Jesus as the Vine

One unique pleasure I’ve enjoyed from time to time in my life is to step out my front door and inhale the aroma wafting from nearby vineyards. When the grapes are in flower, a delicate but distinct fragrance hangs in the air. For about twelve years, I lived in a part of the world which has climate and soil conditions which are excellent for grape growing. Thousands of acres in the Niagara Peninsula are dedicated to viticulture. Wineries, small and large, dot the countryside as farmers increasingly get into the spirit of the wine business.

During His time on earth, Jesus lived in another grape-growing part of the world. Vineyards were common features of the 1st Century Judean landscape and Jesus used them as backdrops for several parables. In the gospels, words with “vine” or “wine” as their root occur more than fifty times. This gives us a sense of how central this aspect of agriculture was at the time.

More significant than this, though, is that on one occasion, Jesus likened Himself to the vine. Here are His words recorded in John 15, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:1-8)

Twice in these eight verses Jesus states that He is the vine. In relation to Jesus as the vine, believers are the branches. Here are a few thoughts about that relationship.

All of this suggests that while my spiritual life is entirely owed to the work of God through the Lord Jesus, the daily quality of my spiritual life depends entirely on my willingness to maintain a strong link with Him. I am applying this to spiritual fruitfulness, not to salvation.

We humans have a powerful need to feel significant. We don’t have to be world famous with millions of fans, but we need to know that we matter to someone. Even one other person can give us enough of a sense of significance to keep us going. Once we begin a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus, He intends that He should be the one to provide the sense of significance we all crave. As we stay closely connected to Him, He bears spiritual fruit through us. For the Christian, there is nothing better - nothing more significant.

However, because of the lure of the philosophical systems of the world, we can sometimes become distracted. Quietly serving God mostly unnoticed and unappreciated seems to rob us of significance rather than provide it. We begin to look over the fence to see how others are filling their needs. Meaningful careers, academic attainments, public positions of power, local notoriety and the rest begin their siren call to our ego. Some Christians, abandon their fruitful spiritual life to pursue other sources of significance. When they do, they lose their ability to bear spiritual fruit because they wither up and lose their spiritual vitality. The link with the vine is compromised.

When I think of Jesus as the Vine, it reminds me that, as a branch, if I want true eternal significance, I can only gain it through bearing spiritual fruit. Outside of Christ, what we do, what we own, the influence we wield, and so on become distractions which prevent us from bearing the spiritual fruit he has called us to produce. Jesus, the Vine, calls me daily to abide in Him.

Ron Hughes
© July 2006