John 15:1-8
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He takes up every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes/cleanses so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“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. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
This is one of Jesus’ “I am” statements where he clearly claims deity.
Isaiah 5:1-7 and Psalm 80:8-16 Speak of Israel as a vine planted by God. However, both speak to the ruin of Israel as they turned away from the LORD. In Jesus’ day the Jews still considered themselves to be the vineyard of God and even today vines are an important symbol for observing Jews and national Israel.
Jesus refers to himself as the true vine. The word true can be taken in two senses. The first is true as opposed to false or fake and the second is true in the sense of perfect conformity to a rule. Jesus is both the real point of the Abrahamic covenant and the only life that lived out God’s plan without deviation.
Jesus refers to the Father as the gardener/vinedresser. Genesis 2:8, “Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden”. God is a gardener. He takes perfect care of his vineyard.
Although many translators have taken [ αἴρω aírō, ah’-ee-ro; a primary root; to lift up; by implication, to take up or away] as ‘take away’ or even ‘cut off’ may I suggest that the sense of ‘take up’ as in to lift, inspect, care for, or tend is more appropriate for a viniculture metaphor. A vinedresser will lift up a fruitless branch to give it space in which to become fruitful. Branches that are laden with fruit need to be pruned [καθαίρω kathaírō, kath-ah’-ee-ro; from G2513; to cleanse, i.e. (specially) to prune; figuratively, to expiate:—purge] suckers pinched off, bugs washed away and so on. This pruning is accomplished by the Word of God.
Jesus says ‘remain’ five times in this short section. Abiding in Christ is the point being made. Paul says in Ephesians 6:13-14, “…put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand, stand firm then…”
In this story remaining is the whole work of the branches. God plants and tends, Jesus provides life and we remain. The result is the fruit of righteousness but it is not a work the branches do but an outcome of their nature and position. We, as in grafted branches, partake of the nature of the vine and are positioned by the vinedresser. Our whole work is to remain, abide, cling to, rest in, share the life of the vine.
Galatians 5:22,23, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Since the command is to remain there we find the point of choice. The vineyard metaphor falls apart at the point where moral action is required because vines are not moral actors but we are. An amoral vine may fail to graft for a variety of reasons but we fail to graft only through our own choice. Judas looked like all the other branches but ultimately he failed to remain. God is the perfect gardener and Jesus is the true vine only by our own will can we separate ourselves from him.
When our hearts are united to Christ’s his desires become our desires. Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
This account is unique to John’s gospel. In Matthew, Mark and Luke Jesus tells a parable about a vineyard that amounts to an explanation of why religious Israel would be left out of the Kingdom. It is very like Isaiah 5 and Psalm 80. Read Matt 21:33-41. In contrast, John uses similar language and imagery to explain the life of believers, their inclusion not exclusion.
brotherpayne 