John 15:1-8 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is thevinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me thatbears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bearmore fruit. 3 You have already beencleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abidein me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unlessit abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 Iam the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bearmuch fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoeverdoes not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branchesare gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 Ifyou abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and itwill be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified bythis, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

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                Agrapevine has branches. Those branches, which carry the fruit, are connected tothe vine. Without the vine the branches are dead. The vine carries the lifeforce of the plant to the branches, which produce the fruit. Jesus is the vineand we are the branches. As such, through our connection to the vine, weproduce fruit. In both the Gospel of John and 1 John we see references to abidingin and with God, reflecting this image of the vine and branches. It is an imagethat has deep roots in the Old Testament, where Israel is depicted in severalplaces as a vine and branches that God cares for and when necessary prunes.  

                TheGospel reading for this Fifth Sunday of Easter takes us back to the Gospel ofJohn, and more specifically to Jesus’ final teaching session that follows hislast meal with his followers. The final instructions and his prayer for thedisciples make up chapters 14 through 17. The reading for the Fifth Sunday comesfrom the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel.  

                Ourreading for the week from John 15 begins with Jesus declaring “I am the truevine, and my Father is the vinegrower.” In this role of vinegrower orvinedresser, the Father prunes the vine so that branches that fail to producefruit are removed. You prune the vine to make it healthier and able to bearmore fruit. As for the identity of the branches, Jesus tells his disciples thathe is the vine and they are the branches. With that imagery in place Jesustells his disciples who have gathered with him for that final meal, that ifthey abide in him, he will abide in them. Just as the branch can’t bear fruitunless it abides in the vine, the same is true for them. Deirdra Good notesthat “Understanding of the images of Jesu as the true vine and disciples asbranches, together with the repetition of ‘remain’ or ‘abide’, is intuitive andmystical. A vine, for example, is not separate but rather indistinguishablefrom its branches, and as the branches in turn may be cut off, their wholeidentity is nevertheless in the vine. Branches are never independent but alwaysrooted and growing in Jesus.” [Connections, p. 260]

                Whileit is true that the branch requires the sustenance of the vine to bear fruit,if the branch is not connecting (abiding) with the vine, then it is of novalue. Therefore, it simply withers away until it’s removed and tossed into afire to be burnt up. Thus, this is the way it is for those who fail to abide inJesus. They lose their sustenance and thus their ability to bear fruit. Therefore,they are pruned and tossed into the fire, which consumes them.

                WhileJesus mentions the possibility of pruning branches, his expectation for hisdisciples is that they will abide in him and bear fruit. So he tells them thatif they abide in him, and his words in them, they can ask of him whatever they desireand it will be fulfilled so that the Father is glorified. That sounds a bitlike what you might hear from a prosperity gospel preacher. Just name it andclaim it and it’s yours. While it might be used in that way, I don’t thinkthat’s what Jesus has in mind. Rodger Nishioka helpfully writes “Because weabide in him and he abides in us, whatever we ask will be given. This promiseis certain because as we remain in him, we grow more and more into hislikeness. As we grow more and more into his likeness, what we desire will bemore commensurate with what he desires. That is the result of abiding” [Connections,pp. 263-264]. In other words, if we’re abiding in Jesus and our desiresmirror his, we won’t be asking for private jets and mansions.

It's appropriate that this passagehas been chosen for this point in the calendar, at least in the NorthernHemisphere. With the onset of spring, we see the trees and vines begin to leafout, bloom, and when appropriate show signs that fruit is to be expected. Inother words, by viewing nature Jesus’ words are enhanced and affirmed.

                Theword here speaks of connections between Jesus and the Father along with he andhis disciples. There is a sense here of mutuality, such that there is a mutualindwelling such that Jesus abides in us and we abide in him. Therefore, weabide in God. The message throughout the “Farewell Discourse” is that Jesusenvisions oneness among his followers. Later in the Discourse, as it comes toan end right before his arrest, he prays for his followers, asking that theywould be one even as he and the Father are one: “I ask not only on behalf ofthese but also on behalf of those who believe in me through theirword, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you,may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sentme.” (Jn 17:20-21).

John uses several similar metaphorsto describe his relationship with his disciples, as does Paul. The metaphorfrom Paul that I find most helpful is that of the church as the Body of Christ.Together his followers form his body on earth post-resurrection. Theologically,we might turn to the Greek word perichoresis to describe thisrelationship. This Greek word has played an important role in our understandingof Jesus' nature as truly human and truly divine, as well as the internalTrinitarian relationships, such that God is one and yet three. The idea here isthat there is mutual interpenetration within the Godhead, a sense of abiding ineach other, reflecting the unity of the Godhead and the unity of the Body ofChrist. Catherine Mowry LaCugna puts it this way:

He is who and what God is; he iswho and what we are to become. Jesus owes his whole existence, authority,identity, and purpose to God; he ‘originates’ from God, is begotten of God,belongs eternally to the life and existence of God. Through him we, toooriginate from God, are begotten of God, and belong eternally to the life andexistence of God. [God for Us: The Trinity and Christian Life, p.296].

We are one in the Spirit, such that we participate in thelife of God through Jesus who abides in us, even as we abide in him. The goalis that we might bear fruit and express the love that is God.

                InJohn’s version of the Gospel story, we hear Jesus describe what it means to behis follower. It is a calling that he extended to the disciples and us. We arebranches, connected to a vine. The expectation is that we will bear fruit(grapes for harvest). In doing so we reflect the presence of Jesus who dwellswithin us. What is the fruit? Perhaps we might want to consult Paul’s list of thefruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,  gentleness,and self-control. There is no law against such things” (Gal. 5:22-23).

                When weabide in Christ, such that he abides in his, we express our dependence, perhapseven interdependence, with Jesus. Our spiritual lives depend on abiding in orparticipating in the life of Jesus, but it goes both ways, such that we are, asthey say, Christ’s hands and feet. Jesus ministers to the world through us. Assuch, as we bear fruit in the Spirit, we bring glory to God.  

Image Attribution: Gogh, Vincent van, 1853-1890. Vineyards with a View of Auvers, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55980 [retrieved April 23, 2024]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil....