurts. You send out that great looking vine and maybe people are really impressed with it and flock to see this vine and all of a sudden snip! He prunes it off. It’s humbling to be pruned. It hurts. Just think about pruning from the perspective of the branch because you and I are branches. The branch on that grapevine has spent all year stretching itself out. It’s born some great grapes off of that vine. It knows how long and great it is, the great fruit it’s born. God comes along and wants to prune. How do you feel? No God! It took me a whole year – three years – five years – ten years to get to here. Haven’t You seen the fruit that’s already come off of this branch? Why would You prune me back? Why? Because God says it’s the process of how I grow you. I’m not interested in more accomplishments. I’m interested in making you more like Christ which by the way will result in more fruit.
There’s no pruning without pain. In much of our pain there’s the promise of fruit.
What are some of God’s pruning tools that God uses to prune us….Jesus indicated one of them in 15:3 when He talked about His word “You are already clean [the same word for pruning] because of the word I have spoken to you.” One of the great ways God prunes us is through His word. We read His word, we’re convicted in our heart and we say I need to change my life. He cuts off things we’re prideful about.
Also He uses our daily circumstances. Have you ever been humbled by a daily circumstance? Who hasn’t? One of His greatest tools is our struggles. Not the daily circumstances and irritations but the struggles we go through. All of a sudden we see life in a whole different way, Christlike way.
God prunes you back all the time in your relationships, in your struggles in relationships. We all struggle. And He prunes us in those things.
God’s probably used all of these. Which would you most like Him to use? His word? Why don’t you spend more time in His word? It’s going to save you some pain, save you some pruning. He can tell you in advance. This is advice that you can use, that makes a difference in our lives. Spend time in His word. That’s one of the tools that He uses. I’d rather have Him prune me sooner through His word than later through a relationship or a crisis.
#3. There's a third thing Jesus want us to remember, I must abide in Jesus Christ.
Jesus wanted to make sure that we got this one. as I mentioned in the background section today, the word “abide” appears eleven times in the first eleven verses of the 15th chapter. The word “abide” appears four times alone in the fourth verse. Do you think Jesus is saying, I want you to get this! Abide in Me. Remain in Me. Trust in Me. A dictionary definition of abide is to stay at a place where you are, remain.
Let me give you a more personal definition. When Jesus said I want you to abide in Me, He was saying, Stay 100% attached to Me. It’s not supposed to be a complicated process of figuring out what this means. Some people make the word abide very complicated. Jesus says, “I’m the vine, you’re the branch – abide – stay attached to Me.”
Jesus said this in a very clear way. “Remain in Me and I will remain in you. I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him…” If you don’t get this you don’t get one of the keys to growth in the Christian life. Jesus said, abide in Me and I in you. Abide in Me is active. That’s something I do. Abide. And I in you. That’s passive. That’s some He does in my life. Growth takes both of those. It takes abide in Me and I in you. Active and passive. It takes discipline in my life and dependence upon Christ.
You would not believe how many people try to make it one or the other. How many times in your life you’ll try to say, maybe it’s discipline. I need more discipline. I’ll just memorize the Bible more. I’ll get more verses in my life. I’ll get more consistent in my quiet time and then I’ll grow in Christ. But you forget to depend on Him while you have all that discipline in your life. You’re not growing.
Some of you think, I’m too disciplined. That’s the problem. I’m trying to do it too legalistically. I’ll just let go of all that stuff and just love Jesus. I’ll just depend on Jesus. But you’re not reading His word and praying. You’re not talking to Him. You’re not growing that way either.
How do I grow? It takes both. It takes both in our lives.
A car has an engine that runs the car and it’s got little gas pedal you have to push to run that car. There are some people who try to run the Christian life thinking, It’s all on my back. I’ve got to do the whole thing. There’s an engine in there but I don’t want to take too much of God’s time or anything. He’s given me this Christian life but I’ll run it myself. There are many, many believers trying to do this. What they’re doing is they’ve got the Christian life – the car – but they’ve gotten out of the car, put it in park and they’re pushing the car all over. They’re going, This Christian life is tough. It’s really hard. Then they get to a hill and struggle and they just can’t make it up the hill. They go, “God how do You expect me to live the Christian life?” There’s an engine in the car. There’s a power in our Christian lives that we can depend on. It’s Jesus Christ. I’ll abide in you, Jesus said. The fullness of the Holy Spirit in our lives as believers.
There’s also little pedal inside that car. I know other Christians, they’re setting in there behind the wheel, the engine’s running, things are ready to go but they’re just sitting there saying, No, I’m not going to push that pedal. If God wants this car to go, He can make it go. He’ll get me to grow.
He doesn’t ask much of us. He just says read My word. Make it a part of your life. Talk to Me and make Me a part of everyday. Thank Me for the things in your life. Those are the disciplines. Small things like pushing the pedal. But then the great power of God is released in my life. It takes both. And if you and I don’t get that in the Christian life, we miss out on one of the keys to growth.
We all need to know it’s possible to try to have a Christian marriage without abiding in Christ. It’s possible to try to have a Christian business without abiding in Christ. It’s possible to try to be a Christian parent without abiding in Christ. Or have a Christian ministry without abiding in Christ. You and I could spend the rest of our lives doing that, trying to push that car up the hill wondering why is the Christian life so tough. Abide in Me, Jesus said and I in you. It’s not an empty life but a full life.
Jesus wanted to make this as clear as possible. He went over it again and again and again. He says You can’t bear fruit unless you abide in Christ. Let’s make this clear. You will be much fruit if you abide in Christ. Let’s make this very clear! Apart from Me you can do nothing.
That’s clear isn’t it? If you don’t remain in Christ, if you don’t abide in Christ you’re like a useless branch. Sometime we read that and think, What does it mean apart from Jesus we can do nothing. I know some unbelievers who have done great things. They’ve built great bridges, they’ve led great countries. What does it mean apart from Jesus we can do nothing?
Apart from Jesus Christ you can’t bear fruit in your life. You can’t become like Christ apart from Christ. Don’t even try. Don’t even try. It’s an empty burdensome pursuit. Apart from Christ there’s no truly lasting truth. You might do some great things in this world but that’s not what He’s talking about. He’s talking about fruit to last. He’s talking about change that lasts. Apart from Jesus we can do nothing that lasts.
A branch that is not bearing fruit is not good for anything. Literally if you take a grapevine you can’t make furniture out of it. It doesn’t work. You can’t put it in the fireplace. It burns too quickly. It’s useless.
A lot of people get real uptight about this. This is why people get uptight about the fruit in John 15. It says if a vine’s not bearing fruit it’s cast into the fire and burned. What’s the first thing we think of when we hear that? Hell. That must be what Jesus is talking about.
Is that what it says? Does it say you’re cast into hell and burned if you don’t bear fruit in your life? That’s not what it says. He says you’re like a useless branch that’s cast... you’re like the branches on the vine that when they’re cut off they’re not good for anything. It’s the same picture He gave us over in the Sermon on the Mount where he talked about salt. He said “You’re the salt of the earth. If you lose your salty taste you can’t be made salty again. You’re good for nothing except to be thrown out and walked on.” He didn’t literally mean you’re going to be thrown out and trampled. He’s saying simply to us in both of these pictures that if you’re believer if you’re not biding in Jesus Christ letting His salt and His light come through you, you’re useless in this world. Why should God even leave us here? He’s preparing us for heaven which is a lot better world. So our job in this world is to abide in the vine. So you can bear fruit in this world, so He can make a difference in this world through us.
That’s how important this is. I know I rambled today. I hadn't written in a week. By the way, thank you Pauline Alker for the great job you did this past week of writing from Matthew 5.
I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
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