I AM The Vine

Why would Christ Jesus say, “I am the Vine;”? What lesson did He want to teach the disciples? Howdy and welcome to this last study of “I Am” sayings from the Gospel of John.

When you drive by a vineyard during it's dormant time of the year, it looks like a bunch of firewood standing up in a field. There are no leaves or fruit on the vines and the wood is old looking and is usually crooked with knots on it. The vines don't look like they could produce any fruit. Come spring time however, and the vines begin to come to life. The branches begin to grow, put on leaves and then the grapes appear.

The vine draws nourishment from the soil, the sunlight, the rain. The vine, in turn is the source of nourishment for the new branches that have grown. And it is on the new branches that the clusters of new grapes grow. If the vine is a good vine, it will have many clusters of grapes hanging from its branches.

The vineyards of Israel are remarkable. Some of the stretch for hundreds of yards across barren landscape that would seem altogether inhospitable to growing crops of delicious grapes. The cultivation of grapevines for the purpose of producing fruit, juice, and wine is a vital part of Israel's economy. Their wines are sold around the world.

Wine has been always been a vital part of Israel's history as well as other parts of the world. In many countries it has been an alternative source of hydration to the often polluted water sources. Prior to the development of water-purification methods, wine was safer to drink than water from standing pools of water or cisterns. And so the image of the vine and it's branches would have been instantly recognizable to the disciples.

There are many references to Israel itself as a vineyard in the prophetic writings and in the Psalms. The prophet Isaiah likened Israel to a vineyard saying, “The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delights in” (5:7). Christ Jesus often turned to the book of Isaiah to capture his listeners attention. He read from the scroll of Isaiah in Nazareth when He began His ministry three years earlier. Now as He celebrated the Passover and His final night with His disciples before His crucifixion, He once again turns to an image found in Isaiah.

John 15:1-8

15:1 "I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener. 2 He lops off every branch that doesn't produce. And he prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops. 3 He has already tended you by pruning you back for greater strength and usefulness by means of the commands I gave you. 4 Take care to live in me, and let me live in you. For a branch can't produce fruit when severed from the vine. Nor can you be fruitful apart from me.

5 "Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can't do a thing. 6 If anyone separates from me, he is thrown away like a useless branch, withers, and is gathered into a pile with all the others and burned. 7 But if you stay in me and obey my commands, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8 My true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brings great glory to my Father.

1. Applying The Image

Christ Jesus and His disciples left the Upper Room and headed to the Garden of Gethsemane. As they went the words from Isaiah became the basis of a visual parable. “The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delights in” (5:7) However, in applying the image of the vine, Christ Jesus makes a significant change. 

 

Where as Isaiah connected the vine to the people of Israel, Christ Jesus attaches it to Himself. By saying, “I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser.” He does not simply adapt the words spoken by Isaiah. Christ Jesus states that now He is the true Israel. By shifting the image of the vine from Israel to Himself, Christ Jesus is not rejecting Israel. No, there is a greater purpose in the life and ministry of Christ Jesus. He did not come to imply the rejection of Israel as God's covenant people. He has come so that God's original covenant with Abraham would be fulfilled, And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." (Genesis 12:3). The mission of Christ Jesus was and is redemption for all mankind including Israel.

The vine, branches, and the Vine dresser, there is a special relationship between these three. Christ Jesus’ intimate relationship with the disciples couldn't be stated in precise, theological terms. So, as He has done all through His ministry, He uses an example, this time a vine and its branches to illustrate a spiritual truth. His relationship with these men is as alive as the relationship of the vine to its branches. Christ Jesus was a source of strength for the disciples and He is a source of strength for you. 

 

Christ Jesus ties the image of the Master Gardener to God the Father.

2. The Work of the Gardener (vs. 1-4)

As He has done before, Christ Jesus reminds the disciples that everything He has done was done at the direction of the Father. Dr. Dennis Kinslaw (Founder of the Francis Asbury Society, Christian author, served as President of Asbury College) once said that it was years before he realized that the central figure in the gospel of John is not Jesus but rather, “the Father who sent me.” 

 

Repeatedly Christ Jesus speaks of His complete dependence on the Father. The work Christ Jesus did, the words He spoke, the purpose for which He has come are all for the sake of the Father and mankind's restored relationship with Him. - Jesse C. Middendorf

The work of the gardener is to take care of the vineyard. He cultivates it, waters it, and protects it from invasive insects and pest as well as thieves. It is a demanding job that requires investing one's self into the welfare of the vineyard. One of the jobs of the gardener is to determine the health of the branches. Those branches that are unfruitful are cut off. Fruit-bearing branches are trimmed back, pruned, and cleaned of excess foliage that drain away important nutrients need to produce grapes. Anything that hinders the production of grapes is done away with. 

 

We can become distracted wondering about the process of cutting back the branches that do not bear fruit and the pruning back of the branches that do. It can become fruitless and dangerous to try and attribute motives to God in events and in cases of trauma you encounter in your life. As much as we wish it weren't so, followers of Christ Jesus are not exempt from suffering and loss in this life.

An important point of this “I AM” saying is this: fruit-bearing is the result of your close fellowship with the true vine (Christ Jesus) and it is the Father who shapes and cares for you so that you remain healthy and embedded in the Vine.

Kudzu was introduced to the United States in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Countries were invited to build exhibits to celebrate the 100th birthday of the U.S. The Japanese government constructed a beautiful garden filled with plants from their country. The large leaves and sweet-smelling blooms of kudzu captured the imagination of American gardeners who used the plant for ornamental purposes.

Florida nursery operators, Charles and Lillie Pleas, discovered that animals would eat the plant and promoted its use for forage in the 1920s. Then Glen Arden Nursery in Chipley sold kudzu plants through the mail. A historical marker there proudly proclaims "Kudzu Developed Here."

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Soil Conservation Service promoted kudzu for erosion control. Hundreds of young men were given work planting kudzu through the Civilian Conservation Corps. Farmers were paid as much as eight dollars an acre as incentive to plant fields of the vines in the 1940s.

The problem is that it just grows too well! The climate of the Southeastern U.S. is perfect for kudzu. The vines grow as much as a foot per day during summer months, climbing trees, power poles, and anything else they contact. Under ideal conditions kudzu vines can grow sixty feet each year.

The USDA declared kudzu to be a weed in 1972!

Christ Jesus is the true vine. Only in Him can the branches experience the life God has meant for us.

3. The Role of the Vine (vs.5-8)

Christ Jesus is the “true vine”. Remember in the Old Testament writings, Israel had frequently been spoken of as the vine which Yahweh loved and tended. But over and over again, waywardness and corruption had made God’s people barren. Now it is Christ Jesus who is the real vine, the Chosen One from God. 

 

As Christ Jesus talked to His disciples they were confused by what Christ Jesus was saying. Christ Jesus knew what was coming and knew that the disciples would be confused and scared and so He was trying to reassure them. His reassurance was this: Only He is the true vine because He comes from the Father, just as He is the true light, the living water and the true bread from heaven. 

 

In the image of the vineyard, Christ Jesus also stressed the interdependence of the branches and the vine. The people of Israel were being invited into a new and transforming relationship with God. It is the same today, Christ Jesus is inviting everyone who does not know Him into a transforming relationship with God. For the most part, blinded by their expectations of what the Messiah should be; most missed it. They could not see Christ Jesus for who He really is, the Son of God. 

People are still missing it. But to His followers, and that includes you if you know Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour; Christ Jesus offers a gracious assurance, “I am the vine; you are the branches...” In other words if you stay connected to Christ Jesus, He will provide you with all the nourishment you need to remain spiritually healthy. But you must be connected to Him.

Just as it is the responsibility of the branches to bear fruit, you as a Christian have a responsibility.

4. The Responsibility of the Branches (vs. 9-17)

Some grapevines are intertwined over trellises at the entrance of a yard to make a nice entry way. Some are used on an arbor placed in the yard to make a shady spot. But the main purpose for a grapevine is not decorative, but to produce fruit. The appearance of the vine is not the issue, producing fruit is. In some of the most productive vineyards, the vines and branches often seem scrawny, sparse, and visually unattractive.

But ask the owner of any vineyard and he or she will tell you how beautiful it is. They put great care and love into their vineyards and see them as a living, productive thing of beauty.

Discarded branches cut from the vines have no value. They are not useful in the production of grapes and they are not even good as fire wood. The branches burn to quickly and produce very little heat. If a branch is not attached to the vine it is of no use. 

 

Christ Jesus makes it very clear that the ability of a branch to produce fruit is solely dependent on it remaining attached to the vine. The vine is necessary as a source of sustenance and nutrition for the branch, so it is important that the branch be attached to it's life giving source. Christ Jesus uses this image as an example of the relationship He had with His disciples. Their ability to remain in Christ Jesus is dependent on His ability to remain in them. Your have the ability to remain in Christ Jesus, but is only because of who Christ Jesus is. 

 

This is the work of grace – a recognition that, while there is a responsibility on the part of the vine, the capacity to exercise that responsibility is a result of the grace of the loving, caring Gardener.

Conclusion: Fruit is the natural product of a healthy relationship. But, first you must keep the life-line open between you and your source of nourishment; Christ Jesus. You must remain in a relationship with God and cultivate that relationship above all other things. In response to a healthy and growing relationship of trusting God, fruit is produced - love reigns, and communion between God and you is assured.