Reflective Bible Study

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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

John the Baptist’s birth was anything from ordinary. From having parents who were well past typical child bearing years all the way to a father who was struck mute for the duration of the pregnancy, from the very beginning of John’s life, it was clear that he was destined to become someone significant in the course of Jewish history.

Not only did John’s parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, grasp this truth, but following John’s entrance into the world and Zechariah’s restored voice, we read the reaction their neighbors had. “All his neighbors were filled with fear and wonder. Throughout Judea’s hill country, people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it. And because the Lord was with John, they asked, ‘What is this child going to be?’” (v. 65-66)

From the moment Zechariah was struck mute, people took notice; from the point when John was conceived, even more people took notice; and from the point when John was born, the story of what was happening was spreading across Judea.

From his birth, John had an immediate reputation that he was to do something big for God, and perhaps this is why we read the verse that concludes this passage: “The child [John] grew up, and his spirit became strong. He lived in the desert until he appeared openly to Israel.” (v. 80)

Possibly following his twelfth birthday, or maybe if his parents died a little before or after that time, John moved away from the town and into the desert. Perhaps this was to get away from people watching him, or perhaps it was to simply have alone time with God to prepare.

From the moment of John’s birth, people knew God was beginning to step back into history, and from his birth, people knew John’s life would be special and significant. In our own lives, while we likely didn’t have a mute father while in the womb, and while we likely didn’t have someone give a prophecy about our life when we were born, each of us is alive because God has a special plan for us. In God’s eyes, you and I are special and significant like John the Baptist.

When reading about the various events, teaching, and miracles in Jesus’ time on earth, I am continually amazed at how Jesus ministered and taught. One thing that I admire about Jesus is how He responds to the religious leaders in this event.

While the event we are looking at is included in Mark and Luke as well, Matthew’s version shifts the focus of the conversation slightly, and in this shift, we see an interesting response Jesus shares that Mark and Luke don’t include.

“Jesus left that place and went to a synagogue, where there was a man who had a paralyzed hand. Some people were there who wanted to accuse Jesus of doing wrong, so they asked him, ‘Is it against our Law to heal on the Sabbath?’” (v. 9-10)

Jesus chose this synagogue perhaps because He knew this disabled man would be there, or maybe this event was a set up and these leaders invite Jesus into their trap. Either way, they want to catch Him saying or doing something that breaks what is acceptable on the Sabbath, and they have already judged healing to be unlawful on the day of rest.

While Jesus disagrees with their assessment of where the line of acceptable work on the Sabbath is, instead of getting into a debate over where the line is placed, He answers with an illustration. Jesus’ response emphasizes His point while also making those holding to the opposing idea look unloving and insensitive – which is exactly what they are being like and exactly opposite of what God’s character is.

Jesus responded to their question by saying, “What if one of you has a sheep and it falls into a deep hole on the Sabbath? Will you not take hold of it and lift it out? And a human being is worth much more than a sheep! So then, our Law does allow us to help someone on the Sabbath.” (v. 11-12)

While I am unaware of all the laws that the Pharisees had written to help keep people from breaking God’s big laws, perhaps in this response, Jesus draws our attention to an inconsistency in the way they were interpreting their laws. In Jesus’ illustration, the individual is allowed to “take hold of it and lift it out”. In any other situation, this could be classified as work, but somewhere, the exclusion was made for helping livestock that were in danger or needing help.

Jesus simply attaches His healing to the loophole by emphasizing that humans are more valuable than animals – and with the illustration fresh in people’s minds, Jesus then attaches the conclusion of this illustration to His clear response. By the logic of the laws in place, “our Law does allow us to help someone on the Sabbath.” (v. 12b)

Jesus uses the word “help” in His response as opposed to the word “heal”. He then helps the disabled man out by simply suggesting that he stretches out his hand. The man’s faith caused the healing. Jesus simply helped.

This event tells us that God wants us to help others regardless of the day of the week it is, and that His character places love over legalism, and helping others over strict obedience.