Each of us is known by different titles, some more than others. Throughout my sixteen years in the United States Air Force, I was called a lot of things; some of which are not appropriate to write in a college paper! Some of the titles were given to me by others, some were due to duty positions I held, while others were self-created or self-appointed. Jesus had many titles during His ministry here on earth. Some of those titles existed from the foundations of the universe, some were given by men He encountered, while others were titles He referenced Himself as. In John 15:1, Jesus told His disciples that He is the “true vine.” This statement relates to God as revealed in the Old Testament, reveals the deity of Christ, and is applicable and relevant in the lives of believers and followers of Jesus Christ today.

Imagine, if you will, you are one of Jesus’ disciples. You’ve just left the upper room where you partook in the last meal you’d have with Jesus here on earth. You know something is coming, Jesus has warned you of things to come, and there’s a heaviness in the air. In Encountering John, Köstenberger writes, “It is possible that Jesus and the eleven have left the upper room and are passing through the scenery illustrating Jesus’s teaching. A vineyard setting would indeed be a highly suggestive environment for Jesus’s teaching, especially since ‘God’s vineyard’ is a frequent Old Testament designation for Israel.” You’re walking and then the Messiah begins to speak; His calm voice cutting the tension in the air like a knife. Reaching out and touching one of the vines, Jesus tells you, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandmen. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit is taken away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”

Jesus continues as He holds up the vine. “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” You have so many questions to ask, but you begin to reflect on the teachings of Jesus over the last three years. As you walk, you think back on the books from hundreds of years ago written by prophets and men of old.
In Jesus Is the Christ: Studies in the Theology of John, Morris writes, “We should bear in mind that there are passages in the Old Testament that speak of Israel using vine imagery. Each time, however, it seems that God is pointing out Israel’s sin. Thus we should understand the thought that Christ is the ‘true’ vine as marking the contrast with faithless Israel.” Morris further explains, “In the Old Testament the vine is often a symbol of Israel, sometimes a degenerate Israel. Throughout the Old Testament, the symbol for Israel has often been the vine.
Examples of the vine being used to depict this relationship can be found in Psalms 80:9-16, Isaiah 5:1-7, 27:2-6, Jeremiah 2:21, 12:10, Ezekiel 15:1-8, 17:1-21, 19:10-14, and Hosea 10:1-2. Dr. J. Vernon McGee, in his commentary, writes regarding the nation of Israel, “It was a degenerate vine, and Jesus now presents Himself as the genuine vine. Salvation is not by being in Israel, but being in Christ – isn’t that what branch is doing in the vine?”
Not only does the “I Am the True Vine” relate to Old Testament passages and God revealed in the Old Testament, but it also reveals the deity of Christ.

Pastor John MacArthur writes in The MacArthur Bible Commentary, “Through this extended metaphor of the vine and branches, Jesus set forth the basis of Christian living. Jesus used the imagery of agricultural life at the time; vines and vine crops. Jesus specifically identified Himself as the ‘true vine’ and the Father as the ‘vinedresser’ or caretaker of the vine.” In Encountering John, Köstenberger explains, “The parallel between the fruitfulness of Jesus and that of his disciples, depicted in this allegory as branches of the vine, is obvious: “This is to my Father’s glory, that your bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples…I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.” (15:8, 16). Jesus, knowing what was about the happen with the next few hours and days following, is giving His disciples instructions by using the metaphor of the vine and branches. He is telling them that their purpose as followers of Him, is to bear fruit in their lives that is eternal. Köstenberger writes, “The disciples have already been cleansed; now all that remain for them is to remain in Jesus. For just as branches cannot bear fruit once severed from the vine, so believers cannot be fruitful apart from Jesus. Anyone who does not remain in Jesus is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned.” He further states, “’Remaining in Jesus’ entails being indwelt with the Spirit and producing spiritual fruit.” If Jesus wasn’t the Messiah, and if He isn’t God, statements such as these and what He told the disciples, would be without merit. Again, Jesus is pointing to Himself and saying that He is the true vine and in order to bear fruit that is lasting, eternal, and which glorifies God, believers in Him must stay close to the true vine.

A branch that is not connected to the vine bears fruit that is not worthy of being kept. The vinedresser, in this case God, gathers those branches and they are cast away and burned in the fire.

How can believers and followers of Christ apply this to their lives today? In Jesus Is the Christ, Morris states, “Salvation in Christ is not a process that leads us into magnificent laziness. Salvation in Christ is meant to result in the saved producing qualities of character that accord with their Christian profession and in their having a horror of fruitless lives. It is an error to suppose that in the energy of the flesh we are able to do anything that pleases God. For that we need the strength that he alone can supply.” It is important for those who claim to be Christians to regularly self-reflect. The Holy Spirit, once someone becomes a Christian, works within us to keep us grounded and rooted in Christ. Those who do not know Christ feel the longing for something more, and that only Christ can fill, but they have never experienced the fulfillment that only a relationship with Jesus can provide. It is important that we examine ourselves and areas of our lives, and prune or cleanse the areas that do not give God the glory or lead to bearing fruit that is not lasting. What are my relationships like? Where am I spending my money? What books do I find myself reading? What websites do I find myself going to when I am alone? What jokes or conversations am I laughing at or having? What am I watching on television?

These are all questions that I ask myself quite regularly. I can always tell when I am beginning to get away from the True Vine because things in my life seem out of balance. When my relationship with God is out of balance, my relationships with others are typically the first to suffer. I find myself getting impatient with others, lacking empathy, compassion, and love. I find myself becoming unhappy with myself. While the external things may be going well at the moment, internally I am not at peace.

There is a lack of joy that can only be found when abiding in Christ and staying close to Him. When these things begin to happen, I reflect on my own spiritual life and walk with Christ. How is my prayer life? Am I spending time in God’s Word every day? What changed? What needs to change? Only when necessary changes are made and I once again cling to Christ, is balance restored in my life. One passage in Scripture I go to often is Philippians 3:13-15, which says, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.”

Jesus told the disciples, “I Am the True Vine.” While these words reveal His deity and can be linked to passages in the Old Testament, His extended metaphor of the vine and branches are very much applicable and relevant to our lives today. It is only by staying close to Christ that a Christian can be fulfilled. It is only by staying close to Christ and bearing lasting fruit, that a Christian can uphold a testimony which points others to Christ and salvation through Him.

There simply is no other way.

Bibliography

Köstenberger, Andreas J. Encountering john: The gospel in historical, literary, and Theological Perspective. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2013.
MacArthur, John. The macarthur bible commentary: Unleashing god’s truth, one verse at a time. Nashville, TN: Nelson Reference & Electronic, 2006.
McGee, J. Vernon. Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee. Nashville: T. Nelson, 1981. Morris, Leon. Jesus is the christ: Studies in theology of john. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,
1989.
The holy bible: King James Version. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC, 2020.