Jesus Christ is the True Vine

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The Bible employs various figures of speech, as we all do. When Jesus Christ says He is the Good Shepherd, this is a figure of speech, and most of us find it quite endearing. Another figure of speech that Jesus used was in the Gospel according to St. John, chapter 15, where He said to His disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches.”
When Jesus employs this word-picture of vine and branches, we might expect that knowing something about grapevines, their care -and their fruit- will contribute to our understanding this figure of speech. Listen in as Jesus speaks to the disciples in an intimate gathering following the Last Supper: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
No branch can bear fruit of itself if it is cut off or separated from the vine! Jesus has called them (and you, and me) to follow, and to be fruitful. This can only be accomplished as we abide in Him, He says. What does it mean to abide in Jesus Christ? Certainly it means to follow Him and His teaching: namely that we are sinful, lost, and doomed to destruction by our own works and wits, but that He has come in the greatest love to be the Savior of the world! When we follow Him, we seek to live out His forgiveness and love as He calls us to do, and strive to pattern our lives according to His Word, that He might be glorified by our lives. This is ‘bearing fruit’ by abiding in Jesus, the true Vine.

I did some pruning of trees and vines late in the winter, and I can assure you that none of those cut off, separated branches has any life in it, nor will it bear fruit. That would be like the person who goes by the name of ‘Christian’ yet gives little regard to Christ or to His Word or to the regular gathering of His followers, or regarding His promises. Only by abiding (trusting, living in, living with) Christ, confessing Him faithfully, will we be fruitful unto Him! Isn’t it our desire to be fruitful unto Him? Isn’t that why He has grafted us unto Himself and given us His very life? Shouldn’t that be our goal?
Jesus spoke about still more pruning He would do that in order that our lives might be more fruitful! Such pruning from Jesus might trim away things that make us comfortable (or lazy and complacent)! But if it causes fruitfulness to be increased, isn’t that something we will welcome in the end? There is eternal blessing in abiding — remaining — in Christ!
Rev. Dr. Paul R. Winningham is pastor of Grace Lutheran and Zion Lutheran Churches in Uniontown and Longtown.