Bible Reading
The Vine and the Branches
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 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. 5 “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. 6 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. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
The World Hates the Disciples
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
The Work of the Holy Spirit
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 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. 5 “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. 6 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. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
The World Hates the Disciples
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
The Work of the Holy Spirit
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
Devotional
By the time we arrive at John 15, the gospel writer has already recorded six of Christ’s “I AM” statements. Of course, God is the great “I AM” (Exodus 3:14). John is building his case for the deity of Christ that he began to construct in the very first verse of his gospel (John 1:1). Jesus is the “I AM” and He describes Himself with the use of that name. This chapter opens with the seventh and final statement: “I am the true vine” (v.1). Earlier, He proclaimed “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). He further described Himself by saying, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5), “I am the door” (John 10:7), “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11), and “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). He then states, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and now as chapter 15 opens He declares, “I am the true vine” (John 15:1).
As John offers this final “I AM” statement, He is couching it in the same context as the previous six; Jesus is nothing less than God Himself. Now God is described as a “vine.” For John’s readers, that metaphor would have produced a very clear picture. In fact, Israel herself is regularly portrayed in Scripture as a vineyard (Isaiah 5:7; Jeremiah 12:10). Vineyards were (and still are) pervasive in all regions surrounding Israel. So, when John painted this picture and specified the three major biographical figures involved – the vine, the vinedresser, and the branches – his readers could easily interpret the art.
Who is the vine? The vine is Jesus. What is His function in this scene?
More than anything else, He is the source. Nothing can go forth apart from Him (v.5). If something is going to grow, it must be rooted in the vine. It is out of the vine that the source’s substance flows. That substance is love (v.9)! In the vineyard, the vine is the source of life and the rain that fuels that life is love. John said the same sort of thing earlier: God so loved the world that He gave the vine so that whoever believes in Him will have life (John 3:16).
There is no other way. To have life, you must believe in the vine. The branch must be connected to the vine and “abide” in it. John uses the word “abide” 10 times in John 15:1-11. In this landscape painting of the vineyard, this is the role of the branch; to abide or to dwell with. Herein, lies the most fundamental picture of our lives. Are we connected to the source? Are we directly associated with the vine? Are we hanging on to Jesus or are we hanging on to other things? Who is our vine? Who is our source? Who is our love? Who do you dwell with? Who do you rely on?
Of the various fruit bearing plants, vines require the most attention; hence, the significance of the “vinedresser” (v.1). The skillful vinedresser works the vineyard. Fruitless branches are removed and fruitful branches are pruned to make them more fruitful. Pruning bears fruit. The progression moves from “no fruit” (v.2a), to “more fruit” (v.2b), to “much fruit” (v.5). There is, of course, an “elephant in the room” (or an “elephant in the vineyard”). There is something that everyone knows is there but nobody wants to acknowledge; something that is painfully obvious. In order for fruit to grow, there must be snipping, cutting, and burning. The vinedresser prunes and then there is growth. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).
Pruning is caring. It hurts but it is necessary. Pruning is intimacy. The vine dresser is never closer to you than when He is pruning you. Pruning hurts but helps. It may not be enjoyable but it is necessary. God loves us, and so, He prunes us. He prunes us with His Word which is “living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). So, as one of the actors, do your part in the scene. Abide in the vine. Connect yourself to the Word of God and let that Word prune you so that much more fruit can come from your life.
As John offers this final “I AM” statement, He is couching it in the same context as the previous six; Jesus is nothing less than God Himself. Now God is described as a “vine.” For John’s readers, that metaphor would have produced a very clear picture. In fact, Israel herself is regularly portrayed in Scripture as a vineyard (Isaiah 5:7; Jeremiah 12:10). Vineyards were (and still are) pervasive in all regions surrounding Israel. So, when John painted this picture and specified the three major biographical figures involved – the vine, the vinedresser, and the branches – his readers could easily interpret the art.
Who is the vine? The vine is Jesus. What is His function in this scene?
More than anything else, He is the source. Nothing can go forth apart from Him (v.5). If something is going to grow, it must be rooted in the vine. It is out of the vine that the source’s substance flows. That substance is love (v.9)! In the vineyard, the vine is the source of life and the rain that fuels that life is love. John said the same sort of thing earlier: God so loved the world that He gave the vine so that whoever believes in Him will have life (John 3:16).
There is no other way. To have life, you must believe in the vine. The branch must be connected to the vine and “abide” in it. John uses the word “abide” 10 times in John 15:1-11. In this landscape painting of the vineyard, this is the role of the branch; to abide or to dwell with. Herein, lies the most fundamental picture of our lives. Are we connected to the source? Are we directly associated with the vine? Are we hanging on to Jesus or are we hanging on to other things? Who is our vine? Who is our source? Who is our love? Who do you dwell with? Who do you rely on?
Of the various fruit bearing plants, vines require the most attention; hence, the significance of the “vinedresser” (v.1). The skillful vinedresser works the vineyard. Fruitless branches are removed and fruitful branches are pruned to make them more fruitful. Pruning bears fruit. The progression moves from “no fruit” (v.2a), to “more fruit” (v.2b), to “much fruit” (v.5). There is, of course, an “elephant in the room” (or an “elephant in the vineyard”). There is something that everyone knows is there but nobody wants to acknowledge; something that is painfully obvious. In order for fruit to grow, there must be snipping, cutting, and burning. The vinedresser prunes and then there is growth. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).
Pruning is caring. It hurts but it is necessary. Pruning is intimacy. The vine dresser is never closer to you than when He is pruning you. Pruning hurts but helps. It may not be enjoyable but it is necessary. God loves us, and so, He prunes us. He prunes us with His Word which is “living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). So, as one of the actors, do your part in the scene. Abide in the vine. Connect yourself to the Word of God and let that Word prune you so that much more fruit can come from your life.