When we left John’s gospel last Sunday, we saw that Jesus told his disciples that they were to leave from where they were, to leave the upper room. Now we don’t know for sure whether or not they actually left or whether Jesus kept on talking after he said that they needed to leave. The majority of biblical scholars throughout the centuries have suggested that they in fact did leave. They suggest that Jesus and his disciples left the upper room and began a quiet walk across the city of Jerusalem down to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives, where we will see later on that the Roman guards come for Jesus and arrest him. It has also been suggested that somewhere along the way, most likely above the temple door, that Jesus and his disciples saw some vines. Seeing what was before him, Jesus, we might say, was struck with inspiration, he was inspired by the sight of the vines to teach the disciples even more about him. What came out of that inspiration was the last of Jesus’ “I AM” statements in John’s gospel.
Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.” Here, he’s continuing to remind them of the great amount of teaching that he has just done on the oneness that exists between himself and the Father. As each second passes, Jesus’ time of returning to heaven and being reunited with the Father is drawing that much closer. Jesus is continuing to show that they cannot separate himself from the Father. This “I AM” statement is unique because it not only describes Jesus, but it describes the Father as well. He continues on saying, “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.” This is the affirmation by Christ given to his followers that they are to be fruitful. The followers of Christ are to be productive and produce fruit for the kingdom of God. We are to go out and fulfill the Great Commission of Matthew 28 and make disciples. We are to raise our children in the Lord, a work that we celebrated last Sunday with the confirmation of our newest members. We are to proclaim God’s word and pray that it finds fertile ground within the hearts of others so that they may do these great works as well. That is how we are to be fruitful.
The problem comes in for many people when they compare this notion to the idea that we repeatedly state about being justified by faith and not justified or saved by our good works. Many Christians are of the opinion that there really is nothing that we need to do. Since we are justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, our works are of little to no consequence. As a result, these Christians kick back and put life on cruise control so-to-speak. They do the wrong kind of resting in the grace of God. They essentially become worthless for the kingdom. Now, I’m willing to admit that I’m partially to blame. No, not just me alone, but folks like me, pastors. Especially in our reformed tradition, we have proclaimed that salvation is completely a work of God (which it is) with such force that we have done a disservice to our people. What need be understood is that we are indeed justified by faith apart from works, but we are also justified by faith unto works. Our good works are the proper response to our saving faith. So, we’re not saved by those works, but we do those works because we are saved. Faith without works is a dead faith. James 2 says, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” This may seem like a contradiction to being justified solely by faith, but it’s not. Remember, if our faith in Christ Jesus is not producing fruit, then do we really have true saving faith? Is it a faith that is felt in every fiber of our being, or is it a faith that we simply profess with our tongues and nothing more? If we have true faith, then it changes us to where we cannot just sit back and rest on our laurels.
As Christ is comparing himself and the Father to a vine and vinedresser respectively, he re-emphasizes another point that he has made already and that is that without him we can do nothing and with him there is nothing that we cannot do. We briefly mentioned this notion last Sunday as we pointed to the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:13. Everything good that we can do comes from the power of Christ being made available to us by the work of the Holy Spirit. When we separate ourselves from Christ, we are separating ourselves from the very source of our being.
I am not a gardener. I never have been and I probably never will be. I am a second generation non-gardener. I can remember growing up my father wanted to either pave our entire yard or just poor gas (back when it was only $1.00 a gallon) on the entire yard. I’m not that bad, I actually enjoy cutting the grass, but my own little version of hell on earth is having to pick weeds and prune bushes. The problem is that my wife loves flowers and bushes, so we have them in abundance at our house. Unfortunately, my wife has spent the better part of the last five years being pregnant and really unable to keep up here part of the yard, the garden. So, the task falls to me and I reluctantly do it. Some of you may say that if I don’t like doing it, then why do you. Well, the answer is simple. First, my wife wants it and so I do it. Secondly, and more the point of our text today, it is necessary for growth. All the weeds and dead flowers and undergrowth, they are all hindering the growth of the vibrant plants. They are hindering the progress of the fruitful flora in our yard. Christ here tells his disciples, that not only will those who abide in him bear much fruit. He also says that those who “do not abide in [him] will be thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” In other words, they are removed. Those things which seek to hinder the fruitful ministry of the gospel are not just allowed to grow unhindered, but they are ripped away. They are removed from the picture in order to allow for the growth of the kingdom.
Now, you may be wondering what this looks like. You may be thinking to yourself, “Preacher, you’re saying that the things that are against God are removed, but we can see all around us those who are against God thriving. If anything the world seems to be becoming more unchristian. This text doesn’t sound like what is actually happening today.” Well, my response is that you’re missing the bigger picture. First, the gospel is being taken to places today where it has never been taken before. And secondly, this isn’t an immediate thing; this is pertaining to matters of eternity. Just as weeds are allowed to grow in a garden until a certain time, those who oppose God and those that do not abide in Christ and him in them, they are allowed to remain with those who love the Lord for a time as well. However, the dead branches are not delivered unto heaven, but they are thrown into the fire, which we can interpret as the fires of hell. We have to stay close to Christ. We have to stay close to him by the means in which he has established. And we must do this so that we bear fruit for the kingdom.
There’s a story that’s been around for quite some time about a pastor and a member of his congregation. This member was one of those who never really attended worship, but came just enough to keep their status with the church. The two men run into each other at a picnic, and the pastor says to the man, “I haven’t seen you in church much, is everything alright?” The man responds by saying, “Yeah, Pastor. Everything is great. I haven’t been to church because well you see, I’ve come to realize that I don’t need to go to church to be a Christian. I can commune with God in my own way on my own time. I don’t need to be part of a community of Christians in order to worship God.” The pastor acknowledged that indeed the church isn’t the only place where worship can occur. He then walks over to an open barbeque pit and takes some tongs and grabs out a charcoal briquette. He walks back over to the man holding this piece of charcoal and says to him, “Look at this coal. A few moments ago, this coal was radiant in its heat and warmth, and was very useful for grilling those burgers. But what has happened since I removed it from the fire and set it apart by itself? Well, it has grown cool and become worthless for the task it was created to do.”
When we move away from Christ, that’s what happens to us. When we move away from Christ, we become worthless for accomplishing the task that we were created to do. Abide in Christ. Stay close to Him. Grab hold of Him tightly and never let go. Without Christ we can do nothing. With him, there is nothing that we cannot do and no limit to the fruit that we may bear. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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