The Gardener & The True Vine

Just a reminder for the kids, we do have clipboards at the back if you're looking for something to keep busy with.

And there's some coloring pages and things there, activity sheets for you guys.

So feel free to grab those if you'd like.

And we're continuing on again this morning with our journey through the Gospel of John.

And today, we come to a bit of a shift in the story.

Up until now, Jesus has been with his disciples in the upper room.

They ate the Passover meal there.

They've been talking with Jesus.

Well, mostly Jesus has been talking to them.

But now as the evening progresses, Jesus and his disciples leave that place.

We see this in John 14, verse 31.

John 14:31

Jesus says, come now, let us leave.

Probably our first question is, where are they going?

Interestingly, John doesn't tell us.

And if we just kind of skim through the next two chapters,

it looks like the conversation between Jesus and his disciples just keeps on going.

And again, it is mostly Jesus doing the talking.

And then we get to chapter 17, and Jesus begins a lengthy prayer.

And then finally, we come to the first verse of chapter 18, and it says this.

When Jesus had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley.

On the other side, there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.

And if you keep reading, that's the Garden of Gethsemane.

So there's been a lot of speculation and debate about where Jesus goes with his disciples after leaving the upper room.

Some have suggested that perhaps they got up and were intending to go,

but like sometimes some of you have experienced, the conversation just keeps on going and going and going.

And before you know it, chapter 17 is over, and then they leave.

Others suggest that they actually do leave the house,

and that chapters 15 and 16 are the words of Jesus with his disciples

as they walk through the city streets of Jerusalem.

Some have suggested that maybe they end up at the temple,

and that Jesus does the high priestly prayer of chapter 17 at the temple.

And finally, some suggest that John is just telling the story a little out of order,

that he's trying to bring together all the things that night that were related and of the same theme,

and bring them together.

And so a few parts of the conversation are out of order.

I tend to think that Jesus and his disciples really did leave the upper room

when Jesus said,

Come now, let us leave, at the end of chapter 14.

And wherever the words of chapters 15 to 17 were said,

chapter 18 seems to make it clear that they must have been said

before they crossed the Kidron Valley and went to the garden.

Now, I'll admit, it does seem a little unlikely

that Jesus could be walking through the narrow streets of Jerusalem

with 11 men and having the kind of conversation

and teaching that we see in 15 and 16 at the same time.

Perhaps there was another spot where they stopped and lingered on the way.

Maybe the place that this conversation happens,

we don't know for sure,

but maybe it was a vineyard on the outskirts of the city.

Jesus often taught using metaphors and analogies

that were based off of the stuff that was right there in front of them.

And this next chapter, chapter 15,

is an extended teaching analogy borrowed from the vineyard.

So let's read what Jesus says here in John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

He says,

I am the true vine,

and my Father is the gardener.

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.

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

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.

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.

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.

And Jesus goes on,

but we're going to stop and linger over these first few verses today.

I find it difficult even to know where to start with these words of Jesus.

The whole chapter is one of the most pregnant and precious portions of Scripture in the Bible.

Many Christians have memorized the first eight verses of this chapter in an effort to meditate on all that's here.

And we go to all this effort because we recognize that there's something here that's just so critical,

so foundational,

so profound,

so powerful,

that if we can get these words of Jesus deep into our hearts,

we just know that it'll change the rest of our lives.

So we don't want to rush past this.

I'm planning to spend a few weeks on these verses.

Today is just going to be part one of several.

We want to really take time to think about what Jesus is saying here.

Jesus begins by setting up the analogy,

the metaphor.

He says,

I am the true vine,

and my father is the gardener.

So picture in your mind a garden.

If you've been to a vineyard,

you can picture that,

but many of us may not have.

So in that case,

just picture a garden,

maybe with a cherry tomato plant growing in it.

There's some similarities.

They're not identical, I know,

but similar enough.

See that plant growing there in your mind.

It's got the main shoot coming out of the ground,

the vine,

and then off of the main shoot,

it has branches.

Some of those branches have grapes

or tomatoes hanging on them,

and others do not.

Jesus tells the men there with him,

verse 5,

I am the vine,

the main shoot,

you are the branches,

those secondary shoots coming off.

And he says,

my father is the gardener.

And the gardener, notice,

is not absent like in another parable

where a man buys a vineyard

and then kind of leaves it to some tenants.

No, Jesus tells us here

that the gardener is present.

He's active.

Verse 2.

What is he doing?

He is tending to the vine

that he has planted

in his vineyard.

He's seeing that some of the branches

are not producing fruit,

and he's cutting them off.

And then he's seeing that there's some

that are producing fruit,

but maybe not as much as they could be.

And so he is pruning them.

Those branches are putting energy

into other shoots and leaves

that are not necessary.

And so he prunes those unnecessary shoots

and leaves from that particular branch

so that all of the plant's resources

go into the formation of fruit

so that it produces

not just a little bit of fruit,

but a lot of fruit.

Now, I've really just started

to get into gardening myself

this past year.

And Jen and I,

we learned a few things this year.

We found this variety of tomato plant

called Sweet Millions.

And, you know, when I was growing up,

we had a variety called Sweet 100s.

Maybe you've heard of that one.

We had that planted in our garden back home.

And it was a big plant

that grew huge amounts

of these delicious little cherry tomatoes.

And we loved that as kids.

So when Jen and I ran across

this award-winning variety

called Sweet Millions,

we thought, oh, yeah.

We were so excited.

That's exactly what we want.

We don't want just hundreds

of cherry tomatoes.

We want millions of them.

We'll be able to snack on them

all summer long.

We could put them in salads.

We can give all the extras away.

There's only one problem.

We didn't start the seeds indoors early enough

to get the full harvest

that we had hoped for.

But we learned this one thing for sure.

Every gardener desires

as much fruit as possible.

That's why we plant the plant

in the first place.

And then we go to all that work

and time to check on that plant

and water it

and make sure it's healthy

and doing well.

We go to all that work

and we spend all that time

and put in all that effort

because we want a return

for our investment.

How disappointing to go to all that work

and find next to nothing

at harvest time.

That's how it felt

for our parsnips.

The picture on the seed package

showed these huge fat parsnips

and we planted quite a number of them.

It took forever for them to sprout

and after all that work

of watering them

we ended up with about a dozen

gangly little white carrot things

to show for it.

I share this to highlight

the reason that the gardener plants

and does all that work

is for the fruit.

It's for the fruit.

Think of that juicy tomato

being sliced

on your kitchen cutting board

or that cucumber.

Think of that fresh garden carrot

and the smile that it puts

on your face

when you crunch into it.

That sweet, earthy flavor

in your mouth.

eating fruit

is one of the delights

of life here on earth.

There's so much variety

there's so many different

ways to serve

and prepare them.

Jams and spreads

sliced fresh

on a sandwich

or in a veggie platter

sauces and sautés

medleys and salads

pies and desserts

fruit is so good.

It's a delight

in this world.

And so we must come

to terms

with the mindset

of the gardener.

It's good.

It's right

for the gardener

to tend that plant

in a way

that causes it

to produce

lots of fruit.

It's good

and it's right

for the gardener

to try to

maximize

the delight

and enjoyment

and benefit

that's going

to come

from each branch

of that plant.

We have to come

to terms

with the heart

and the mindset

of the gardener

and the gardener

says Jesus

is God

my father.

He's the one

working to bring

maximum fruit

maximum good

maximum benefit

maximum delight

and enjoyment

from each

branch

of the plant.

And the plant

the vine

is Jesus

and we

who believe

in Jesus

and belong

to him

are the branches.

As we consider

the mindset

of God

the gardener

we really have

to go back

a little bit

and think about

how things

have been going

between God

and his people

up until this

point in the story.

In fact

this isn't

the first time

that God

has spoken

in terms

of gardening

and even vineyards

about his

relationship

with the people.

Consider the words

of Psalm 80.

It's kind of a prayer.

Restore us

God almighty

make your face

shine on us

that we may be saved.

You transplanted

a vine from Egypt.

You drove out

the nations

and planted it.

You cleared

the ground

for it

and it took root

and filled the land.

The mountains

were covered

with its shade

the mighty cedars

with its branches

its branches

reached as far

as the sea

its shoots

as far as the river.

Why have you

broken down

its walls

so that all

who pass by

pick its grapes?

Boars

from the forest

ravage it

and insects

from the fields

feed on it.

Return to us

God almighty

look down

from heaven

and see

watch over

this vine

the root

your right hand

has planted

the son

you have raised

up for yourself

your vine

is cut down

it is burned

with fire

at your rebuke

your people perish

let your hand

rest on the man

at your right hand

the son of man

you have raised

up for yourself

then we will not

turn away from you

revive us

and we will call

on your name

restore us

Lord God almighty

make your face

shine on us

that we may be saved

in this psalm

Israel is likened

to a vine

that God planted

a vine that grew

tall and strong

and was very fruitful

but then

as the story goes

God turned against

this vine

in judgment

cutting it down

breaking down

the wall

of the vineyard

so that the

surrounding nations

could plunder

its fruit

consider also

the words of

Isaiah

from chapter 5

I will sing

for the one I love

a song about

his vineyard

my loved one

had a vineyard

on a fertile

hillside

he dug it up

and cleared it

of stones

and planted it

with the choicest

of vines

he built a watchtower

in it

and cut out

a wine press

as well

then

he looked

for a crop

of good grapes

but it yielded

only bad fruit

now you dwellers

in Jerusalem

and people

of Judah

judge between

me and my

vineyard

what more

could I have

could have been

done for my

vineyard

than I have

done for it

when I look

for good grapes

why did it

yield

only bad

now I will

tell you

what I'm going

to do

to my vineyard

I will take

away its hedge

and it will

be destroyed

I will break

down its wall

and it will

be trampled

I will make

it a wasteland

neither pruned

nor cultivated

and briars

and thorns

will grow there

I will command

the clouds

not to rain

on it

the vineyard

of the Lord

Almighty

is the nation

of Israel

and the people

of Judah

are the vines

he delighted

in

and he looked

for justice

but saw

bloodshed

for righteousness

but heard

cries

of distress

in this song

of the prophet

Isaiah

he invites

the people

of Israel

to consider

how God

feels

about them

God is the one

who has worked

to create

this vineyard

the nation

of Israel

he's the one

who's planted

and tended

to these

vines

in the vineyard

the people

of Judah

and God

describes

how he's

gone to

great lengths

for his vineyard

he prepared

the soil

he cleared

the stones

he planted

it with the

best of the

best

built a

watchtower

in it

cut a

winepress

out

and this

song

is like

an allegory

think of it

how did

Israel get

its start

God

started

with Abraham

the man

of great

faith

and Isaac

his son

and Jacob

the choicest

of vines

they were

all men

of faith

and God

planted them

in the land

and he purified

them

and grew

them

and increased

they increased

in number

when they went

down to Egypt

and God

purified them

some more

and taught

them

and led

them

as they

were in

the wilderness

and then he

transplanted them

into the land

of Israel

before that

it had been

a land

full of

wickedness

God

cleared the

stones

he cleaned

house

in the land

of Canaan

and he brought

his chosen

vines

and planted

them there

giving them

everything they

needed to grow

strong and

healthy and

produce all

kinds of

good fruit

they were to

be a nation

characterized

by righteousness

and justice

a light to

the whole

world

displaying

the glory

of their

God

then God

looked for

a crop

of good

grapes

he waited

patiently

like a

gardener

waits

for the

flowers

and then

the fruit

and what

was the

result

century

after

century

after

century

bad

fruit

bloodshed

greed

oppression

idolatry

covetousness

sexual

impurity

and

unfaithfulness

deceitfulness

theft

disloyalty

faithlessness

lies

slander

and on

and on

and on

it went

until finally

the Lord

did what

needed to

be done

and destroyed

his vineyard

if you know

the story

from the

scriptures

he brought

the Assyrians

and the

Babylonians

against Israel

and laid

waste

his land

the survivors

went into

exile

and were

scattered

through these

empires

and no

longer was

Israel a

nation

like it

had been

but because

God

is merciful

that was

not the

end of

Israel's

story

God

spoke

again

through

Isaiah

long

ago

about

a

time

when

Israel

would

be

a

fruitful

vineyard

Isaiah

Isaiah 27:2

chapter

27

verse

2

in

that

day

sing

about

a

fruitful

vineyard

I

the

Lord

watch

over

it

I

water

it

continually

I

guard

it

day

and

night

so

that

no

one

may

harm

it

and

I

am

not

angry

if

only

there

were

briars

and

thorns

confronting

me

I

would

march

against

them

in

battle

I

would

set

them

all

on

fire

or

else

let

them

come

to

me

for

refuge

let

them

make

peace

with

me

yes

let

them

make

peace

with

me

in

days

to

come

Jacob

will

take

root

Israel

will

bud

and

blossom

and

fill

all

the

world

with

fruit

fruit

because

God is

merciful

and

gracious

he

promised

to bring

about

what he

was

looking

for

a

fruitful

vineyard

a

people

budding

and

blossoming

and filling

the whole

world

with fruit

how

can

this

be

how

will

this

happen

well

this

brings

us

to

John

15

God

will

bring

this

about

by

planting

the

true

vine

in

his

vineyard

I

am

the

true

vine

says

Jesus

think

about

those

words

the

vines

planted

long

ago

by

God

into

his

vineyard

were

the

best

of

the

best

men

of

great

faith

yet

they

were

still

sinners

and

so

were

their

offspring

this

is

where

all

the

bad

fruit

that

we

see

in

the

story

of

Israel

came

from

try

as

they

may

they

were

all

sinful

men

and

sinful

women

with

hearts

bent

on

turning

away

from

God

a

world

full

of

good

fruit

will

not

come

from

that

vine

something

needed

to be

done

by

God

by

the

gardener

to

make

Israel

a

fruitful

vineyard

full

of

that

good

fruit

which

will

fill

the

whole

world

and

so

God

planted

his

son

Jesus

the

true

vine

into

his

vineyard

the

very

source

of

life

and

all

that

is

good

he

had

to

come

and

be

planted

right

there

in

the

land

of

Israel

and

so

by

the

time

we

come

to

John

John 15 · chapter mention

chapter

15

we

see

that

God

the

gardener

is

again

at

work

and

this

time

it's

not

a

message

of

judgment

it's

not

a

rebuke

for

wickedness

this

time

the

working

of

God

will

result

in

a

fruitful

vineyard

in

much

blessing

for

the

world

and

much

glory

for

God

because

at

the

center

of

this

garden

this

vineyard

is

the

true

vine

Jesus

with

Jesus

and

through

Jesus

all

that

God

longs

for

as

gardener

will

come

to

pass

an

abundance

of

good

fruit

kindness

love

faithfulness

generosity

justice

compassion

honesty

holiness

joy

reconciliation

peace

honor

steadfastness

and much

more

there's a

massive

contrast

here

think about

this

the

difference

in the

fruit

where does

it come

from

how come

it's not

going to

be a

repeat

of what

happened

in the

past

when God

looked

and there

was only

bad

fruit

because it's

the true

vine

that has

been planted

now

in the

vineyard

fruit

and this

vine

Jesus

makes

all

the

difference

in the

fruit

all of

these

good

things

come

not

because

we're

such

good

branches

but

because

we are

branches

enjoined

to

the

true

vine

Jesus

so

this

sets

the stage

here

for us

there

is a

good

and

wonderful

gardener

God

and he

has now

planted

in his

garden

the

true

vine

Jesus

and you

says

Jesus

to the

eleven

men

with him

you

are

the

branches

think

about

this

what

is

a

branch

it's

a

secondary

shoot

that's

coming

off

the

main

shoot

that's

how

Jesus

describes

these

eleven

men

his

followers

you

are

secondary

shoots

coming

off

of

me

the

main

shoot

the

true

vine

now

there's

a big

difference

between

secondary

shoots

and

main

shoots

isn't

there

you

can't

just

cut

off

one

of

those

secondary

shoots

on

your

tomato

plant

and

pop

it

in

some

soil

and

start

watering

it

and

expect

that

it's

going

to

grow

that

lots

of

good

fruit

is

going

to

come

from

it

it

doesn't

work

like

that

you'll

come

back

in

a few

days

and

you'll

find

that

branch

is

wilted

into

mush

and

is

deader

than

a

doornail

the

main

shoot

of the

plant

is

the

source

of

life

for

all

the

branches

for

all

those

secondary

shoots

without

the

main

shoot

the

branches

are

dead

think

about

that

nice

tree

in

your

yard

if

you

have

one

do

you

care

if

a

branch

or

two

gets

broken

off

here

and

there

not

really

except

that

but

a

few

branches

here

and

there

no

big

deal

they

grow

back

with

time

but

if

the

whole

tree

trunk

starts

to

look

diseased

and

begins

rotting

well

that's

a

problem

and

every

branch

will

be

affected

the

main

shoot

is

primary

it's

the

source

of

life

and

the

branches

they're

secondary

they're

dependent

on

the

main

shoot

you

know

as I

was

thinking

about

this

this

week

I

just

started

wondering

do we

sometimes

just

get this

backwards

do we

see

ourselves

as the

main

shoot

and

Jesus

as

a

secondary

branch

in our

life

maybe a

really

important

one

on which

a lot

hangs

but

I'm

the

main

shoot

and

he's

just

a

branch

in my

life

I

want

to

challenge

you

to

ask

yourself

this

question

is

that

how

I've

been

living

does

it

all

center

really

around

me

and

yeah

Jesus

is

a

part

of

my

life

and

if

so

is

it

possible

that

that's

why

maybe

things

aren't

going

well

or

maybe

aren't

working

because

I've

got

this

backwards

I'm

seeing

myself

and

my

life

as

the

main

thing

and

Jesus

is

kind

of

the

secondary

thing

something

to

think

about

Jesus

really

drives

this

home

in

verses

four

to

six

just

how

dependent

we

are

on

him

he

says

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

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

if

you

do

not

remain

in

me

you're

like

a

branch

that

is

thrown

away

and

withers

such

branches

are

picked

up

thrown

into

the

fire

and

burned

so

God

the

gardener

is

looking

for

good

fruit

but

says

Jesus

unless

you

stay

connected

to

the

main

shoot

to

Jesus

you

won't

be

bearing

any

fruit

for

God

all

of

that

good

stuff

that

I

mentioned

earlier

that

God

wants

to

see

come

from

our

lives

it's

not

going

to

come

in

your

life

unless

you

remain

in

Jesus

unless

you

stay

connected

to

him

in

close

relationship

with

him

Jesus

says

it

again

in

verse

5

and

he

states

it

very

strongly

here

he

says

apart

from

me

you

can

do

nothing

let

those

words

sink

in

all

the

good

fruit

it

will

not

come

apart

from

Jesus

try

as

we

may

because

he

is

the

source

of

all

life

and

of

everything

that

is

good

without

him

you'll

be

left

to

repeat

the

story

of

Israel

back

in

the

Old

Testament

to

try

and

be

your

own

vine

and

what

is

going

to

come

bad

fruit

bad

fruit

bad

fruit

this

is so

critical

that

Jesus

even

says

it

again

a

third

time

in

verse

six

he

says

if

you

do

not

remain

in

me

you're

like

a

branch

that

is

thrown

away

and

withers

your

very

life

depends

on

staying

closely

connected

to

Jesus

the

true

vine

your

relationship

with

Jesus

is

critical

it's

of the

utmost

importance

if

you

go

away

from

him

you'll

be

as

a

dead

branch

lying

there

on

the

ground

by

itself

you'll

wither

such

branches

says

Jesus

aren't

good

for

anything

except

kindling

a

fire

says

Jesus

and

so

Jesus

urges

his

disciples