When Jesus was teaching a spiritual lesson, he often used objects around him as illustrations. If we look at the closing words of chapter 14, we find an important signpost which we could easily miss if we were not paying enough attention. Jesus gives a very brief command - "Rise, let us go from here." Chapter 13 and 14 were set in the upper room and at the end of chapter 14 Jesus tells them that they have to take their leave of this safe place. They are on their way to the garden of Gethsemane where he will be arrested and later tried and crucified. As they are going through the streets of Jerusalem, they would pass by many vineyards where vines were cultivated in order to produce wine which was the staple drink in the first century Judea and Galilee. So the disciples would have a knowledge of the terminology which Jesus is using when he is comparing himself to a vine. Why does Jesus say, "I am the TRUE Vine?" Like other passages in John's Gospel, if we read the Old Testament, we find clues to help us to interpret its meaning.
Those disciples would know passages from Isaiah about Judah being compared to a vineyard. God lavished so much attention on the vines expecting a harvest of grapes but Judah was unfruitful. Isaiah describes how God had built a tower to protect his vineyard. He cultivated the soil and cleared away the stones.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.
As Israel had failed, God was now doing something new which would produce fruit for his glory. Jesus the Messiah is the Vine. God is the Vinedresser who is in charge of the Vineyard. This is a picture of the church - the branches are part of the Vine and represent those who have believed in Jesus and are grafted into the Vine.
As we read chapter 15 of John's Gospel, we learn that God, the Divine Vinedresser, performs two actions to make the Vine fruitful. Firstly, he removes branches that are not producing fruit. Secondly, he prunes all the branches, even though they are producing fruit, so that the Vine will produce even more fruit.
What does Jesus mean when he speaks about the Vine producing fruit? I have usually linked this with the fruit of the Holy Spirit which Paul speaks about in Galatians 5. This fruit is Christian character in 9 qualities such as love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness etc. [See previous Day Shares in the Archive in the website entitled Fruit of the Spirit.] This may only be one aspect of what Jesus is referring to - fruit in our lives is evidence of the New Birth. This could be summed up in two words - faith and obedience.
What about God's work as Vinedresser? Let's start with the second one - the pruning. This is necessary to produce more fruit in our lives. It is a painful process but God allows painful experiences to produce more fruit in our lives. He is teaching us lessons that we need to learn so that we will grow spiritually. So as believers we should not be surprised by painful experiences in our lives.
What about the first of God's actions - the cutting away of the dead branches? There is some debate among the Bible scholars about what this means. I believe that this refers to those who had listened to the message and had appeared to become followers of Jesus. They were never genuine followers and, in time, this becomes apparent. The same actions of God the Vinedresser cause them to fall away and they are not part of the church. Judas is a perfect example of this but as we read through this Gospel we regularly read of those who showed some interest in the message of Jesus but they turned away and no longer followed Jesus as his disciples.
What lesson can we learn from this passage? There is a key response on our part. Jesus speaks of 'abiding in Him' as an essential part of being fruitful in the vine.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. [John 15:5-7 NIV]
Notice that three times Jesus speaks about the necessity of remaining or abiding in Him. What does this mean? This involves a daily, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Faith and trust in Him is essential as is a pattern of regular prayer and reading God's Word and being obedient to what is revealed to us in the Bible. It also implies closeness and intimacy with Him. This is not just following a series of rules and instructions. It speaks of enjoying His presence and hearing His voice. This is a two way process. He will abide or remain in us, if we remain in Him. He promises us His presence and nearness in our daily life.
There is also an indication of answered prayer. This needs to be interpreted carefully - this is not suggesting that we can pray for anything and we will get it. The expression 'whatever you wish' might seem to imply that we can make selfish requests and God will deliver them to us. If we are truly abiding in Him, our will and desires will become attuned to His and we will find that our prayers are answered.
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