“I am the true vine and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”-John 15:1-5
One of the many things I love about Jesus’ teaching is his use of parables to convey simple truths. In John 15, Jesus uses a very common sight in Israel, a vineyard, to express the significance and necessity of remaining in close communion with Him.
The great thing about this passage is that Jesus identifies all the major players within the first five verses. God is the vinedresser, Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. Now that we’ve established the characters of the parable we can begin to make some observations about the passage.
The primary emphasis of this text is on remaining (abiding) in the vine. It should be the primary concern of every believer (branch) to be connected to Jesus Christ. The second emphasis is on fruitfulness. According to the passage, we have been appointed by God to bear fruit. However, we cannot bear any fruit apart from being connected to Jesus.
One thing that I want to separate in your mind for a moment is the difference between “having life” and “being fruitful”. One has to to with abiding, the other with pruning:
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.-John 15:5-6
The vine is the root by which every branch receives life. The possibility of bearing fruit is negated if the branch is not connected to the vine. But even more importantly, the branch will not live (have life) if it is not connected to the vine. Without this connection it will wither and die. Jesus is clear, from the passage, that we first must be connected to the vine. However, to become connected is not the pinnacle of our Christian experience. We must then bear fruit:
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”-John 15:2
This verse demonstrates that not only are branches that are not connected taken away, but also are those branches, which are connected but bear no fruit. So the idea that we can simply confess we love Jesus and then sit back an cruise into eternity is a dangerous notion. We must certainly be connected to the vine to have life, but we must also remain connected to bear fruit.
Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church
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