Perhaps you have ever heard a very famous phrase that Christ said “I am the true vine“, But what does it mean? Why did Christ say this? To what characteristics of the earthly vine would he have been connecting his labor for this parable? Learn that and much more here.
I am the true vine
At key points in his ministry, Christ emphasized his equality with God in the clearest possible terminology. The strongest claims to his deity employed the name God used when the Father first revealed Himself to Moses: “I AM” (Exodus 3:14).
Jesus had already said: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12); “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35); “I am the way” (John 14: 6); and “I am the door” (John 10:9).
One night before he was to die, he told his disciples, “I am the vine.” Like the other times he had used the expression “I am”, this endorses his deity.
Jesus Christ affirmed that he is the true one, and his father (God), is the vinedresser. He also said that every branch in Him that does not bear fruit is taken away; and all those that are fruitful are pruned by the Father so that they may be even more fruitful.
If someone does not abide in Jesus Christ, he is thrown like a branch and dries up, he is thrown into the fire. But if he otherwise remains in Jesus, following his words, he can make whatever request he wants, and he will grant it.
What did Jesus mean by this?
The metaphor in John 15 is of a vine and its branches. The vine is the source and life support of the branches, and the branches must remain on the vine to live and bear fruit. Jesus, of course, is the vine, and the branches are people. While it is obvious that the fruitful branches represent true Christians, the identity of the unfruitful ones is in doubt.
Some Bible students say that barren branches are Christians who do not bear spiritual fruit. Others believe that they are non-Christians. As always, however, we must look at the context to get the best answer.
The true meaning of the metaphor becomes clear when we consider the characters in that night’s drama. The disciples were with Jesus. He had loved them to the fullest, he had comforted them with the words of the 14th chapter of John.
The Father was in the first place in his thoughts, because he was thinking about the events of the next day. But he was also aware of someone else: the traitor. Judas had been dismissed from the community when he rejected the latter.
All the characters in the drama were in the mind of Jesus. He saw the eleven, whom he loved deeply and passionately. He was aware of the Father, with whom he shared infinite love. And he must have grieved for Judas, whom he had loved unconditionally.
All these characters play a role in the metaphor of Jesus. The vine is Christ; The vinedresser is the Father. The fruit branches represent the eleven and all the true disciples of the church age. The fruitless branches represent Judas and all those who were never true disciples.
The branches
A branch that is actually connected to the vine is safe and will never be deleted. But one that only appears to be connected, one that only has a superficial join, will be removed. If it does not have the life of the vine flowing through it, it will not bear fruit. Those are the branches of Judas.
There are people who, like Judas, appear, by human perception, to be united with Christ, but are hell-bound apostates. They can attend church, know all the right answers, and go through religious movements; but God will eliminate them and they will be uprooted. Others, like the eleven, are genuinely connected to the vine and bear fruit.
Christ is the true vine
Jesus was not introducing a new idea by using the metaphor of a vine and branches. In the Old Testament, the vine of God was Israel. He used them to fulfill his purpose in the world, and he blessed those connected with them. He was the vinedresser; He tended the vine, cut it down and cut off branches that did not bear fruit. But the vine of God degenerated and did not bear fruit.
God had done everything possible for Israel to produce fruit, but it gave nothing. So he removed his wall and left it unprotected. Then it was trampled by foreign nations and laid waste. Israel was no longer the vine of God; she had lost the privilege of it.
Now there is a new vine. The blessing no longer comes through a covenant relationship with Israel. The fruit and blessing come through the connection with Jesus Christ. Jesus is the true vine. In Scripture, the word true is often used to describe that which is eternal, heavenly, and divine. Israel was imperfect, but Christ is perfect.
Jesus chose the figure of a vine for several reasons. The humility of a vine demonstrates his humility. It also shows a close, permanent and vital union between the vine and the branches. It is a symbol of belonging, because the branches belong entirely to the vine; If the branches are to live and bear fruit, they must be completely dependent on the vine for their nourishment, support, strength, and vitality.
However, many of those who call themselves Christians do not depend on Christ. Instead of being attached to the true vine, they are tied to a bank account. Others are attached to their education. Some have tried to make vines with popularity, fame, personal skills, possessions, relationships, or carnal desires.
The father is the vinedresser
In the metaphor, Christ is a plant, but the Father is a person. Certain false teachers have claimed that this shows that Christ is not divine, but lower in character and essence than the Father. They say that if He is God, His and the Father’s parts in the metaphor should be equal; He should be the vine, and the Father should be the root of the vine.
But to make such a claim is to miss the whole point of the Jesus metaphor and the reason the apostle John included it in his Gospel. While he affirms his equality in essence with the Father, by certifying that he is the source and sustainer of life, he also emphasizes the fundamental difference in his role and that of the Father. The point is that the Father cares for the Son and for those joined to the Son by faith.
The disciples were familiar with the role of the vinedresser. After planting a vine, the vinedresser has two duties. First, he cuts off fruitless branches, which remove the sap from the fruit-bearing branches. If the sap is wasted, the plant will bear less fruit. Then he constantly trims the buds of the fruiting branches so that all the sap is concentrated in the fruits.
Fruitless branches that are cut are useless. Since they don’t burn well, they can’t even be used to heat a house. They are thrown into piles and burned like garbage. As verse 2 says, they are “taken away.” He does not repair them; He takes them off.
Those who are removed only appear to be connected to Christ, but do not really abide in him. They were never saved. They are branches of Judas that don’t really follow Jesus, and they don’t bear fruit. At some point, the Father removes them to preserve the life and fecundity of the other branches.
Fruit branches are pruned so that they bear more fruit. We know that these branches represent Christians, because only Christians can bear fruit. Pruning is not done just once, it is a constant process. The father prunes a branch so that it bears more fruit. After continuous pruning, he bears a lot of fruit. As verse 8 says: “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit.”
Unfruitful branches are removed
Fruiting and non-fruiting branches grow quickly and need to be carefully pruned. If there is going to be a large amount of fruit, the fruitless branches should be removed, as well as the shoots that grow on the fruit-bearing branches. Jesus said that his followers were like mature branches that bore fruit but needed pruning.
Every Christian carries some fruit, you may have to search hard for even a small grape, but if you search hard enough you will find something. The fruit of salvation is good works. That does not mean that a person is saved by works, but works are evidence that faith is genuine.
Jesus said that a genuine believer can be tested by his fruit. In Matthew 7: 16-17 he said: “You will know them by their fruits. A thorn tree does not produce grapes right? If the tree is good it will bear good fruit, however if the tree is bad the fruit it will bear will to be bad.” Jesus’ illustration would be meaningless if every Christian did not bear at least some fruit.
Fruitful branches are pruned
Although the fruitless branches are removed from the vine and burned, the Father tenderly cares for the fruitful branches. In verse 2, Jesus told his disciples: every branch that bears fruit is pruned so that it may continue to bear fruit. The vinedresser prunes the branches so that they bear much fruit. Kathairo is the Greek word for “prune” or “clean.” In agriculture, it referred to clearing corn husks and clearing the soil before planting crops. In the vine metaphor, it refers to the cleansing of branch buds.
Pruning is also necessary in our spiritual lives. The Father eliminates sins and superfluous things that limit our fertility. One of the best ways to cleanse ourselves is to allow suffering and problems into our lives. Sometimes it hurts, and we wonder if he knows what he’s doing. It may seem like we are the only branch getting pruned, while other branches need it more. But the vinedresser knows what he is doing.
Spiritual pruning can take many forms. It may be illness, hardship, or loss of material possessions. It can be persecution or slander of non-Christians. For some it is the loss of a loved one or pain in a relationship. Or it may be a combination of difficulties. Whatever the method, the effect is to narrow our focus and strengthen the quality of our fruit.
Whatever pruning method God uses, we can be sure that he cares about us and wants us to bear much fruit. He wants to free us from the outbreaks that drain our life and energy. He continues to care throughout our lives to keep us spiritually healthy and productive.
If we remember that God is trying to make us more fruitful, we can look beyond the pruning process to the goal. It is exciting to realize that God wants our lives to bear much fruit. Hebrews 12:7 encourages us to have a proper perspective on God’s perfecting process.
Jesus Christ is our true vine, let’s not be those fruitless branches that will finally be cut off. Let us remain in Christ bearing fruit as true Christians who follow God in obedience. If we ever feel that life is staggering us, let’s remember the pruning process, our Lord is testing us in some way.