“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.” John 15:4
At the conclusion of the Last Supper, Jesus said, “Come now; let us leave.” (John 14:31) Given the words that follow in John 15, it’s easy to imagine Jesus and His disciples walking through a vineyard on the way to the Garden of Gethsemane.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” John 15:1-3
Jesus wasn’t introducing a new metaphor. His disciples knew the Scriptures and the symbolic significance of the vine. In the Old Testament, God’s vine was Israel. Isaiah 5 paints a beautiful picture of the vineyard of the Lord, and how God guarded and provided for it. Despite God doing everything He could to make Israel bear fruit, it bore none. The children of Israel thought they no longer needed God's protection. They thought they were powerful enough, self-sufficient enough, to take care of themselves. So, He took away its wall and left it unprotected. It was destroyed and left to waste. Israel was no longer God's vine.
Jesus tells his disciples that He is God’s new vine. The true vine. No longer does blessing come through a covenantal relationship with Israel. Fruit and blessing come through Jesus to all believers. He explains there are two types of believers: those that bear fruit and those that do not. Judas was a fruitless branch that was cut off by God, the vinedresser. He was like the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. He received the teaching and blessing of God, but he wanted a relationship with God for selfish reasons.
The sweetest grapes are found on branches closest to the vine because that is where the nutrients are the most concentrated. The farther the grapes are from the vine, the smaller and more bitter they will be. This is why vinedressers diligently prune their vines. Pruning involves cutting diseased areas or lifting up branches to increase productivity. In the same way, the Father tenderly cares for and prunes us. The Word is His pruning knife. It cleans the sin out of our lives, removes the bitterness from our hearts, and produces the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22) The closer we are to Jesus, the more fruitful we will be.
“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.” John 15:4-5
To abide means to “remain in” or to “dwell in” or to “continue in” something. For a grapevine, it means that the branch remains connected to the vine and draws its essential life from that vine. And that’s what Jesus is telling us about our relationship with Him. We must completely depend on Him for nourishment, support, strength, and to bear fruit. Jesus tells us that when we do, we will bear much fruit. We can become more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and self-controlled than we are currently.
“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.” John 15:8-11
The new vine gave a new commandment. A commandment that incorporates all of the attributes of the fruit of the Spirit. “Love one another as I have loved you, so love you one another." (John 13:34) It is only as Christ's loves flows into us, the branches, that His love flows out from us to others. We can only love others as He commands when we are abiding in Him – remaining in His love.
Jesus said all these things to the disciples to prepare them for the days ahead. Though He would soon be crucified and no longer physically with them, they could abide in Him and He would remain with them through the Holy Spirit. In turn, they would be fruitful branches, pour out His love to others and their lives would glorify the Father.
We are branches of the same true vine being cleansed by the Word and pruned by the Father so that together we may produce the harvest He deserves. We have joy because we are in him, but we have his joy because he is in us.