“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-grower. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He cleans it so that it may bear more fruit.”
- John 15:1-2 -
Only Jesus brings the change we all so desperately need and desire. By Christ, wretched sinners can become children of the living God. Bullies can be transformed into tender saints. Addicts can gain self-control and the proud can be humbled. God promised this to the prophets, saying: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26). Jesus lived and died so that we could be changed into the people we were predestined to be.
Change is coming! This is Jesus’ message on the night of His arrest. Soon He will be going back to the Father, so from here on out the disciples’ lives will never be the same. But don’t fear, Jesus tells them. Let not your hearts be troubled. The disciples will soon be doing greater works than He. God will give them all they ask in Christ’s name, and the Holy Spirit will come and be their constant Companion. Jesus says: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). Christ’s peace is different from the world’s. The world thinks peace is the absence of conflict. This is not Jesus’ peace. He gives the peace of victory. The peace of conquest. No sorrow or trial can ever take that away.
Jesus offers a peace the world does not have. What is so amazing is that Jesus says this just hours before His torture and crucifixion. He sees it all, but here He is talking about giving peace and not letting your heart be troubled. He will say: “I’ve told you all this so that trusting Me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world” (John 16:33). Jesus was born to bring peace to the earth. At His birth, the angels praised God, saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!” (Luke 2:14). We can be encouraged knowing Christ’s peace prevents the devil from devouring God’s soldiers.
The psalmist says: ‘As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God’ (42:1-2). Deer only pant if they’re chased by an enemy. They don’t go around panting like dogs. Deer die if they don’t reach water after a chase. Their thirst is desperate, so the psalmist says we need God the same way a panting deer needs water. Pursuing God is how we gain peace. Those who ‘thirst for righteousness…shall be filled’ (Matt. 5:6). David writes: ‘My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is my God’ (Ps. 62:5-7).
As Jesus and the disciples leave the upper room and walk to the Mount of Olives, Christ talks about change. What we need to grasp is that God’s idea of change is different than ours. We rarely search out change, but we lose out on the big things God wants for us if this is the pattern of our life. Paul says God ‘is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think’ (Eph. 3:20). So humble yourself and tell God you’re open to His plan. We can walk this life knowing that the One who calmed the storm and raises the dead will lead us into all righteousness. He’ll transform us to the point that we produce fruit. And isn’t this what being a Christian is all about?
Christ tells the disciples: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser” (John 15:1). Jesus knows other vines tempt us to tap into them. The vine of man-made religion projects godliness when all it offers is filthy rags. Religion says: “Give part of your life, time, and money to God.” But Jesus wants all of us. Not just a portion! The first vine was the house of Israel but it failed to produce fruit (Is. 5:1-7). So now Jesus comes along and calls Himself the true vine: the One who will produce fruit in God’s people according to the Father’s will. In other words, only Christ is the real deal.
Jesus is the vine, the Father cares for the vineyard, and the fruit produced is of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). All three members of the Holy Trinity are involved in our personal growth. Christ follows this with something shocking: “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit [the Father] takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2). Some pastors teach that judgment comes to those who fail to produce ample fruit. They say God is an angry God who stomps around with a machete chopping people down. But these teachers don’t know how wrong they are!
Vineyards are common in Israel. People know vines don’t bear fruit on the ground. A wood or metal frame called a trellis is built for vines to climb up off the ground and wrap around. This is where vines bear fruit. The reason many believers don’t bear fruit is because the devil slices at them as they roll around and wallow in the dust. When we struggle to the point where we are just barely hanging on to faith, let alone bearing fruit, God isn’t going to come along and cast us into eternal judgment. No, He’ll come alongside, lift us up, and plant our feet on solid ground.
Remember that Jesus said: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). So when you’re down and out, run to Christ and cling to Him. He’ll nurture you until your strength returns. Then, when you’re well and able, you’ll bear fruit for the kingdom. But wait! God's not done with you yet. He’ll lift you up, but then He’ll prune you so you may bear more fruit. You need to submit to the cutting knife of God as He removes those dead things that prevent you from bearing fruit.
Are you spending too much time on fruitless things? Maybe you’re seeing the wrong folks. Whatever’s holding you back, submit to God and allow Him to cut those dead things from your life. It may hurt but it’s necessary. Hebrews says: ‘No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening – it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way’ (12:6). Take comfort knowing everything God does in your life has meaning and purpose. He never removes something necessary, so if He removes it, you didn’t need it in the first place.
It helps to know that vines don’t produce fruit right away. It takes three years for a vine to produce edible grapes. So if you just began your new life in Christ, give yourself time. Rarely do results come right away. During these formative years, a vine’s roots drive deep into the ground and branches spread out to join with nearby vines. This is how the vine becomes strong enough to hold the weight of grapes. Even when grapes are ripe for consumption, it then takes another five or six years to produce proper fruit. And then, when the wine is finally made, it has to sit and mature. The same is true of God’s children. Our God is the God of time, to Whom ‘a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day’ (2 Pet. 3:8).
Jesus says His followers are worthy of being branches connected to Him as they believe His words: “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. 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” (John 15:4-5). Jesus wants us to share His closeness with the Father. For that to happen, we must abide in Christ. ‘Abide’ means to depend and remain in one place for a long time. All who bear much fruit for the kingdom stay in a committed relationship with God during life’s struggles. They don’t buckle under pressure and their vine isn’t choked out by the weeds of carnal living.
Jesus is everything to you. He is your vine and life source. Abiding in Him means there’s nothing you can’t ask of Him and nothing He can’t ask of you. You’re in Him and He’s in you. The more you believe and obey, the more fruit you bear: “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:8). You can’t bear fruit alone, which is why Paul writes: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ (Phil. 4:13). God created a world where everything produced after its own kind. He created you in His image so that His divine life could flow through you. The best and most thrilling experience in all the universe is to be united to Christ. There is nothing greater or more meaningful. There is no lack of power in Jesus and, when you stay connected to the vine, this same power will flow through you.
Ever the honest teacher, Jesus gives this warning next: “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:6). He is talking about branches not connected to the vine. These are unbelievers who may have a form of godliness but do not belong to Jesus. As Christ said before: “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matt. 7:17-20). These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.
Just as God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, Jesus now says: “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:12-13). This isn’t necessarily a call to martyrdom, but a call to put the needs of others above your own. If you do this and obey Christ’s words, He says you’ll be His friend. In ancient times, a king’s friends had the closest, most intimate connection to him. Servants obey because they have to, but friends obey because they want to. We can’t earn God’s friendship by being good. Jesus’ point is that we obey His commands, which indicates that we love Him.
Jesus chose us to send us out into the world where we’ll bear fruit to stand the test of time, so He says: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (John 15:16). The way to bring others into God’s family is to show them the fruit of the Christian life. Yes, difficult times were ahead for the disciples and trials are on all our horizons. In all the Gospels, Jesus warns of what’s ahead, but He also encourages us to abide in Him: the true vine. And we can press on at all costs because we are in Christ, and He in us. Apart from Him we can do nothing, so abide in Christ and He will carry you to the end.
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