This article is excerpted from week 2 of Storyteller John Part 2: Suffering of the Savior.
The Vine and the Branches
“ I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch, and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples.”
John 15:1-8 CSB
Jesus describes Himself as a vine in a vineyard attended by His Father. We are like branches that grow off that well-tended vine.
Christians draw life and spiritual vitality from their connection to Jesus. A branch derives its life and fruitfulness from the vine it is attached to. A branch that is cut from the vine will wither and die. It will be lifeless. Following Jesus, then, involves attending to and nurturing our connection to the vine for growth and for pruning.
Growth happens when we “remain” or abide in Jesus. Here, Jesus is asking us to stick with and stay close to Him so that our life will be sustained in the vine. Pruning also produces life, because it keeps us from growing in the wrong direction. A vine that remains untended will grow wildly and never produce the desired fruit.
Our active participation with God and His participation in us—that vital, nurtured connection—makes all that Jesus has taught about possible. Without Him, we can do nothing (v. 5). But when our growth is aligned with God’s purpose, our desires will be aligned with Jesus, our prayers will be effective (v. 7), and we will produce the kind of faith that proves we know Jesus (v. 8).
John Part 2: Storyteller - Bible Study Book: Suffering of the Savior
The Gospel of John is one of four books describing the life of Jesus. John’s Gospel is divided into two big sections. The first half introduces us to Jesus through the lens of seven key miracles that disclose His identity and prove His divinity.
In the second half, Jesus turns His eyes and mission to Jerusalem, where He will suffer and die. On His way, Jesus prepares His disciples for what will take place and prepares Himself to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
After He rises from the grave, He sends His disciples into all the world to point people back to the same cross to which John’s Gospel always leads us.