Jesus is the Vine

One of the most famous quotes of Jesus comes to us in John 15:5-9

I am the Vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 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. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you. This is to my Father's glory that you bare much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Here Jesus refers to His disciples in agrarian terms as He does again and again throughout the gospels. We have heard Him refer to Himself as the Sower of the seed and His word is the seed.

Who are his disciples? In this passage John 15:5-9 we need to assume He spoke of those who followed Him in His life time. However, we must also as Christians be followers of Christ and thus be His disciples as well. So, we are the modern day branches or in other words, today's disciples. We need to hear Jesus words directed at us.

This passage sounds as if things will be easy. Just stay attached to the Vine and bear fruit. Not so. In John 15:1-4

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

The NIV bible footnote on this passage reminds us that the Greek word for prune is 'also to clean.'

It's not going to be easy to remain part of the Vine. Jesus knows this. He reminds us that His Father is the Gardener and will prune the branches when necessary for the health of the Vine and so that It will bear more fruit. If you have ever pruned a rose bush or a fruit tree, you know that the cutting off of unnecessary branches if vital to the plant's health. But it still causes minor disturbances in it's growth. So it is with us as the branches of Christ.

Our day to day thoughts and activities in this world can sometimes cause unnecessary and even unhelpful things to take place in our lives. These are pruned by Jesus Father, the Gardener, to keep us healthy as part of the true Vine. For unless we are clean of these things, we will not remain a growing part of Jesus and His word. Sometimes, these prunings are not pleasant but are necessary for our full and complete life with Jesus.

In John 15:9-10

As the Father has loved me so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love.

Jesus always points from Himself to the Father. He is the Vine. We are the branches.

REFERENCES

All quotes are from The NIV Study Bible published by Zondervan

The New American Bible (Saint Joseph Edition) published by the Catholic Book Publishing Company.

My wife, Joyce, is a Eucharistic Minister and has hosted Bible Reflection sessions at a local nursing home. She visits the elderly every week to bring Holy Communion and during Mass, she assists by doing the Readings.

She authored this article.