(Pastors Gonzalo and Andrea Sanabria)
Without a doubt, our Lord Jesus Christ is the best preacher, and the gospels show us that he used simple examples and the daily life of the Hebrews to teach great mysteries and revelations of the kingdom of God.
On this occasion, Jesus uses a crop known to all in Palestinian lands (the vine), and through simple example teaches profound spiritual truths. That is our God, who uses all possible and necessary means so that we can understand him. How good and great is our God…
THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he will take away; and everyone that bears fruit, he will cleanse, so that it bears more fruit. You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ” John 15:1-3.
In the light of the context of today’s passage, we can consider several very important things: Jesus is with his disciples in the upper room, there are no other people, it is therefore a teaching in intimacy with the Lord (remember that God invites us to that intimacy with him, and there he will make known to us the secrets of his heart, things that eye has not seen, nor ear heard).
His disciples know cultivation very well and terms such as: vine, vineyard, viñador (he is the farmer), pompano (branch that conducts the sap from the trunk to the fruit), vintage (grape harvest) and the winepress, which is the place where the grapes were stepped on to obtain the juice, a task carried out with songs of rejoicing before the blessing of the Lord. God wants to fill his children with his blessing, and this requires an open heart.
Christ is the true vine (from the Greek it translates: truthful, genuine), it is the one that gives true life, the one that really satisfies. There are false “vines”: idols, drugs, unrestrained life, alcohol, etc., in which man wants to quench the thirst of his heart, but each time he experiences greater emptiness, because only Jesus Christ can truly fill the heart of man. men. Only Jesus can fully satisfy the thirst for life and love that every human being has.
Let us now consider the relationship between the branch and the vinedresser. By nature, the farmer prepares the land, sows, waters and cares for the crop. Here he tells us specifically about the work of pruning the vine and cleaning the branch. The heavenly Father is the farmer (vinedresser, the one who cares for the vineyard, he does the pruning, etc.).
We are represented in the branches, they are the conduits of the sap, they are the channels that feed the process of the fruit, they are the branches that support the grapes. Some are removed for lack of fruit, others are cleansed to bear more fruit. It is essential here to know:The Work of the Holy Spirit”.
When the text says: “he will clean it” it is equivalent to saying: “he will prune it”, it is the work of the vinedresser. We are talking about pruning, which is done with a knife and scissors. The dry and sterile branches are removed so that it will bear more fruit. The vine does not resist (remember that “as a lamb was led to the slaughter, it fell silent, it did not open its mouth”). It is the work where the Father wants to remove from us what does not serve his purpose.
Jesus said, “You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.” That is why one of the symbols of the Word of God is water, for example in Psalm 1 it says: “Blessed is he whose delight is the law of the Lord… he will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which bears its fruit in its time…and everything he does will prosper.”
In the tabernacle between the Bronze Altar and the tent was the laver or bronze fountain, which was made of the mirrors of the women of Israel (bronze), there before entering the presence of God, the priest had to purify himself, wash , and without a doubt he saw his face reflected in those waters… Without a doubt when the Holy Spirit and the word of God find a willing heart “God Can Transform Chaos Into Blessing”.
Let us remember that the Scripture also says: “if anyone is not a doer of the word, he is like a man who sees his natural face in a mirror and soon forgets what it looked like”… How great and beautiful is the power of His word, for it reflects our true condition and allows us to wash away our sins in the blood of Jesus.
Final reflection: God wants us to bear much fruit for him. Many times our lack of disposition or perhaps behaviors that are sinful prevent this purpose, then it is when the good farmer comes to prune, sometimes we submit with meekness, and other times we choose the most difficult path. But, in the end we will see that the farmer will do his work, because Jehovah will fulfill his purpose in me.
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