Jesus is Gods True Vine and His Disciples Should Bear Fruit
Intro: Well morning friends and visitors. My name is Matt Johnson and today (in our lead up to Easter) we are zooming in on the last chapters of Johns gospel. Everything John writes about in John 12-18 happens on the night before Jesus is crucified. So lets pray as we begin…
PRAYER:
Well as you can see in verse 1 – Jesus says I am the true vine. This is Jesus’ 7th and FINAL I AM statement. Jesus is saying I AM THE VINE [or the conduit] through which Gods love and blessing flows. But Jesus is now talking of himself AS the TRUE vine, in comparison to Israel – who were Gods original conduit of love and blessing. So I want to talk to you about the Passover Meal because Jesus talks of himself as A GRAPE VINE as they were all drinking WINE that gladdens the heart.
One of the biggest Jewish festivals is called PASSOVER. It more or less coincides today with Christian Easter. But in Passover the Jews were remembering how God saved them from slavery in Egypt around 1446BC. In 1446BC Moses told Pharoah to let the Jews go. But Pharoah, said NO! So, God brought plagues upon Egypt until Pharoah finally agreed. This is all recorded in the Bible in Exodus 6-12 AND the final plague was going to bring death to every firstborn child [in every home in Egypt].
But God told the Jews that if each family took A PERFECT LAMB, killed it [ate the meat] and then painted some of the lambs blood over the door of their home – their firstborn child would be saved. Moses told the people that when THE ANGEL OF DEATH saw the lambs blood over the door he would Passover that home. So on this night – all the Jews obeyed and their first born children were saved. But – all the Egyptians firstborn children (including Pharoah’s heir to the throne) died. So the very next day – Pharoah finally let the Jews go to the Promised Land. God then told the Jews that every year they had to have a special meal on the 15th Day of Nisan (a bit like Christmas or Chinese New Year) to remember this salvation event.
So on this day each family would SACRIFICE a lamb in the temple. Then at sunset they would have a special meal of 1] lamb, 2] bitter herbs, 3] unleavened flat bread and 4] wine in remembrance of Gods salvation. Now across the course of the meal they would DRINK four cups of wine AND they would SING Psalms 113-118. The more wine they drank I imagine the louder the singing became. Now I can assure you it was definitely WINE AND the four cups of wine were based on four promises of God given to Moses. Let me show you. (Slide 2; Ex.6:6-7; ENTER; ENTER)
Now as they ate the Passover Meal the head of the home (in our case Jesus) would retell the story of salvation from Egypt. The head of the home would begin by praying A SPECIAL PRAYER over the first cup – thanking God for Sabbath rest. 1] The Passover was a day of rest and the meal began with thanking God for SABBATH REST. 2] Then they would drink the FIRST CUP and eat BITTER HERBS to remember that life in slavery was bitter. Then they’d SING Psalms 113-114. After this they drank THE SECOND CUP – while eating the Lamb and unleavened bread. Now soon as the meal was finished – the head of the home would pick a Bible passage and in A JEWISH MIDRASH kind of explain the Exodus story. JEWISH MIDRASH was like a sermon but with a lot more poetic license and lots of life application.
Now after this Midrash they’d drink THE THIRD CUP – called the cup of redemption. THE WINE in this cup represented the blood of the Passover Lamb. But as many of you know Jesus takes this cup and talks about his own blood shed on the cross. (Jesus blood is going to save people, just like the Passover Lamb]. Then they would sing Psalms 115-116 AND drink THE FOURTH CUP. This was called the cup of thanksgiving. The head of the home would thank God for the meal and the meal would conclude with more singing of Psalms of 117-118. It was a joyful occasion. Each glass would have held between 100-150ml of wine. So, by the close of the meal everyone has drunk around half a bottle of wine…
Now in this context of drinking wine and joyfully singing Gods praise – Jesus speaks of himself as the true grape vine that brings JOY to the heart of man. Many Christian scholars believe John 15 is actually A JEWISH MIDRASH of Psalm 80. It looks like Jesus has taken Psalm 80 which talks about God saving a grape vine from Egypt and he uses that to speak about himself as the true vine. So as we begin today – I want us to turn back to PSALM 80 and read it together. I’ll put Psalm 80 up on the screen or you can turn to it in your Bible on page ________. PSALM 80 (Slide 3-5). Now many good scholars have suggested that in John 15 – Jesus is actually doing a Jewish Midrash of Psalm 80. But he doesn’t just explain the Exodus. He also explains that he is now he true vine through which Gods blessing, love and joy flows…
Point 1: Jesus is the True Vine (through whom God’s Blessing Flows)
Show: John 15:1-2 (READ)
Explain: Now please notice Jesus calls himself THE TRUE VINE. In ancient society the grape vine was a symbol of both blessing and prosperity. Although, grapes and wine are now accessible to most people in the western world, they were originally considered luxury items or a symbol of blessing. So the Bible speaks of the Promised Land as a place where every person can sit under their own grape vine (Mic.4:4). The fruit of the vine (and enjoying the fruit of the vine] was a picture of blessing.
So Psalm 80 says God took Israel (as a kind of grape vine) out of Egypt and planted it in the Promised Land of Israel. Now in the ancient world VITICULTURE and WINE MAKING really was perfected by the Egyptians on the banks of the Nile around 2700BC. The wine produced was then the special possession of Pharoah. A symbol of his blessing and prosperity. But then God brought the Jews out of Egypt (as a kind of grape vine) and transplanted them in the land of Israel – where the climate was even better for grapes than in Egypt (Num.13:23). So God is making His own vineyard in the Promised Land and the fruits of the vine are a picture of the peoples blessing and prosperity…
Now God said in Psalm 80 that “from the river to the sea” the Jewish vine was to grow and fill the land. Please note God said from the river to the sea long before these words became a pro-Palestinian war cry. BUT GODS PURPOSE in planting a vine in Israel – is that the Jews might be a vine through which God’s blessing would flow to the entire world. God originally told Abraham he was going TO BLESS ISRAEL, so that they could bring GOD’S BLESSING to all people. (Gen.12:2-3).
The Jews were meant to KEEP Gods commands and TEACH Gods commands to all people – so that everyone could experience God’s blessing. But sadly, the Jews failed to keep or share Gods commands and Gods blessings with the world. So in John 15 Jesus is now explaining he is THE TRUE VINE or TRUE CONDUIT through which Gods blessing will flow to everyone who remains in him.
Now if you look again at verses 1-2 (you’ll see) Jesus talks about God as THE GARDENER. God is practicing viticulture. God is taking wild grape vine and through careful cultivation he is enabling it to produce good wine. But instead of doing this A] through the Jewish nation, God is now doing it B] through the Jewish Messiah – ie Jesus. Jesus is going to be the conduit of Gods blessing to the world.
Apply: Now again (if you look at verse 2) you’ll see Jesus says – that those 1]who bear no fruit will be cut off, but 2] those connected to Jesus will be pruned by God so that they become even more fruitful. IN CONTEXT this is a WARNING to the Jews and an INVITATION to non-Jews to take Jesus seriously. The Jews thought they would automatically have Gods blessing when the Messiah came – simply because they were Jews. But Jesus is saying that if the Jews do not embrace him as the Messiah and remain connected to him as Messiah – they are in danger of being cut off and thrown away. But anyone (whether Jew or non-Jew) who remains in Jesus will begin to receive Gods blessing, so that they can be a blessing to others. God’s blessing is no longer flowing through the Jewish people generally. Gods blessing is now flowing through Jesus.
THIS MEANS that if you want God’s blessing in your life – you need to be connected to Jesus. You need to accept him as your King. Then, connected to King Jesus and beginning to bear fruit – God will do some horticulture – so that your own life becomes more and more fruitful. SO…
Point 2: Jesus is the True Vine (and the disciples MUST remain in Him)
Show: Jn.15:5-7 (READ)
Explain: Well Jesus continues to build on a simple vine analogy. Only the vine itself is planted in THE GROUND. The vine then draws up all the nutrients from the ground and distributes it to the branches. If the right nutrients then pass through the vine to the branches – the branches inevitably end up bearing good fruit. But any branch that gets CUT OFF from the vine will naturally die and never bears good fruit. This is a simple horticultural illustration.
But Jesus’ point is that he is the vine that connects us to God. THE ULTIMATE SOURCE of life is God Himself. All LIFE and BLESSING ultimately comes from God. BUT THE PROBLEM is humanity rejected the true God AND His Commands. Many people still think they can have a better life without God, than with God. So instead of worshiping the true Creator God and listening to his word – we start worshiping other gods and listening to the lies of the world. The world tells us that if we have X, Y & Z we will be blessed… But chasing these things with the worlds wisdom what most people reap is mess, curse and death.
Sadly, there are very few people who truly experience a blessed life. SOME may attain wealth, but often at the expense of family. SOME people have a great party (while their young) but often with the accompanying scars of addiction and messed up sexual lives. We all want milk and honey and wine. But cutting ourselves off from God (and His instructions for life) most people experience these things slipping through their fingers as they get older. So much of our dreams for life evaporate before our eyes…
But God made promises to the Jews – that he would bless them, so that they could be a blessing. But what God was actually doing was restoring His relationship with the world – through a particular Jew called the Messiah. Way, way, way back in the Old Testament (before the Exodus from Egypt) God started making promises to the Jews about a Messiah. GOD EXPLAINED that a very special Jewish King would one day restore people’s trust in God AND save the world and. THEN, in restored relationship with God and trusting God’s words – GOD’S LIFE and BLESSING would begin to again flow into people’s lives.
Apply: If you look again at verse 7 – you’ll see Jesus says; “if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you.” This is an extraordinary promise. Think about it? What do you really WISH FOR in life? I don’t mean the crass, base things like a Porsche and a fancy home in Vaucluse or wining Powerball. But what are the more noble longings of your heart? Maybe its family? Maybe its someone to love. Maybe, its simply doing something with your life that is meaningful. Well, Jesus says if you remain in me, following me and listening to my words – ask for the things you wish and God will answer your prayers. Isn’t that an incredible promise. Now it’s true that as you become a Christian – God will CHANGE some of the things you wish for. But God is promising to bless you if you connect to Jesus and remain in Jesus.
BUT WHY would we connect ourselves to Jesus and listen to his words?
Point 3: Jesus is the True Vine and He calls us to Love (as he loved us)
Show: John 15:10-11 (READ)
Explain: Well notice that Jesus starts talking about love. He says as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. As we have seen remaining in Jesus means being connected to him, especially through his words – recorded in the Bible. Now as we obey Jesus words in the Bible about loving God and loving our neighbour as ourself – Gods love begins to permeate our lives, flowing through us to others. The Bible says; “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him” (1Jn.4:16). Being connected to God through Jesus means a new type of love begins to flow in you and through you – that really does return a blessing. But its not the love of this world…
In 1967 the Beatles wrote the famous song; “ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE” and it kind of became the anthem of the hippies. There was something powerful in the idea of free love. Again, in recent years, we’ve all been told by the LGBTQIA Community that love is love. The idea being that it doesn’t matter who you love, so long as you love someone – that is all that matters. Again, we all know that there is something powerful in love. Deep down we all know that there is something in love more meaningful and more satisfying than most other things in the world. But what sort of love brings real blessing to our lives.
Sadly, love in our modern western world is now predominantly a selfish, narcissistic sort of love that always puts self before others. This is what the world tells us is the path to blessing. ALWAYS PUT SELF FIRST. But narcissistic self-love is not really love at all. IN FACT – narcissistic self-love is the antithesis of true love. TRUE LOVE is about putting another person ahead of yourself. TRUE LOVE is about serving and meeting another person’s needs while forgetting self. But this concept of love originally introduced by Jesus is now largely gone. People now think love is sex or love is a feeling or worst yet love is not even real.
So relationships, friendships and marriages and breaking down. If two people enter into a relationship (both with great bucket loads of narcissistic self-love) the relationship is doomed before it even begins. This is because real love is not narcissistic. Sadly, these days I even hear of couples who no longer want to have children. The marriage itself becomes so selfish and narcissistic that they don’t want to have children in case it somehow interferes with their relationship. Again, I’d say that couples who choose NOT to have children for purely selfish reasons are in danger of destroying their own love. Both Gods love and Gods blessing is to be shared with others…
So you’ll see in verses 11-12 Jesus says; My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this to lay down ones life for ones friends. (GOSPEL) Jesus laid down his life for his friends at the cross. AND THE CROSS (that so many Christians wear around their necks) is actually a symbol of love. Because mankind rejected God and His commands – we all face Gods punishment and death. But God the Father and God the Son came up with a plan to save us. God the Son became the Jewish Messiah and he accepted responsibility for everything we have done wrong. Jesus said – I am willing to die on the cross to accept the penalty for my friend’s sin – so that their lives can be spared. Jesus did the time for our crimes. So Jesus put our need of salvation before his own need for life. This is love. When we sacrificially put other peoples needs before our own it is the beginning of true love.
Now remember Jesus died on a cross. This was the worst form of execution ever devised by man. But the worse the death, the greater we can see God’s love for us. Jesus loved us so much he was even willing to be crucified – to save us. And Jesus WASN’T really laying down his life for friends who loved him and were faithful to him. Jesus was laying down his life for people who rejected him, mocked him and used his name as a swear word. But this is love. True love, even loves and forgives our enemies.
Now the good news of Christianity is that if you BELIEVE Jesus died for your sins and you ASK God to forgive you – God will forgive you, He will come into your life and you will get a free pass to heaven. So do you see Gods love for you in Jesus and have you accepted Jesus as your Saviour and Lord?
Now if you become a Christian – Jesus then says; This is my command: that you love one another as I have loved you. But Jesus is telling us this NOT ONLY because it is the right thing to do, BUT BECAUSE it is also the path of true life and blessing. It’s by accepting Jesus love and forgiveness at the cross, that we really learn to love and forgive others when they fail us. Then as we learn to maintain healthy relationships (through sacrificial love and forgiveness) we begin to experience God’s blessing. THE POINT IS – that as we are 1] reconnected to God, 2]through Jesus (the true vine) Godlike love begins to flow through us – to others (and in this we find true life and true blessing).
Apply: LOVE IS NOT LOVE. A] There is true God like love and B] there is narcissistic, selfish love. The world is constantly telling you to put yourself first. You can reap the carnage that comes with that philosophy if you like. But Jesus says in verse 11 – I’m telling you this – so that “my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” But the path to JOY and BLESSING is NOT self first. The key to JOY is JESUS first (because he connects you to God); OTHER people second (because we are to love as Jesus loved us) and then YOURSELF last. Notice Jesus first; others second; yourself last. Now what does that spell? J for Jesus. O for others. Y for yourself last. This is the path to JOY and BLESSING.
Now you can pursue JOY and BLESSING the worlds way which is narcissistic and selfish. But this tends to destroy relationships and leaves you hollow. Or you come back into relationship with God through Jesus and learn how to do relationships properly.
Now I know many people have A PROBLEM with Jesus commands. We don’t like being altruistic. We don’t like putting others before self. But all Jesus commands are basically an explanation how to love God and love your neighbour properly. You can do life the world’s way (and end up lonely) or you can do life Jesus’ way and really know love, joy and true blessing from God (that lasts forever). Choose wisely.
Christianity Explored and/or prayer.
