The Vine

Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A John 15:1-11

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I don't know if you've been paying attention very much, but we have been going through these I am statements that Jesus expresses during this last meal with his disciples, the night he was betrayed. Things are about to get heavy and hot for Jesus. He's going to the cross the next day. And so what Jesus is doing at this meal in the upper room with his disciples is the same thing that Moses does before God right before he goes to Pharaoh to deliver Israel from Pharaoh's hands. You remember this interaction? God comes to Moses. Moses has been selected to be the person who is going to deliver God's message to Pharaoh to let his people go and deliver them into the promised land. Moses says, Well, when I go to the people and tell them that they're about to be delivered, who do I say sends me? God says, tell them I am who I am, send you. I am. And so what Jesus is doing is he's doing the very thing that that situation points to. Only this time, Jesus isn't delegating this deliverance of God's people to someone else. Jesus, being God Himself, the I am, is going to be delivering his people on this very day. And so Jesus has been talking in this conversation over this meal, saying, I am the door. I am the good shepherd. Last week we looked at the fact that Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And so here we come to yet another, I am. Who is this deliverer? Who is this one that is going to redeem all of us? Jesus says, I am. I am a vine, and you are the branches. And so Jesus begins to explain to the disciples, right after he talks about the separation they had with God, that in him he is brought together. Remember, last week we looked at the fact that humans have a problem. They were created to be in the presence of God, but because of sin, they have been separated from God and his presence. And so Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the way, the access that gets you back into the presence of God. And when we're back into the presence of God, Jesus then begins to explain to his disciples how we maintain being in the presence of God. He says, I'm like a vine, I am the vine, and you are the branches. A vine is that which nourishes every branch that is attached to it. Branches only produce fruit insomuch as they are connected to the vine. Think of the vine as this, it is a fountain. And that all of us who are parched and thirsty, we come to this fountain and we drink and never thirst again. But the moment that we remove ourselves from this fountain, we automatically begin to thirst again and are being dried up. But as long as we are in the fountain, our thirst is being quenched. And we and life is being poured into us. I'd even say this: that the presence of God and God being love, God's love is poured out into you in and through Jesus, who is the vine. And the only way that you can produce the fruit that the Father and the Son delight to eat and partake of is if you are attached to that vine. But Jesus says something very interesting. Jesus says, in order to continue to be attached to this vine, in order for you to live your life attached to me, which gives you access to the Father so that love pours out, you need to keep my commandments. That's how you abide in my love. And this is where I want to clarify things for us as Christians this morning. Is the love of God conditional? Do you have to earn it? Is it a work that you have to perform in order to receive God's love? Do you have to be good to receive the love of God? Well, we listen to the words of Christ in the midst of this, because he's teaching his disciples and us what the love of God does. Jesus clearly says, the Father has loved me and I have kept his commandments. Pay attention to that order. Do you remember at the very beginning of Jesus' ministry, before he has done really anything, before he has died on the cross, before he has healed one person, he is baptized, and the father declares his favor and his love for his son. Matter of fact, throughout all Jesus' ministry, before he literally goes to the cross, the Father would reassure and reaffirm and profess his love and favor for his son, which tells us that the love the Father has for his son isn't contingent upon whether or not his son has already done his works. But it teaches us that love comes first. It is because the Father loves the Son that the Son goes and does what the Father wants. And this is what teaches us about our life in Christ. Christ has first loved you. He is that vine that fuels your life with His love and His righteousness. Everything you need for a godly life is already there to be accessed. But what does that do in your life? It produces fruit, it produces the works that are evidence that the love of God is being poured into your life. Jesus says, abide in my love, keep my commandments. What we need to understand is we are not to be working, we are not to be performing our lives to receive love from God. It is because God loves us that we respond and act with works of goodness and righteousness. It is rooted in Christ. Your attachment to Christ fuels your life with the love of God. And because you are connected to the vine, you can't help but to do anything but to produce the love that is being flowing through your veins. That's why Jesus is using this imagery of vine and branches. It is your connection to Him that will produce the works in your life that are right and good, that the Father will be glorified in, that the Father will rejoice, that the Father will taste and see that it is good. That's what we need to understand first and foremost about what Jesus is communicating on this night that he is betrayed. He is telling his disciples and all of us who believe in him, I grant you access to the presence of God. It is through me, through walking in my ways, that you are given access. And in order to maintain that relationship so you're never separated again, you remain with me. You remain in me. You allow my love to flow through your life so that you will produce the fruit that glorifies God, because that is the chief end of each and every one of our lives, is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. How can we accomplish that? By being rooted, by being a branch that is connected and grafted into the vine of Christ. So all of a sudden, when you hear about works, when you read the Ten Commandments, when you're told what to do, when you listen to the commands that Jesus gives, there are less rules to follow and more of a description of what your life will look like if you're connected to Jesus. This is what I mean. Think about the Ten Commandments. That is the law. If you are loved, then it's not just keeping the law, but the law describes to you what your life is going to manifest because you've received the love of the Father. Because you have the love of Christ in you. What that produces is you don't lie, you tell the truth. That's how you know you're connected to Jesus. You worship God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength because the love of Christ is flowing through you. You love your neighbor as yourself. Why? Because the love of Christ is flowing through you. You do not covet what your neighbor has because the love of Christ is flowing through you. Do you see that the law is not just a guide on how to live your life, but it's a description of what you ought to look like when you are connected to the vine of Christ? When you are a branch that produces the fruit that God enjoys and delights and loves, that's what you are to be. So, what where does all this lead? What does being a branch connected to the vine, being flooded and fueled by this fountain of love that Christ is pouring into your life, where does that lead? It leads to verse 11 in our gospel lesson, which Jesus says, so that my joy may be complete, and so that your joy can be to the fullest. You are not full of joy quite yet until you bear the delicious fruit that the Father delights in. And you can only bear delicious fruit if you are connected to Jesus. That's the whole point. Jesus wants you to experience the joy that He has for you. And it's this reciprocation, this back and forth relationship. As the Father delights in you, because you're producing the foot, the fruit that Christ's love produces in you, so you too begin to realize the joy that the Father is. This is why when you become to the point where you're so filled with the love of Christ and you begin to produce that fruit, there is more joy added to your life. There's less complication. And we often think about that. If you just do what's right, then there's less complication, there's less consequences in your life. But it's more than that. It's just not so that you have less consequences and so you need to live a right life. It is living a right life, is the means by which you know that God loves you and you're experiencing his love and your joy that you long for can be made complete. There's not one person sitting here in this room, in this sanctuary, that is not in the pursuit of happiness. You all want to be joy-filled. You all want to experience true and lasting happiness. Nobody likes to be anxious, nobody likes to be depressed. Everybody wants joy and unending joy. Well, Jesus reveals that that will be accomplished in your life when you begin to produce the fruit that can only come with Him fueling your life. When God the Father enjoys what you're doing with your life, you will enjoy it too. And he says, and your joy will be made complete. So the questions that we have that we're faced and confronted with in this gospel lesson is are you a branch that is connected to the vine of Christ? How do you know? How do you know that you and Christ are grafted to one another? You need to survey your life and see if you are producing the fruit of righteousness. That is the telltale sign that you are grafted in Christ. And if you look at your life and you see and you can't really say that fully, here's some more good news. Get grafted into Christ by faith in Him. Trust and believe. Christ, you are it. You are the vine. I want to be a branch upon your vine. Will you flood my life with your love so that I can produce the fruit that you delight in? If you want to be a branch, there's nothing that Christ hasn't removed that prevents you. He has given you access. Will you believe? Will you trust? Will you trust in that vine? And seek not to become a vine yourself. You're a branch. Live into your branchness. Are you trying to live your Christian life, earning favor and love from God? By just checking off everything that you need to do right and say, okay, if I do these things, God will love me and I'll have his love and I'll keep it in my pocket. I've earned it. Or are you trying to live your Christian life? Knowing that you are loved, and because you are loved, you want to do what is right because that's what true love does. It doesn't hurt, it doesn't harm, it doesn't do evil. True love does what is good and right. And if you want love to be manifested in your life, you have to commit yourself to having love fuel your life and be poured out into others. May all of our lives be fueled by the vine of Christ so that the fruit of our lives will bring honor and glory to God. Let's pray.