1 “I am the true vine. My Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch joined to me that does not bear fruit. He trims every branch that does bear fruit. Then it will bear even more fruit.
3 “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain joined to me, and I will remain joined to you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain joined to the vine. In the same way, you can’t bear fruit unless you remain joined to me.
5 “I am the vine. You are the branches. If anyone remains joined to me, and I to him, he will bear a lot of fruit. You can’t do anything without me. 6 If anyone does not remain joined to me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and dries up. Branches like those are picked up. They are thrown into the fire and burned.
7 “If you remain joined to me and my words remain in you, ask for anything you wish. And it will be given to you.8 When you bear a lot of fruit, it brings glory to my Father. It shows that you are my disciples.
9 “Just as the Father has loved me, I have loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. In the same way, I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy will be in you. I also want your joy to be complete.
12 “Here is my command. Love each other, just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than the one who gives his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
15 “I do not call you servants anymore. Servants do not know their master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends. I have told you everything I learned from my Father.
16 “You did not choose me. Instead, I chose you. I appointed you to go and bear fruit. It is fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name.
17 “Here is my command. Love each other.
Read John 15:1-17 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Have you ever pruned or witnessed someone pruning a grapevine or a tree?
I have not; however, what I read in the first few verses in this passage sounds a lot like the pruning process. Jesus tells us that God is like a gardener, and He cuts off all the branches that don’t bear fruit, and He trims the branches that do bear fruit (verse 2). Both stages involve removing parts of the vine.
This is an interesting two step process:
First, God cuts off all the “dead” branches – because whether a branch is literally dead or just not bearing fruit, it is not being useful to the tree/vine. It is taking up space and light that could be better used by a “fruit-producing” branch.
Secondly, God trims the branches that do bear fruit. This is interesting, since one might think that if a vine is producing fruit, we should leave it alone so it can continue. But this isn’t God’s way. Trimming branches that are bearing fruit is like waking them up to produce more. Not only does trimming take and help optimize the branch’s fruit potential, but it also keeps the branch from “getting lazy”.
When God has cut off a branch, it is like He is removing a large portion and saying that it is not salvageable, but when God trims a branch, He is working to remove all the clutter and distractions in order to allow that branch to be even more fruitful. Cutting off branches is painful, but necessary for the vine as a whole. Trimming branches, while still painful for the branch, is helpful because it lets the branch know there is potential to be even better.
Which then makes me wonder: what is the theme or deeper meaning that Jesus is saying in this metaphor?
He opens this passage by saying it: “I am the true vine.” Jesus is talking about Himself, and those who are connected to Him – we might even call them “Christians”.
So if God the Father (a.k.a. the Gardener) is in the pruning business, where does that leave you and me? This passage makes it clear that there are two types of removal that will happen, and only one test determining which removal will take place: The unfruitful branches are “cut off”, while the fruitful ones are “trimmed”.
God’s cutting away has a focus. The focus is on keeping the vine alive and well. If one of us is pulling away from Jesus, or is not interested in “being fruitful” (which we could call sharing Jesus and/or showing the “fruits of the Spirit” in our lives), then there will be a point where they will be “cut off” from the vine.
God’s trimming also has a focus. The focus of His trimming is to make those who are already producing fruit have the ability to be even more fruitful. This could be removing unproductive areas of our lives, bad habits, trivial hobbies, or simply clearing out space for us to be able to see our true focus in life.
When God removes something, there is always a purpose: the health of the “true Vine”. When we understand that God is going to be taking an interest in our lives as branches on that vine, will He find us being fruitful (and trim off the excess), or will He find us dead or fruitless and cut us off?
The choice is ours to make.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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