The Gospel of John
Pastor Ron W. Hammer
1/10/99
Where’s the Fruit
John 15:1-11
Introduction
This morning I’d like to start things out with a little object lesson. I need a volunteer to help me with this - it needs to be someone who can handle a pair of scissors (hold up pair of scissors). (Try to get Fred LaMaster.)
OK, ________________, thanks for volunteering. I’d like you to take this piece of paper and cut out a heart shape for me. Can you do that? (Hand them the scissors, which will come apart in their hands.
[At some point, say "Could you please hurry, we don’t have a lot of time for this."]
When he says they’re broken, pull out the screw…
Finally, thank him and have him return to seat.
A pair of scissors consists of two single blades. Yet the blades, regardless of how sharp or shiny, are useless without one essential element - the small metal screw or rivet that holds them together. When that little screw brings both blades together, suddenly cutting becomes effortless!
In our relationship with God, abiding in Jesus is the screw that holds everything together and makes us useful to him!
In John 15, our Lord uses a similar little object lesson to teach His disciples the importance of fellowship with Him. But before we jump in let’s remind ourselves of the setting here in John, since it’s been sometime since our last study in this Gospel. Jesus and His disciples have celebrated the Last Supper and He has just concluded His upper room discourse. In John 14:31, He said to His disciples: Arise, let us go from here.
They departed from the Upper Room and headed towards the Mount of Olives. John 15, most likely begins as they arrive at this hillside filled with its many vineyards and orchards. As is often the case, Jesus molds his teaching around His physical setting and so He uses the grapevines that are before Him as a picture of the relationship He desires His disciples to have with Him.
In his study of this passage, Chuck Swindoll makes three initial observations that are helpful as we begin:
This entire passage is directed at believers only: Remember the setting - Jesus is having an intimate conversation with His most trusted disciples. It is significant that this discussion takes place after Judas’ departure - so this group is completely comprised of believers. He isn’t talking to a mixed group, he isn’t speaking to the crowds - He is talking to those who already have a relationship with Him.
The verses revolve around a metaphor: Vine & Branches - a common image for these men (common culturally and biblically). Remember - metaphors always have their limitations!!
The main subject is ABIDING: The word means to "remain" - as such it makes no sense when applied to a non-believer. To equate a call to "remain in Christ" with the call to become a Christian makes as much sense as someone asking for "more dinner" when they haven’t had any, yet! This is not about how to become a Christian, but about how to become a PRODUCTIVE CHRISTIAN!
With that introduction, let’s begin to look at the passage.
1. The Vine: JESUS
(John 15:1a) "I am the true vine…".
Jesus begins by telling us whom the key elements of this metaphor refer to. He begins with the vine, which refers to Him. Jesus is the true vine - the only source of spiritual life.
This is the last of Jesus’ eight "I am" statements in the gospel of John. In our day of ecumenical cooperation - where we seem to dislike very much effort to show the distinctions between different faiths, Jesus’ words can be hard to swallow. Jesus had no problem make very exclusive claims. Jesus didn’t teach of a myriad of different ways to God - He taught one!
In chapter 6 Jesus told hungry people "I am the bread of life"
In chapter 8 Jesus told people in the darkness of their sin, "I am the light of the world"
In chapter 10, He told people who were lost and leaderless, "I am the door to the sheep pen and I am the Good shepherd."
In Chapter 11 he told those at the grave of Lazarus, "I am the resurrection and the life"
In chapter 14 he told His fearful disciples who were unsure of their destiny, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
And here in chapter 15 He says, "I am the TRUE vine." There is only one true vine. You can’t choose your own. It’s not a wine tasting to see which vintage and brand you prefer.
2. The Vinedresser: GOD, THE FATHER
(John 15:1b) "…My Father is the vinedresser."
Jesus says that God the Father is the loving gardener who cares for the vineyard and provides it with all of its needs. The imagery as God as the gardener of the vineyard is well established in the OT. In…
(Isaiah 5:1-4, 7 NKJV) Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. 2He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes. 3 "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. 4What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes? …7For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help.
Talk about God’s tender care for His garden…
That brings us to…
2. The Branch: BELIEVERS
While Jesus isn’t as explicit in identifying the branches as being believers, it is still rather clear. Whoever they are, He definitely indicates that the disciples were among the branches. In vv 7-8 He turns the analogy directly to them and calls them to respond. His entire audience is composed of believers so it would seem strange to give a message addressed to those who aren’t here. Further, the fact that all of those in this section are said to be "branches" indicating that they were a part of Jesus, seems to be important in identifying the branches as believers.
[Thanks to Bill McElvoy who provided me with several very helpful articles, especially one on the practices of early vinegrowers.]
So, what does Jesus say to believers in Him?
Abiding in Jesus:
a. The Principle (:2)
(John 15:2 NKJV) "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away [lifts up - or attaches to the trelise]; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
NOTE: This isn’t the way we often think of this passage. Verse 2 doesn’t refer to abiding and non-abiding branches. It is referring to fruitful and unfruitful branches. Jesus says "Every branch in me…" The phrase "in me" is very similar to the one Jesus will use in v. 3 "abide". The phase is used 16 times in the Gospel of John and it always refers to being in "close fellowship with Christ."
He is saying, in essence: there are two conditions that a branch that is in me can be in…"
Talk about viticulture…
The practice of Jesus’ day in tending a vine entailed care for both the branches that would bear fruit and the one that wouldn’t.
Several of the branches that would not bear fruit would be attached to the trellis and allowed to grow unhindered. This allowed it to become very healthy and thick and prepared it to become a fruit bearing branch the following season.
The fruit bearing branch was carefully pruned and cleaned. Little succulent sprigs and extra buds would be cut or plucked off to enhance the fruit bearing.
Principle is this: Believers who not currently fruitful are allowed to grow and God encourages them (lifted up) to prepare them for fruitfulness in the future. Those believers that are currently fruitful are continually cleansed by the Vinedresser to allow for maximum fruitfulness.
What is the fruit referring to?
Results of evangelism - might be involved, but this is actually not generally the meaning of fruit in the NT.
Growth in character (like the fruits of the Spirit) - it is a life which gives evidence of the kind of plant we are attached to…
Donald Grey Barnhouse cites an amazing example of lasting fruitfulness.
In Hampton Court near London, there is a grapevine under glass; it is about 1,000 years old and has but one root which is at least two feet thick. Some of the branches are 200 feet long. Because of skillful cutting and pruning, the vine produces several tons of grapes each year. Even though some of the smaller branches are 200 feet from the main stem, they bear much fruit because they are joined to the vine and allow the life of the vine to flow through them.
He is the vine, and we are the branches. And when we need pruning, the goal is always more fruit.
Does your life require some pruning today? Are there things that are hindering you from being as productive in living for the Lord as you might be?
On the other hand, is God preparing you for fruitfulness. Is He encouraging you to grow in your walk with Him so that the fruit that in the future a harvest of spiritual fruit might become visible?
b. The Response (:3-5)
(John 15:3-5 NKJV) "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 "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. 5 "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.
Jesus makes two key points:
The 11 men He is speaking to, the disciples, have already experienced the process of cleansing (that is the pruning of a branch to enhance fruit bearing). The word "clean" in v. 3 relates to the "pruning" of v. 2. Over the past few three years they have been allowed to grow unhindered and now more recently Jesus has begun to prepare them to bear fruit - they could now expect to see that fruitfulness immediately.
But, Jesus makes it clear that for this to occur they must "remain in Him" - they can’t do this on their own! Continued fruit bearing can only occur when the branch remains attached to the vine. This is obvious to the vinegrower - he would never even consider the possibility of detaching a fruitful branch and expecting it to continue bearing fruit. But for some reason we can forget this simple principle!
In his book Spiritual Stamina, Stuart Briscoe tells the story of a man who bought a new computer. Bringing his new prize home, he carefully opened the box, gingerly took the machine out, studied its manual, and connected the wires. Eagerly he flipped on the power switch -- but nothing happened. Puzzled, the man switched the computer off and rechecked all the connections. He rounded up a screwdriver and fastened the wires more securely. He read again the relevant portion of the manual. Satisfied that he'd followed directions, he flipped the computer on -- and again nothing happened. As his anger rose the man's little girl walked into the room.
"Hi, Daddy!" her cheery voice rang out. "What a pretty computer! Can I plug it in?"
Some branches are fruitful, some are being prepared to bear fruit, but Jesus also speaks of a third type of branch that we are going to look at next week. Next week we’ll look at branches that have become useless and the results of remaining in Christ.
Application
Before we close, I want to look at the question is your life bearing fruit? At the heart of this passage is the understanding that a believer in Jesus Christ should be bearing fruit consistent with the vine to which we are attached! If you are not, you need to find out why. There are six basic reasons that can cause a plant not to bear fruit and they each relate to an aspect of the Christian life - by way of application let’s look at each of them briefly:
1. Lack of proper nourishment: A poor supply of water or nutrients can cause a plant to be unfruitful. In the Christian life if we are not allowing God’s truth to feed us, if we are not spending time hearing God’s Word, reading it and allowing it to feed us spiritually we will be unfruitful.
2. Disease: Insects and disease can destroy an otherwise healthy plant. Spiritual disease is called sin and left untreated it will destroy your spiritual vitality and productivity. Many people think that they can allow a little sin to remain in their life and it won’t have any impact. IT’S JUST NOT TRUE. Solomon says, "Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes." It’s those seemingly little sins that can often bring us down if we don’t deal with them!
3. Immaturity: New branches require several years of pruning before they can produce. This can be a natural process if we are young in the Lord. But we can also live in a state of perpetual immaturity. The writer of Hebrews says to his readers, For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food (5:12). We need to give attention to our spiritual growth that we might move on from immaturity. As Hebrews says: Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity,
4. Improper Pruning: a wise gardener knows what to remove in order to bring about fruitfulness. Unfortunately, we are not the passive participants in the pruning process that a vine is and sometimes we resist God’s attempts to focus our priorities and our energies on the things that will result in fruitfulness. We must allow our lives to be shaped by God and His Word, not by our own wisdom and desires.
5. No Gardener: wild vines produce puny fruit - sometimes we don’t allow God to do His work in our life and the results are tragic. An otherwise healthy vine can become unfruitful. Generally, if this is allowed to continue for long periods of time, the plant will require massive pruning to be returned to productivity.
6. Separated from the vine: We’ll look at this in detail next week, but when we are separated from the vine we become useful for only one thing: roasting marshmallows - we’re firewood. Useless for the Lord’s work. We must not think for a moment that we are capable of surviving and sustaining growth apart from Jesus. He is the giver and sustainer of life.
Are you bearing fruit? If not, what is preventing it and what will you do to change it?
Let’s pray.