Jesus spoke these words on that special night in the upper room. Picture him there with the disciples seated around him on the floor as they talk about things to come.
Jesus has washed their feet. They have enjoyed the Passover meal together. He has predicted his betrayal and Judas has already left to collect his silver and lead some soldiers and Jewish officials to his Rabbi.
Jesus knows what’s coming. He knows he has a limited amount of time now to tell these men who love him dearly the things that they need to know. And so he speaks to them. And here we see John’s words (John—self-described as “the disciple that Jesus loved”) as he tells us what happened during that time. John 14, 15, 16, and 17 are almost all red in my bible. And these words of Jesus are important. I’m quite certain that he would’ve picked his topics and words very carefully on this special night.
Jesus says, “I am the true vine.”
The disciples would’ve been familiar with vines and the fruit they produce. With most meals they probably drank wine which would keep and even get better with age.
The vine itself gives life to everything else on the plant—the branches, leaves, and fruit. Jesus is using the vine here as a metaphor for all life.
I am the vine…the TRUE vine. I provide everything that’s needed for your life.
But wait… in the same sentence he adds, “and my Father is the Vinegrower.” My Father is the gardener. My father takes care of all of us! My Father provides everything I need so that I can provide everything you need.
Have any of you tended to a fruit vine. I went with a friend of mine several years to North Carolina and we visted a vineyard. It was fascinating to see and hear about the care that was put into the vines. Take a look at different parts of the vine. A gardener sees the vine as a complex plant with many parts.
Jesus says “He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit.” You see, the gardener cuts those unfruitful branches away.
What is this fruit? It’s God’s love coming from us and it can be seen in many different ways.
“Abide in me,” Jesus tells us. And the word abide comes from the greek word μένω (men’-o). It means remain, stay, live, endure…abide. Jesus says it 8 times. Abide in me. Live in me. Stay in me. Remain in me.
But how do we “abide” in him? How do we live and remain in him. Well, first of all we need to understand that this is a gift. We GET to live connected to him. We GET to accept this gift from Jesus…even when it feels like he is far away.
God’s love (from the gardner) goes into the vine where it is given to us—the branches. And we send God’s love back out into the world as fruit. Our fruit is the love of God that we send back out into the world!
We can abide in Jesus and in God’s love by staying connected to him—praying, reading the Bible, being in fellowship with other believers, and seeking His will.
But this is not work. Know that God does all the work. “Every branch that bears fruit He prunes to make it bear more fruit.”
Let’s look again at the grape vine. Here it is full of fruit.
Here it is in the fall after the harvest season.
This passage tells us that God prunes away the branches that don’t produce fruit, but He also prunes down those that DO product fruit to make them produce MORE fruit. From this to this.
Although this isn’t much work for us, the branches… that doesn’t mean that it’s easy.
Being pruned is NOT easy and it’s not always pleasant. In fact, that “cutting away” can be downright painful.
One of my good friends often twists the phrase, “No good deed goes unnoticed.” (Which is surely true when it comes to God!) Instead, she says, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Have you ever heard that? Sometimes it feels that way. Sometimes it feels like our efforts to help someone out lead us to complications that we didn’t predict, expect, or desire. But they do help us grow.
God prunes those of us who are fruitful so that we will bear even more fruit. God prunes his branches that are giving His love to the world so that they will be effective in giving even more of His love.
Maybe He shows us how our good intentions led us to actions that hurt the receiver in the long run…so that we will know better next time. Maybe He makes us see the pain and suffering of those we don’t know how to help…so that we will see effective ways to help. Maybe He makes us walk in the shoes of people we have served or will need to serve one day so that we will be empathetic to their struggle. He prunes us. Cuts us back. But it’s all to make us more fruitful.
Abide in me.
“A branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine…and neither can you unless you abide in me.”
Without our vine, Jesus, we won’t bear any fruit. Without Jesus in our lives, we will simply be a dead branch.
Abide in me.
“Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.” Do you hear that? “Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.” Jesus also abides in us! We are connected to the vine but the vine is also connected to us. In fact, God LIVES in us through the Holy Spirit…as Jesus would try to explain to the confused disciples a little later. “Apart from me,” he said, “you can do nothing.”
Not only can a person apart from Jesus bear no fruit, but they can do nothing. All of their efforts are for nothing. And it gets worse…
Abide in me.
“Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”
Abide in me.
“If you abide in me, and MY WORDS abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Jesus says, “If my words abide in you…” Jesus’ words stay alive through us! The disciples were some of the very few who got Jesus’ words directly from his mouth while we get Jesus words through the bible. Jesus’ teachings in the Bible should be alive through our words and actions. His words should abide in us.
You see, when we ABIDE in Christ and we bear fruit for the Kingdom of God and we live as disciples for Christ, we glorify God. And that’s the whole reason we were created. In fact, there are 54 verses and passages in the Bible that indicate this is true. The Westminster Catechism (written in the 1700’s by our forefathers of the reformation) states it succinctly; “Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” Period.
Abide in me.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a preacher who lived during World War II. He was a great theologian who sought to end the tyranny of Hitler’s regime and spoke out with the love of Christ in support of the Jewish people and against evil. He was imprisoned…and eventually he was martyred. But generations of people have grown from the fruit of his ability to abide in Christ through his suffering. Listen to his words from his posthumous book “Letters and Papers from Prison”.
“In me there is darkness, but with You there is light;
I am lonely, but You do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with You there is help;
I am restless, but with You there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with You there is patience;
I do not understand Your ways, but You know the way for me.”
“Lord Jesus Christ, You were poor and in distress,
a captive and forsaken as I am.
You know all man’s troubles;
You abide with me when all men fail me;
You remember and seek me;
It is Your will that I should know You And turn to You.
Lord, I hear Your call and follow;
Help me.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison
It’s not always going to be easy. If it is, I think you have some questions to ask yourself. Because if you are bearing fruit, you will be pruned.
Abide in him.
Let’s pray.
Father in Heaven, we thank You that You are always faithful to us…that you abide in us, even when we pull away from You. Lord, sometimes You seem so far away. Help us to remember that You are not. You are with us..abiding in us. You grafted us into the vine so that we, like your chosen people, could bear fruit. We are grateful.
Father, help us also to rejoice in our suffering knowing that You will use all things for good. You are the vine grower. You are the gardener. You will prune as You see fit…even when we don’t understand. Give us the strength, courage, and faith to trust in You and to continue to abide in you during these challenging times in our lives. Amen.
