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John 15:1-2  JESUS THE TRUE VINE

Introduction:
	
	In our text today Jesus informs His disciples that He is
the true Vine.  He urges them to abide in Him.  That is, He
urges them to maintain the same close relationship with Him
after He departs from them which they have had during His
ministry with Him here on earth.

I.  The setting for this text

	In the events immediately prior to our text Jesus and
His disciples had finished eating the Passover Supper.
Judas Iscariot had left the group to go and betray Jesus
into the hands of the Jewish leaders.  After the departure
of Judas, Jesus had instituted a new supper, the Lord's
Supper.  Jesus had spoken many words of comfort and
encouragement to His disciples.
	At the close of the meeting Jesus had announced to them
that henceforth He would not speak much with them because He
would not be with them much longer.  He would be soon be
arrested and crucified.  Then even though He would be raised
from the grave, He would still not be with them much longer.
He would soon return to heaven.  Jesus closed out that
meeting by having the group sing a hymn of worship after
which He said, "Arise, let us go hence."
	It must have been a very somber procession as they made
their way through the gate of the city of Jerusalem and then
onward toward Mt. Olives.
	They would travel downward at first to the dry creek bed
not far from the gate of the city.  Then they would turn
gradually upward to begin their climb to approach the base
of the mountain where they would turn rather sharply upward.
	As they traveled along there would be vineyards on
either side of the road.  The vineyards through which they
would pass would provide an ideal object lesson which Jesus
could use to urge them to remain faithful and true to Him
after His departure.  His disciples would be in a state of
confusion after His arrest and crucifixion.  There would be
great danger that some of them might defect from His cause
during that time as Judas Iscariot had already done.
	Even later after they would see that He had risen from
the grave, there would still be the danger that some of them
might defect from His cause because He would soon depart and
would not be present to lead them and hold them together.
	Even though it is not specifically mentioned in our
text, there is the strong probability that there were still
numerous fires burning in the vineyards with at least a few
small flames and much glowing embers.  This would be the
result of the workers who had been sent into the vineyards
during the daylight hours to prune the grapevines and burn
the trimmings.  Those branches vines which had been cut off
were then placed in small piles and set afire.  It was well
into the night as Jesus and His disciples traveled along
that road, but if, if in fact, pruning had been done that
day, the burned piles would still be aglow.  The disciples
could hardly help but see.
	But whether or not the fires were there for them to see,
the vineyards were there and the disciples were familiar
with the process of pruning and burning the branches.

II.  The Vine, the Husbandman and the branches

	V. 1, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the
husbandman."  The word "vine," as used here, speaks of the
root system and the main trunk of the plant which extends
upward from the roots.  It is through those roots and that
trunk that all of the branches of the plant received their
nourishment.  Without the nourishment through the vine, the
branches would produce no fruit.  They would all soon wither
and die.
	The word "husbandman," speaks of the farmer who was in
charge of the vineyard.  It was the husbandman who had
planted the vine.  It was the husbandman who would tend to
the plants in the vineyard.  He would dig out the weeds.  He
would water and fertilize the plants.  He would do the
pruning.  That is, he would be responsible for seeing that
the workers would do these things.
	Jesus said that the husbandman in this parable is God
the Father.  The field belongs to God.  The vineyard belongs
to God.  It was God the Father who sent Jesus Christ to the
earth to be the Savior of men.  It would be God the Father
who would be responsible for seeing that the branches of the
vine would be pruned to make them fruitful in God's
spiritual vineyard.
	At this point we are not told what the branches of the
vine represent, but in verse five we are told that the
branches are the disciples of the Lord.  They are those who
have formed a union with Jesus Christ by placing their faith
in Jesus as Savior.  They are sinners who have repented of
their sin, trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation and have
been born again by the Holy Spirit of God.  At least they
have made professions of faith in Jesus and have the outward
appearance of being saved people.
	As branches which extend from the True vine, they are
expected to bear fruit.  That is, they are to bear spiritual
fruit.  They are to live in keeping with the teachings of
Jesus.  They are to live righteous lives.  They are to serve
God.  They are to bear witness to the unsaved of the world
and tell them that Jesus saves.  They are to win lost souls
to Jesus so that they, too, will be saved and will live for
the honor and glory of God.

III.  The unfruitful branches

	V. 2, "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he
taketh away..."  Jesus knew that there would be some who
would make professions of faith in Him who have never
trusted in Him and have never been saved.  They appear
outwardly to be attached to the True Vine, but there is
something wrong inwardly.  They have never experienced the
inward spiritual new birth.  Therefore they never produce
any spiritual fruit for the Lord.
	Jesus said that these will not have a lasting union with
Jesus, the true Vine.  Jesus said that they will be pruned
off of the Vine.  They are useless to the Husbandman.  They
are dead weight.  They are extra baggage.  They are a
hindrance to the fruit bearing efforts of the other plants.
They will be cut off.  They will be cut off and disposed of.
Unsaved professed Christians will receive the same fate as
the unsaved who have never made a profession of faith.
	Unless one genuinely trusts in Jesus Christ for the
salvation of his soul, it will do him no good to make a
profession of faith.  It will do him no good to be baptized.
It will do him no good to hold membership in a New Testament
church.  Hebrews 11:6 says that faith it is impossible to
please God.  Therefore, without faith it is impossible to
produce fruit for God.
	So just as every branch in the vineyard which does not
produce fruit for the husbandman will be cut off and
disposed of, even so everyone who is unsaved and, therefore,
produces no fruit for God will be cut off and disposed of.
Like all unbelievers, He will spend eternity in torment.

IV.  The fruitful branches

	(V. 2), "...and every branch that beareth fruit, he
purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."  In this
statement, Jesus informs His disciples that those who have
made false professions of faith will not be the only ones to
experience the pruning knife of the Husbandman.  Even the
branches which do produce fruit will be pruned.  The
difference is, that they will not be cut off from the vine
and disposed of.  Rather, they will be pruned in such a way
that will make them to be more fruitful.
	In the vineyard many of the branches are broken or
develop diseased parts.  Those broken or diseased parts must
be cut away in order to make the branch more productive.
Also some branches have too much foliage.  It takes so much
plant food to support the foliage that these branches do not
have enough nutrients produce much fruit.  When the excess
foliage is cut off, the branch will produce more fruit and
better quality fruit.
	So it is with the Christian who is bearing only a little
fruit for the Lord.  He is often diseased with sinful
conduct and practices in his life and he must undergo some
pruning from God in order to help him to become more
fruitful for God.  Sometimes a Christian may be overloaded
with worldly activities.  They may or may not be sinful
activities, but they use up his time and his energies so
that he has little time and energy for God.  He must undergo
some pruning from God in order to help him to be able to
find the time for God in his life and to put God first in
his life.  Some Christians have mistaken and false ideas
about what the Bible teaches which hinder their fruitfulness
for God.  These Christians may requite some pruning from God
in order for them to become receptive to the teachings of
God and to submit to the truths of God.  Or, they may
require some pruning before they will devote themselves to
the study of God's word.
	At any rate, all Christians require some kind of pruning
in their lives in order to develop in to real fruit bearing
Christians.  No branch in God's vineyard is without pruning.
	The pruning of fruit bearing Christians can be a painful
experience.  It may mean stopping activities which are
enjoyable to the individual.  It may mean sacrificing time
that would used for pleasures or for one's material
prosperity.  It may mean cutting off from a friend who is a
hindrance to one's work for God.
	The pruning is indeed painful, but it is profitable.  It
will make one more productive for the Lord.  It will bring
greater blessings.  It will bring greater rewards.  It can
mean that souls will be reached for Christ who would
otherwise not be reached at all.

V.  Some personal questions for us all

	Let me ask you some rather personal questions.  First of
all I want to ask you if you have ever made a profession of
faith.  I think that you know that you are a sinner.  I
think you know that you are going to spend eternity
somewhere.  I think you know that it would be better to
spend eternity in heaven than in the Lake of Fire and
Brimstone.  I think you know that you have only a limited
time in which to get ready for eternity.  I think you know
that God sent Jesus Christ to this world to die on the cross
so that lost sinners can be saved.  I think you know whether
or not you have ever repented of your sin and trusted in
Jesus Christ for salvation.  I think you know that if you
have never trusted Jesus for salvation that you need to do
so before it is everlastingly too late.  I think you know
that the time of opportunity for salvation is drawing
shorter and shorter with every passing day.  I think you
know that something could happen to you at any time so that
it would be forever too late and all of your opportunity
would be gone.
	Now let me ask a question to everyone who has made a
profession of faith in Jesus.  Is your profession of faith
in Jesus genuine?  Have you really trusted Jesus as your
Savior or did you merely join a church in hopes that getting
baptized and joining a church would get you into heaven?  I
do not ask this question to embarrass or to ridicule you.  I
ask this question in an effort to help you.  I can assure
you that merely walking an aisle and joining a church and
getting baptized will not get you into heaven.  I do not
want you to find out too late that you have never been
saved.  Please do not wait until you step out into eternity
to find out whether or not you are genuinely saved.  Getting
in the water will not get you into heaven.  Getting in the
church will not get you into heaven.  Only by repenting of
your sin and trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation will get
you into heaven.
	If you have made a profession of faith, but have never
been saved, then I am going to call upon you not to delay
another day.  Please, get this vital matter taken care of
today by placing your eternal destiny in the hands of Jesus
Christ and trust in Him to take care of your soul.
	Let me now direct a question to those who have the
assurance in your heart that you have trusted Jesus and you
have never made your profession public.  My question is,
"What is holding you back?"  Why not come today and make you
profession of faith be known.  That is a good way to start o
being fruitful for the Lord.
	I have one final question.  This question is directed to
 those who are saved and you know it and you have already
made your public profession of faith in Jesus and joined a
New Testament church.  The question I have for you is this:
Are you satisfied with the fruit that you are producing for
the Lord?  If not, then maybe you, yourself, can do some
pruning in your life so that you can become more fruitful
for God.  Maybe you can dedicate more time to the worship
and service of God.  Maybe you can dedicate more time to
prayer and Bible study.  Maybe you can dedicate more time to
witnessing to those who are lost.
	
Conclusion:

	Who will come today?