‘I Am the True Vine.’
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35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
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The Church Persecuted and Scattered
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Philip in Samaria
4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
The last few times I have preached here, we have had a well-known memory verse to expound and reflect on. Today, we have another one -
‘I am the true vine; you are the branches, abide in me….’
I suggest we look three well known phrases that come up in this passage: 1]I am the true vine, 2] Abide in me 3] Who are the branches
I am the vine
Move 1 [I am the vine] This is the last of the seven ‘I am’ sayings in John’s Gospel. Each ‘I am’ puts Jesus in the centre. We learnt of Jesus as ‘bread of life’, ‘light of the world ’, ‘ gate’, ‘the good shepherd’, ‘the resurrection and the life’, ‘the way the truth and the life.’ Today, ‘the true vine.’ These ‘I am’ sayings call on each of us to make a personal response Jesus’s words. ‘I am the true vine and you are the branches, those who abide (remain) in me and I in them bear much fruit for you can do nothing without me.’
In the context of the Passover this was a radical statement. That night of all nights, Israel was celebrating that they were the vine: the vine was a symbol of Israel, the vine was on coins, in their Scriptures (our OT) Isa 51:7 ‘the song of the vineyard’ v7 “Israel is the vineyard of the Lord almighty.’ Psalm 80:8 ‘You brought a grapevine out of Egypt… and planted it.’ Jeremiah 2:21 says ‘I planted you like a choice vine.. but look what you have become...’ Over the temple porch in Jerusalem was a huge golden vine. Now Jesus says he is the true vine, the one to whom the OT pointed. The true vine is not about a people (Israel) but about a person Jesus and those who are rooted in him will have the new life he is speaking about – eternal life.
Abide in Me
[Move 2 Abide in Me] There is a 1,000-year-old vine at Hampton Court Palace. Some of its branches are 70 meters long. Because it has been skilfully pruned and tended, it gives tons of grapes each year. Some branches are 70 mtrs away from the stem but they produce bunches because they are joined to the vine: the life of the vine flows through the branch. Branches can't grow by themselves; life begins at the vine and spiritual life begins at Jesus. That’s why he gives us this picture ‘I am the vine you are the branches.’
The main part of Abide in me: is to be always in touch – [eg not cut flowers] but rooted in him. Here Jesus says in his last supper with his friends [& to us] keep in touch/abide in me, speak with me in prayer, sing praises to me, have quiet times with me, read my word, speak for me in witness and bear fruit. These are the things which will keep us abiding/remaining in him.
[Who can be branches?]
Move 3: Who can be branches? It may not seem like it but this is another controversial question. Jesus, speaking to his disciples at the last supper says, ‘I am the true vine; you are the branches.’ But who are the branches?
The Holy Spirit was first poured out on Jewish followers of Jesus and the Jerusalem church was established. Their leader was James brother of Jesus. They seemed to assume the branches would be converted Jews. Through the Acts of the Apostles, step by step Gentiles became Christians. Initially, in isolated cases, like the African official's conversion (Acts 8) and Cornelius, the Roman centurion (Acts 10). Then (Acts 11) there was an outpouring of the Spirit in Antioch leading to the 1st multi-ethnic church (Acts 13:1). Jews and Gentiles could be branches off the true vine! The Antioch church was mission-focused, sending missionaries, Barnabus and Paul and to preach to Gentiles (Acts 13:3). Gradually, Jewish Christians saw the Lord’s hand in the inclusion of all “nations” into the church. Gentiles were capable of “repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18).
Acts 15 records the controversy of how Gentile Christians were to be incorporated into the church. With Jesus saying he was the ‘true vine’, Gentiles getting saved were adopted members of the family of God through Christ. Jews alone were, not the true vine, the people of God, they were branches. Previously “unclean” Gentiles were now grafted in branches to the True vine, the ‘I Am’ Jesus. The controversy was about Jewish rituals like circumcision and whether the new believers should be initiated that way. Time does not allow us to go deeper!
The clear message for us today is that Jesus is the vine and he wants you to be one of his branches. In other words he sees great potential in you. That potential will be fulfilled if you remain/Abide in Jesus. Just think Jesus wants you to be one of his Branches, to carry good news to our friends and family (that’s called bearing fruit - just like the vine gives bunches of grapes).
What a privilege to be a branch of Jesus. Today, people feel rejected in many ways day by day. Past it, disabled, sick. We have all been rejected in various ways; last one picked at school, even rejected within family.
The good news: God wants you as branches. No one is to old, to young, to disabled, to sick, to bad to be a branch in the true vine - Jesus.
Each of us is loved and can be saved for eternal life. God says to you today ‘I want you to be one of my branches to bear fruit for me.’ Jesus will not reject you. I pray you will not reject him.
Cover Photo Jason Swain Photography https://jasonswain.co.uk/
