Jesus, the Vine

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener

John 15:1

For the past few days, we have been exploring some of the ways Jesus describes Himself in the book of John. Yesterday, we saw Jesus as the Way to the Father, revealing the Father to us and helping us understand that our life’s goal is to be with the Father.

In this final description of Jesus that we will examine, He introduces Himself as the Vine in John chapter 15. But not just any vine—He is “The True Vine.” This is a statement of distinction, indicating that there are other vines, but He is the true vine. But why this description? By now, you may have noticed that Jesus often uses things familiar to the people to illustrate His teachings. He uses things that the people can easily relate to, and He does so here as well, because having a vineyard of grapes to make wine was very common among the Jews of that time. They understood what it took to produce wine, beginning with the vineyard.

Jesus mentions three entities here: the Vine—Himself, the Gardener—the Father, and in verse 5, He helps us see that the branches are people (the disciples, and by extension, you and me). The goal of all of this is to produce grapes, but this begins with the Vine, which is the Source. So, Jesus is saying to you and me that He is the source of all things, especially our lives, and we are nothing without Him. The main reason why the branches (you and me) exist is to take nutrients from the source (Jesus) and produce grapes (fruit). So, what does this mean?

One of the hard truths we have to face on earth is the search for purpose and identity. As much as we can strive to become doctors, lawyers, developers, engineers, etc., every person has a greater longing than all of this. Regardless of the desire to be rich and acquire more wealth, you are made for more than that, which is why that feeling of not being fulfilled persists, no matter how high you rise. This is because until we realize that we are created by God and for God, life makes no sense.

You can achieve much on earth, but if it is not fruit produced from the vine, Jesus categorizes all of it as ‘nothing.’ Of course, it may seem significant to us, but in the sight of God, it is nothing because apart from the vine, we can do nothing. Yes, you can do many things outside the vine, but it is all categorized as nothing. So, Jesus’ desire is that we move from doing a lot of ‘nothing’ to producing fruit, and this is only possible when we remain in the vine. So, how do we remain in the vine?

Verse 7 tells us, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Jesus clearly shows us that the way to remain in Him is to remain in His Word, and for His Word to remain in us. Therefore, when the Word of God becomes the guiding force of our lives, all that we desire is to do the will of God, and that is exactly what fruitfulness is about. It is about doing the Word and the will of God.

I once told some people during a study that for everything God gives us, He expects fruit from it. This is the relationship between the Vine and the branches. The Vine gives nutrients to the branches and expects fruit from the branches. I know it is easier to focus on physical things, but we must also recognize that when Jesus gives us things like joy, peace, self-control, patience, kindness, healing, and many other gifts of the Spirit, He actually expects fruit from them all. Therefore, remain in His Word so that you may know what and how He wants you to use all that He has given you, and so that you can be fruitful.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, You are the True Vine, and I am a branch in You. Thank You for the privilege of being connected to You. Lord, help me always to remain in You all the days of my life. Prune me and make me fruitful with everything You have given to me. Amen.