Jesus the True Vine (John 15:1-10)
Sermon Summary
Pastor Wei EnYi
5 December 2021
In EXODUS 3:14, God revealed Himself to Moses as “I AM” when He met Moses at the burning bush. In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament (LXX), “I AM” is rendered as “ego eimi”. Coming to the New Testament, we find our Lord Jesus Christ using “ego eimi” in His debate with the Jews in JOHN 8:58. The Jews rightly understood that Jesus was claiming to be YAHWEH and that was why they wanted to stone Him to death. Besides JOHN 8:58, Jesus used “ego eimi” seven more times in JOHN:
I am (ego eimi) the bread of life (6:35)
I am (ego eimi) the light of the world (8:12)
I am (ego eimi) the door (10:9)
I am (ego eimi) the good shepherd (10:11)
I am (ego eimi) the resurrection and the life (11:25-26)
I am (ego eimi) the way, the truth and the life (14:6)
I am (ego eimi) the vine (15:1, 5).
Our focus today is on the 7th I AM – I am the vine.
[1] A STUPENDOUS CLAIM
Jesus didn’t just claim to be the vine (verse 5) but the true vine (verse 1). Like how He was said to be the true light (1:9) and the true bread (6:32). “True” in JOHN means “the final and ultimate fulfilment”, in contrast to “preparatory and anticipatory”. In the Old Testament, the vine was often used as a symbol for Israel (PSALM 80:8-17, ISAIAH 5:1-7). Hence, Jesus is claiming to be the final and ultimate Israel! Now, if Jesus is the true vine, then let all my interest and devotion be placed on Jesus. And if Jesus is the true vine, then to be in union with Him is true blessedness!
[2] A SOBER WARNING
In the Old Testament, not all who are in Israel truly belong to Israel (ROMANS 9:6). In the New Testament, not all branches who appear to be part of the true vine (Jesus) belong to Jesus! How will we know which branch belongs and which does not? Whether it is fruitful or fruitless (verse 2a). And if it is fruitless, then verse 6 will happen! What does bearing fruit look like ? See GALATIANS 5:22-23 and 2 PETER 1:5-8.
[3] A TIMELY SPUR
A Christian is like a branch vitally connected to the vine and bearing fruits, and we long to bear more fruits to God’s glory (verse 8). How can we bear more fruits? In two ways:
(a) By abiding
How much fruit we bear is proportional to how close is our communion with Him. This means to let Christ’s word abide in us (verse 7), abide in Christ’s love (verse 9) and keep Christ’s commandments (verse 10). The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 14, Paragraph 1 gives us an elaboration of how this is done practically, at the local church level.
(b) By pruning
Verses 1-2. This is done by the Vinedresser, our wise Heavenly Father. Pruning is painful but needful, if we want more fruits! It is applicable corporately as a church or individually as a believer. To be pruned is not an indication of God’s displeasure but an evidence of God’s love. We are already bearing fruits and He wants us to bear more! How would pruning look like in your life? How ready are you to be pruned by God?