John 15:1-8 (NRSV)

Jesus the True Vine

15‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. ²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes^* to make it bear more fruit. ³You have already been cleansed^* by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become^* my disciples.

In many different places in the Old Testament, Israel is referred to a the vine or the vineyard, especially in the teachings of the prophets – Isaiah 5:1-7, Jeremiah 2:21, Ezekiel 15 and 19, Hosea 10:1, Psalm 80:8 – to cite some of the examples provided by Barclay. The vine had, by the time of Jesus, become the symbol of the nation of Israel: It was an emblem on the coins of the Macabees; one of the glories of the new Temple was the great golden vine upon the front of the Holy Place and many a wealthy person counted it an honour to give gold to mould a new bunch of grapes or even just a grape! By time of Jesus, ‘… the vine was part and parcel of Jewish imagery, the very symbol of Israel.’

When one explores the use of the vine in the imagery of the prophets, Barclay reminds us that it is always used in association with ‘degeneration’: Isaiah makes the point that the vineyard has run wild; Jeremiah complains that the nation has turned into degenerate and has become a wild vine.

Jesus calls himself the ‘… true vine …’ For many of the Jews, this would have been outrageous, a mere man claiming to be God! It is as if Jesus was saying:

You think that because you belong to the nation of Israel you are a branch of the true vine of God … But the nation has become degenerate and the prophets had tried to point this out. The fact that you are a Jew does not in itself make you into a child of God, the only thing that can save you is to have an intimate relationship with me, for I am the true vine of God and you must be branches joined to me.

Either Jesus was the most arrogant person ever to have lived, or he was who he claimed to be – the Messiah of God - and everything about him points to the latter. Barclay concludes:

“Jesus was laying down that it was not Jewish blood but faith in him was the way to God’s salvation. No external qualification can set a man right with God; only the friendship of Jesus can do that.”

Stay grafted to the true vine and be blessed.

The writers of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) were like Rembrandt, giving as true a picture as they could of the life and ministry of Jesus; John is like Picasso, an impressionist, because dealing with all this plunges us into the depths of mystery which cannot be spoken of in any other way other than analogy / metaphor / allegory. Indeed, Jesus often taught in this way, so it is difficult for me to see how anyone can take Scripture literally.

In this case we have Jesus employing a metaphor that the people he was speaking to would easily have recognised. Vines were part of their lives. They required a great deal of work and preparation if they were to be fruitful; but if all this was in place, they would provide a rich harvest. The preparation included the soil as well as the plants, and there was no place for hurrying things along; a new plant could not be harvested for at least three years.

Part of this process involved pruning – getting rid of anything that was not going to produce. This was a radical process that resulted in a large amount of dead wood. This was useless and could only be burnt on a bonfire – it was not even permissible to be used as wood for any other purpose – and definitely not for use in the Temple.

People can be like this: some are fruit-bearing and others are useless because they are fruitless. Barclay reminds us that there were three groups that Jesus was referring to:

Firstly, he was thinking of some of the Jews of his day. They were indeed branches of God’s vine. But, prophet after prophet had drawn their attention to their fruitlessness, but they had refused to listen in fact they had refused to accept many of them.

Secondly, he was thinking of some Christians, those whose Christianity consists of profession without practice – words without deeds – or as Barclay puts it “… all leaves without fruit …”

Thirdly, he was thinking of Christians who leave the faith (apostates); those who hear the message and accept it but then turn away.

“Uselessness invites disaster.” God invites us to be useful for him and for each other. But not in the way the world thinks. I have known of bedridden people who have been useful for their Lord, and one particular person springs to mind. Her name was Cath Asterley. She has longed to be with the Lord in glory since I last saw her in 2000 when she was already house bound. Sadly for her, she only died in 2010. But she was fervent in prayer, with a telephone next to her for contact with others. And she blessed many, many people. Her whole life was so soaked in prayer and blessing upon blessing was the result.

This reminds me of the time when I used to take Holy Communion to people in a care home for people with dementia. When I arrived, my congregation was gathered, none of them knew whether they were male or female, human or animal even. But they joined in – word perfect – with the words of the Lord’s Prayer and followed the words “This is my body given for you” with a resounding “Amen!” They blessed me each time and encouraged me no end.

Who can know the mind of God? Who can really know the mind of man?

Let’s all be useful for the Lord today – whatever that may mean.