I Am the true vine

How many followers of Jesus do you think there are in the world today? At a guess, how many

would you say? Well, according to the most recent figures, which have been published by

Operation World in their book, the figures, and these are their statistics, are there are 546 million

people. That's about 10% of the world's population are active disciples of Jesus Christ. It's staggering.

The growth has been amazing. In China, over 10,000 people repent and turn to Christ every single day.

In Kenya, almost 50% of the population are committed followers of Jesus. The highest rate of growth in the

world today, not with the highest number, but the highest rate of growth is in Iran and Afghanistan,

where persecution is at its worst. But it's not just other parts of the world. Ireland has also

seen growth. 70,000 people, that's about 1% of the population, have turned to Jesus as their Lord

and Saviour. It's incredible. Now, why is this? Well, it's all because of Jesus' promise to his disciples

over 2,000 years ago. Listen to this promise. It's in verse 16. You did not choose me, but I chose you

and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. That promise has been taking effect ever

since, as disciples of Jesus around the world have taken his word seriously.

Now in John's Gospel chapters 13 to 17, we have what commentators call the last discourse.

It's the last few days of Jesus before his death, which he spends with his disciples. They chat, they have meals together.

It's a very intimate and close time. It's just Jesus and his disciples. And throughout, Jesus is preparing his disciples

for his going back to the Father. But as Jesus is going back to the Father, so he sends his people out. As Jesus leaves the world,

the disciples begin to move out into the world. We see this at the very beginning and the end of this section. So in chapter 13,

verse 20, Jesus says, I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me, and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.

And we see the same in chapter 17, verse 18. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

So there's this movement taking place. Jesus going, Jesus leaving, but the disciples going and being sent.

And in chapter 15, at the very centre of this conversation, Jesus makes it crystal clear.

Chapter 15, verse 8. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Jesus sends out his church to be fruitful. That people within our communities and all around the world would believe and trust in Christ.

That's the fruit that Jesus is looking for. And that's the fruit that he has promised. People who will follow him.

Now to help us understand what Jesus is saying, he uses three horticultural metaphors to explain it all.

The first is the vine. In verse 1. I am the true vine. Jesus is the vine. That's the first metaphor.

Then also in verse 1. We have the gardener. I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

So Jesus the vine, the Father, the gardener. And then down at verse 5.

I am the vine, says Jesus, and you are the branches. The church are the branches in the vine.

Now we're going to look at these three metaphors and see how we can go and bear fruit. Fruit that will last.

First then, the vine, which is all about expanding mission.

Jesus identifies himself very clearly as being the vine. Look at verse 1.

I am the true vine. And verse 5. I am the vine.

Now when we think of vine, don't think wine and all types of grapes.

Think mission.

Vine equals mission.

To see this, have a look back at Isaiah chapter 5.

Isaiah 5 · chapter mention

Isaiah chapter 5, starting at verse 1.

Isaiah 5 · chapter mention

This is a picture of a vineyard.

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.

Well, who is this vine?

Well, we're told down at verse 7.

The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel and the people of Judah.

So the vineyard is God's people.

And what's the purpose of this vine?

Well, go back up to the rest of verse 2.

He built a watchtower around it.

Cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a good crop of grapes.

But it yielded only bad fruit.

God had rescued Israel from Egypt, from their slavery.

He had taken them out of there.

And now he had planted them amongst the nations in a new land, a fertile land.

So as to bring his salvation to others.

They would be the means of bringing others, other nations, other peoples into that relationship with God.

But they bought only bad fruit.

Look at the end of verse 7.

He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed.

He looked for righteousness, but he heard cries of distress.

And in response, God judged the vine.

Look at verse 4.

What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?

When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?

Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard.

I will take away its hedge and it will be destroyed.

I will break down its walls 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.

A judgment of God upon his people.

Because they fail to be the fruit-bearing vine that he had called them to be.

Now it seems from this that the vine, the vineyard, has been a failure.

But God doesn't give up on his promise to reach the nations and bring his salvation.

Flick on to Isaiah chapter 27.

Isaiah 27 · chapter mention

Because here we see a further promise.

We could go to many different places, but this one I think helps sums it up.

Isaiah 27 verse 2.

Isaiah 27:2

Here is a promise of restoration.

In that day, verse 2, 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 verse 6.

In days to come, Jacob, that's the people of Israel, will take root.

Israel, my people, will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.

It's a wonderful picture of this vineyard spreading out its branches into all the world so that it bears fruit.

Now that promise became a reality with the coming of Jesus.

Jesus said, I am the true vine.

Jesus came as the true vine sent by God and planted in the world.

He came to replace or fulfil what Israel were meant to be.

Now when we say Jesus has replaced Israel, it's not more of the same.

It's completely different.

Jesus is everything that Israel were not.

Israel had been sent into the nations.

They were planted there.

They were to be a blessing to the others.

But they had failed.

Rather than lead people to God, they turned people away from God.

And in contrast, Jesus the vine was sent into the world.

Jesus came to die for us.

And through his death, the way is now open for people from every race and every culture and every background, whoever they are,

to receive the blessings of God, to receive forgiveness for all of their sin,

to find peace with God and the hope of eternity with him.

So Jesus comes as the true vine planted in the world,

welcoming all who will come to him to find the new and eternal life.

Jesus as the true vine comes into the world and he expands the mission of God out to the world and to the nations.

So that is the true vine, the first metaphor.

The second metaphor is of the gardener working among the vine.

We can picture the gardener coming along, walking down through the vineyard and cutting and snipping away.

That's what we have in verse 2.

The Father 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.

Now can you see how all of this relates to us?

Remember in verse 5 it says,

We are the branches.

The Father is the gardener, walking amongst his people.

He's working in us.

And it seems he has two roles, which is all about producing more fruit.

First he is a negative one.

He cuts off.

Look at verse 2 again.

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit.

If we want to see growth and we want to see fruit,

then all the useless parts must be cut off and cleared away.

Any gardener will tell you that.

In winter and in spring all the dead branches,

the ones without any life,

are simply cut away, gathered, taken off,

and then thrown away.

The image is repeated for us in verse 6.

If anyone does not remain in me,

he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers.

Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned.

Now it's quite a stark picture,

but it's a very clear picture of what God will do

with those who claim to be followers of Jesus,

but are actually not.

Now within this context here,

the obvious example is Judas.

Look back at chapter 13.

He claimed to be a follower of Jesus.

Chapter 13, verse 20.

I tell you the truth,

whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me,

and whoever accepts me

accepts the one who sent me.

After he had said this,

Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified,

I tell you the truth,

one of you is going to betray me.

Down to verse 26.

Jesus answered,

It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread

when I have dipped it in the dish.

Then dipping the piece of bread,

he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.

As soon as Judas took the bread,

Satan entered into him.

What you are about to do,

do quickly,

Jesus told him.

You see,

Judas looked like a believer.

He had been with Jesus for the last few years.

He had been with the rest of the disciples.

He read his Bible.

He went to church like the rest of them.

He did all kinds of good things.

And they all thought he was a true disciple.

But God knew his true heart.

It was like he was cut away from the vine.

Now this, of course,

raises a very big question for us.

Which is simply this.

Can people who say they are Christians

fall away from God?

Can I be a Christian this year

and then next year not be a Christian?

Well, this cutting off

is not meant to cause us doubt.

Remember what Jesus has already said

back in chapter 10

verse 20

Sorry, John chapter 10 verse 28

John 10:28

Jesus says,

I give them eternal life

and they shall never perish.

No one can snatch them out of my hand.

My Father who has given them to me

is greater than all.

No one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

You see there, it's quite clear, isn't it?

Jesus gives eternal life

and he will keep those

who he gives eternal life to.

Nobody can take them away.

They can't fall away.

He will keep them.

So the purpose of John chapter 15

John 15 · chapter mention

is not to cause us doubt

and wonder,

I wonder if I'm going to fall away as a Christian.

But to remind us

that all true disciples

bear fruit.

You can't be a disciple,

you can't claim to be a disciple

and not bear fruit.

It's two sides of the one coin.

Disciple and fruit.

You can't have one without the other.

As it says in 15 verse 8

This is to my Father's glory

that you bear much fruit

showing yourselves

to be my disciples.

So if you have trusted Christ

and you are following him

the promise is

people will come to Christ

people will trust Christ

because of you.

We'll come back to that

in a little while.

But that's the first rule.

He cuts away.

It's a negative one.

Then there's a positive one.

Look at the rest of verse 2.

He cuts off every branch

in me that bears no fruit

and while every branch

that does bear fruit

he prunes

so that it will be

even more fruitful.

Now being fruitful

is not about perfection.

He doesn't call us

to be perfect.

It's about pruning.

And again

the imagery is striking.

Where the gardener

sees life

where he sees

bunches of grapes

where he sees

a lot happening

he works on it

even more.

He cuts it back.

He snips away

all the bits

that are no good.

He cuts it back

so that it will be

more fruitful.

But notice how he does it.

Verse 3.

You are already clean

because of the word

that I have spoken to you.

The word of Christ

has already cleaned

the disciples.

We'll come back to that

in a minute.

But that's what the word does.

It cleans us.

The gospel has taken effect

in their lives.

But it doesn't stop there.

God's word also

has a pruning effect

in our lives.

We see this in

chapter 17

verse 17.

John 17

John 17:17

verse 17

it says

sanctify them.

That word means

to make holy

to set apart

to purify.

So he says

sanctify them

by the truth.

Your word

is truth.

You see

God's word

not just

cleans us

and makes it right

with God

but it goes on

working in us

cleaning us

pruning us

purifying us.

God's word

works in our life

taking away

the bits

that are useless

the bits

that are no good

so that we

become more

like Christ

so that we

become more

fruitful.

So if we want

to see more

fruit in our lives

if we want

to see more

people come

to Christ

then we must

be people

who take

God's word

seriously.

It's not just

something we turn

to in a time

of trouble

or just on a

Sunday.

It's got to be

part of our

appetite

part of our

diet

every day.

of course

pruning is

painful

isn't it?

If you could

ask a branch

what it's like

when they get

cut

it's painful

and so it

is

when God's

word takes

effect in our

life

nobody likes

the spirit

of God

showing us

through his

word

the areas

of our lives

that need

cleaned up

and cut

off.

It's not

nice to be

shown things

that are wrong

and how we

should be

but as the

word of God

takes effect

in our lives

the positive

is that he

is changing

us and

transforming

us so

that we

can become

more fruitful.

So the

father comes

as the

gardener

walking

amongst his

vine

walking

amongst his

people

cutting off

those who

do not

bear fruit

because they

are not

true disciples.

and pruning

those who

are fruitful

so that

they can

be even

more fruitful.

So we

have the

vine

we have

the

gardener

and the

last metaphor

is that

of the

branches.

Look at

verse 5

Jesus says

I am

the vine

and you

are the

branches.

Now while

the branches

are important

they must

be seen

in relation

to the

vine.

they're

connected

and first

we must

see that

we the

branches are

connected

through Christ.

Jesus as

we've seen

is the

true vine.

He has

replaced the

old.

So it's

our response

to Jesus

that determines

whether we are

actually connected

to the vine.

We have to

ask that

question am I

in the vine

or am I

not?

What's my

response to

Jesus?

And how

can I be

in the vine?

Well look

at verse 3

You are

already

clean because

of the

word I

have spoken

to you.

It's the

word of

God that

cleans us

that makes

us acceptable

to God

that makes

us part

of the vine.

Let's have

a look at

this in

more detail

go back

to chapter

13

verse 6

You see

this whole

section

13 to

17

is all

intertwined

chapter 13

verse 6

This is at

the Passover

meal

and they're

just about

to sit down

and have

dinner together

and as was

custom

after their

walk and

their dirty

feet they

would be

washed.

So Jesus

came

verse 6

to Simon

Peter

who said

to him

Lord are

you going

to wash

my feet?

Jesus

replied

You do

not realise

now what

I am doing

but later

you will

understand.

No said

Peter

you shall

never wash

my feet.

Jesus

answered

Unless I

wash you

you have

no part

with me.

Then Lord

Simon Peter

replied

not just

my feet

and my

hands

but my

head

as well.

Jesus

answered

A person

who has

had a

bath

needs

only

to wash

his feet

his whole

body

is clean.

Of course

Jesus

didn't mean

here a

physical

cleaning.

As he

said

it wasn't

about

having a

bath

or a

shower.

He was

talking about

being

spiritually

clean.

And the

cleaning

that Jesus

would do

would happen

when he

goes to

the cross

where he

would clean

them of

their sin.

He would

take their

sin,

their failure

upon himself

and he

would take

the blame

for that.

And through

trust in him

we could be

clean.

So it's

how we

respond to

Jesus and

his death

for us

that determines

whether we are

connected to

Christ.

Those who

trust Christ,

those who

look to him

for that

cleaning,

that inner

cleaning,

are connected

to the

vine.

They become

the branches.

They are

like grafted

in.

So we are

connected

through Christ.

Now the

purpose of

being connected

to the vine

is fruitfulness.

So the

question we

need to ask

is, well

how can we

be fruitful

if we're

branches in

the vine

how can

we bring

about fruit?

Well fruit

bearing is

ultimately the

responsibility and

work of

Jesus.

It's not

us.

Look at

verse 4

chapter 15.

Remain in

me and I

will 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 a

person remains

in me and

I in him,

you will

bear much

fruit.

apart from

me you

can do

nothing.

Now we

don't need

to know

anything about

gardening to

get the

point here.

A branch

that is

connected to

the vine

will be

fruitful,

but a

branch that

is disconnected

will be

fruitless.

Look what it

says in

verse 4.

No branch

can bear

fruit by

itself.

End of

verse 5.

Apart from

me you

can do

nothing.

vine.

In

other

words,

it's

the vine

that

produces

the fruit.

That's

where the

life comes

from.

It comes

from the

vine,

from the

main part.

The

source of

life is

Christ.

He is

the one

who brings

salvation

into people's

lives.

It flows

out through

the branches

to others,

but it

comes from

Christ.

So is

that it?

What do

we do?

If Christ

is the

one who

does it

all,

what do

I do?

Well,

again,

we can't

miss the

point in

these verses.

Look at

verse 4.

It says,

remain in

me.

Remain in

the vine.

It's

repeated over

and over.

It's vital

that we

remain close

and intimate

in our

relationship

with Christ.

And how

do we do

that?

Well,

we have a

clue,

don't we,

in verse 7.

if you

remain in

me and

my words

remain in

you.

You see,

there's the

clue to

remaining

in Christ

is connected

with remaining

or being

dependent upon

his word.

If you

like,

God's word

is the

nutrients,

the

fertilizer

that will

cause us

to grow

and be

fruitful.

Just like

a gardener

will put

down all

kinds of

compost to

make his

garden grow,

so the

word is

the nutrients

that will

help us

to grow.

And so

if we

remain,

if we

stay close

to Christ,

if we

are taking

him,

absorbing

him,

we will

bear fruit.

In fact,

there's a

promise.

If we're

remaining in

Christ,

we can

pray to

God for

people to

come to

Christ.

Look at

verse 7.

If you

remain in

me,

and my

words remain

in me,

you,

ask whatever

you wish,

and it

will be

given you.

The

whatever you

wish here

doesn't

mean,

well,

I can

ask for

a car

or for

a new

job.

We can

ask for

those things,

but it's

not guaranteed.

He's not

saying,

you know,

whatever you

like.

No,

the whatever

you wish

has to

be related

to the

fruit that

Jesus has

promised.

In

prayer,

we ask

God to

work through

us so that

people will

come to

Christ.

it's the

same in

verse 16,

where he

tells them

to go and

bear fruit,

fruitful last.

That will

last.

Then the

Father will

give you

whatever you

ask in

my name.

It's about

fruit.

That's the

promise.

Ask him

to work in

people's

lives,

and God

will do

it.

The

church

around the

world

has seen

huge growth.

We saw

that at the

beginning from

just a few

people who

are following

him.

At his

death,

they all

deserted.

Whereas

today,

546

million people

around the

world,

such huge

growth.

Disciples

are and

have been

through the

centuries

bearing fruit

as he

promised.

But as

encouraging as

that is,

over 60%

of the

world's

population

has never

been introduced

to Jesus

Christ.

Not that

they've heard

and not

responded.

They have

never been

introduced.

They don't

know anything

about him.

In

Ireland,

while

thousands

have turned

to Christ,

we can

say that

millions

have not

yet

turned to

Christ.

And

closer to

home,

we have

friends,

don't we?

People

within our

family who

are not

yet

disciples

and

followers

of

Jesus.

What's

going to

happen?

Well,

we have

been sent

by Jesus.

We have

been planted

out into

the community.

We are the

branches that

are spreading

out into

the vine

in all the

different

places where

we are,

our work,

our neighbourhoods,

the families

where we are.

We are

branching

out.

We have a

purpose where

we have been

sent.

And with

that purpose

comes a

promise.

It's not

a mistake

where each

one of us

are planted.

And here's

the promise,

verse 16,

you did

not choose

me,

but I

chose you

and I

appointed you

to go

and bear

fruit,

fruit

that

will

last.

That's the

promise that

each one of

us has

wherever we

are.

This is

ultimately

God's

mission.

this is

his

work.

But yet

he works

through people

like you

and me

with all

our ups

and downs

and our

failures

and all

our

difficulties.

And he

will work

through us

to bring

about that

fruit.

But yet

he calls

us to

remain in

him,

to stay

close to

him,

to follow

him,

to obey

him,

to absorb

through our

roots the

very nutrients,

the words

of God,

so that

we become

more like

Christ,

so that

more fruit

will come.

We

mightn't

see it

for ourselves.

We

might not

even see

it in

our own

lifetime.

That's

the way

God works

at times.

But the

promise

remains

true.

I

chose

you,

I

appointed

you,

I've

cleaned

you,

I'm

pruning

you,

to go

and bear

fruit,

fruit that

will last.

So let's

go,

let's

be sent,

and as

we go,

be full

of confidence

that we

will bear

fruit,

fruit that

will last.

well,

and as

we're

선

and so

are

Thank you.