John - Day 32: The True Vine

In this picture Jesus is the vine, we are branches and the Father is tending the vine- yard and wants it to be fruitful. The context in John 15 is Jesus having an intimate pre-cross conversation with His disciples. He has identified the one who would betray Him as Judas Iscariot and now He continues instructing His disciples hours before He goes to the cross. Jesus is teaching that the life of a Christian is like being in a vineyard and Jesus has a role, the Father has a role, the Holy Spirit has a role. Jesus is the life-giving source and we represent branches in this vineyard where the whole goal is to produce fruit. It is all about fruit and producing fruit. This is a passage that is speaking mainly to people who are followers of Jesus. In this picture is that Jesus wants us to produce fruit with our lives not simply to decorate our lives. Many people live their Christian life like a Christmas tree. At Christmas time you go and cut down a tree and then decorate it to make it look impressive. Many Christians are decorating their lives with morality, mechanically trying to impress God and others with their busy lives and religious activity. The problem with a Christmas tree is that it is not attached to the source of life anymore and eventually dies. Many who profess to be Christians are decorated to impress but not connected to the source of life. Jesus says I want you to produce fruit. I want there to be a dy- namic and organic reality about your life that comes from inside of you and produces spiritual fruit! Jesus says that fruit is a result of staying close to Him. Eleven times in this chapter John uses the word “abide” or “remain”. Simply put Jesus is saying that the priority and the passion of our lives needs to be to remain connected to Him.

Read John 15:1-17

Q: Write down how many times the words “remain” and “fruit” are used?

Q: What condition does Jesus give for being His disciple? What is fruit in this passage? Why does the passage so strongly highlight the connection to the vine and remaining in Him to produce fruit?

Q: Compare and contrast someone who decorates the outside of their life with morality or acts of service versus someone who has connected their life, mind and heart with Jesus?

Q: We cannot bear fruit, let alone lasting fruit, if we do not remain in Jesus. How have you seen this to be true in your life?

Q: The gardener prunes every branch so that it can bear more fruit. God will never cut away anything I need but only what will hinder me from producing more good and lasting fruit. Think back on your walk with Christ, what is something that God has pruned or you felt convicted to remove because it hindered the amount of fruit that you were able to produce?

For Further Study: 1 John 2:3-5