Matt Chandler - The True Vine

If you have your Bibles, go ahead and grab those. We’re going to be in John chapter 15. This is Palm Sunday, so in the Christian calendar, this begins Holy Week. This is when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. If you have a church background and grew up in church, you probably remember when you were little, you either made a palm leaf or were handed a palm leaf in children’s church, and you waved it. Maybe you were even part of a tradition that did that in what has historically been called «big church.» What we’re celebrating is that this is the Sunday on which Christ would have made his entry into Jerusalem, knowing he was going to die and knowing he was going to be betrayed. If we look at the overall calendar, you would have a season of Lent during which you would deny yourself something to prepare your heart for this week. Then Palm Sunday would be the beginning of Holy Week, and following that, you would have your Good Friday service, which would end your Lenten laydowns, whatever they were. From there, you would celebrate the Risen Christ, and all of that was established so that you wouldn’t get swept away in the busyness of life and so that you could root yourself in a type of remembrance that should change how you interact with the world around you. So, this is Palm Weekend or Palm Sunday for us, and we’re going to spend our time in John chapter 15. What we’ve been doing for the last seven to eight weeks is walking through the seven «I am» statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John. We said it’s one thing to understand what Jesus does, but it’s another thing to understand who he is. Our confidence in what he does is rooted in who he is because if he is not who he claims to be, then what he says he has accomplished for us doesn’t matter. So, instead of simply focusing on what he does, we’ve really concentrated on who Jesus says he is. There are seven of those «I am» statements in the Gospel of John. Last weekend, when we gathered, we discussed, «I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.» We talked about the fact that Jesus is the way home and that you only get home through Jesus. If you weren’t here, all of our materials are always available online for free, and you can check that out. This weekend, we are going to focus on «I am the True Vine,» which is what Jesus will say in John 15. Then, next weekend for Easter, we will discuss «I am the resurrection and the life.» Just to give you some context of when this is happening, Jesus is teaching this probably less than 24 hours before he is arrested. He is saying these things knowing that it won’t be long until he is arrested and slaughtered. With that said, let’s look at John 15. I’m going to start in verse one; we will read 11 verses, and then we’ll just hang out a bit and chat.

«I am the True Vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this, my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.»

Now, there’s some imagery here that probably doesn’t resonate with us as it would with a Jew in the first century. If I could unpack this for you quickly: when Jesus says, «I am the True Vine,» it carries a lot of meaning throughout the Old Testament. The imagery of the vine is used in relation to God’s people. In the Old Testament, if you encounter this imagery of someone or something being the vine, it always refers to Israel or the people of God. However, every time it is used in the Old Testament, it is portrayed negatively. When Israel was described as the vine, it was always accompanied by a declaration that they were a vine that did not bear fruit, and therefore, the wrath of God was coming.