Praise the Lord! Let us extol and glorify our heavenly Father who has blessed us  with another week. We have experienced His love and mercy in our life this past week and it is God’s promise that He will continue to bless us with boundless spiritual blessings for the rest of our days on earth (2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 3:20; Philippians 4:19). As the receivers of God’s grace and mercy, let us pass on to others a part of the blessings we receive in our life. We are called to bless others and we are called serve others. The Scripture teaches us that we have been chosen by God in His great compassion and mercy and, ultimately, we are saved by His grace through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5). When the Scripture says that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ, it is because we were loved by God while we were still sinners, we are vindicated by God while we were still sinners, and we were saved by God while we were still sinners. Apostle Paul stated that: God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8; also refer to: John 3:16). The primary purposes of Jesus’ coming down in to this world as human being were (i) to reveal God the Father to us; (ii) to reveal Father’s love for humanity; (iii) to seek and to save the lost in God’s great mercy and compassion (Luke 19:10; also refer to: Ezekiel 34:12; Matthew 18:11; John 3:17; 1 Timothy 1:15); (iv) to give us life in abundance that will last forever. This means that we are all saved by God for a reason/purpose.  And this also means that every person who is born into this world also has a reason/purpose for their lives. When we study the Scripture, we can understand that many were called for a special purpose, as Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus: In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will (Ephesians 1:11). For instance: Abraham was chosen for a purpose (Genesis 12:1-3; Nehemiah 9:7); Isaac and Jacob were chosen for a purpose (Genesis 21:12); David was chosen for a purpose (2 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22, 36), Zerubbabel was chosen for a purpose (Haggai 2:23); John the Baptist was chosen for a purpose (Luke 1:76-80); and so on. Jesus said, He came to preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God, as it is mentioned in Luke 4:43 that I [Jesus] must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent. As the followers of Jesus Christ, we need to fulfill the purpose for which we are called to (Romans 8:28-29). Now, the mission and mandate has been given to us to preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Jesus said: And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14).

We are blessed with a very interesting passage for our meditation this week (John 15:1-8 mentioned above). The key focus of this passage is the relationship of Jesus (being the Vine) with His Father in heaven (as the Gardner of the Vine), and with His disciples (as the branches of the vine). Through this allegorical teaching, Jesus tells His disciples how they can be effective and fruitful in their ministries. We know that Jesus did not come to this world to stay forever in human form. In fact, His incarnation in human form was for a short period of time (about thirty-three years), and He was incarnated for a specific purpose, which is to carry out His Father’s vision and mission (Missio Dei) in this world. The primary focus of His mission was to reconcile fallen humanity with the Lord God Almighty who created the universe and everything in it (Genesis 1:1-31; Psalm 24:1; Jeremiah 32:17; Colossians 1:16; Revelation 4:11), including mankind (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7; Psalm 139:13-14).  He came to help us regain our original position (the image and likeness of God) in the presence of God and give us eternal life by laying down His very life on the cross (Matthew 20:28; John 3:16; 15:13; Romans 5:8; 6:23; 1 John 3:16; 4:9-10). Although, Jesus fulfilled everything the Father has commanded Him to carry out, the mission of God continues until the end of the age. In order to continue the mission of God on earth following His ascension to heaven, Jesus prepared a group of people (the apostles and other disciples) who would eventually continue the ministry. His wholesome preaching, teaching, and training ministry prepared His followers to see what Jesus sees and hear what Jesus hears and it empowered them to rediscover new possibilities with the help of the Holy Spirit in carrying out the mission of God. They learned from what they saw and heard from Jesus, they learned from His preachings and teachings; and, above all else, they observed and learned life-lessons from His exemplary lifestyle.  All of this helped them (and will help us) to carry out the ministry effectively.

In addition to all the training and preparation for the mission of God, Jesus gave His disciples a very crucial piece of advice that will help them to be fruitful in their ministry: Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:4-5 [15:1-8]). As the co-laborers in God’s mission, we need to understand two important factors from this advice – a positive factor and a negative factor: the positive factor is that if they (the branches) remain in Jesus (the true Vine) they can bear much fruit (John 15:5); and the negative factor is that if they (the branches) do not remain in Him (the true Vine) it is impossible to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God (John 15:4). It is important to know that in order to bear much fruit, as a co-laborer in God’s mission, we need to remain in Jesus and work tirelessly. If we remain in Him but don’t work hard, we cannot bear much fruit. Similarly, if we work hard but don’t remain in Him, it is impossible to bear fruit, we will only make ourselves worn out.

In and through this passage (John 15:1-8), Jesus made it clear that the vine and the branch belong to the gardener – the Lord God Almighty, His Father (John 15:1) – and no branch can bear fruit by itself (John 15:4b, 5) rather it must remain in the vine (in Jesus) in order to bear fruit (John 15:4c). It doesn’t matter which branch it is or who the person is – the branch or the person must remain in Him in order to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. We also see the differences that are evident here between those who remain in Him and those who do not remain in Him – the positive impacts on those who remain in Him and the negative impacts on those who do not remain in Him.

• • The Positive impacts on those who remain in Him:
    • The branch that remains in the vine bears much fruit (John 15:2b)
    • The gardener will prune the branch that bears fruit so that it will be even more fruitful (John 15:2c)
    • The branches that remain in the vine (or those who remain in Jesus) are clean (John 15:3)
    • Jesus remains in them who remain in Him (John 15:4a)
    • The branch that remains in the vine bears much fruit (John 15:5b)
    • The person who remains in Jesus and who has His word remain in them will have their prayers answered and whatever they wish will be done for them (John 15:7)
    • The person who bears much fruit will bring glory to God (John 15:8a)
    • The person who bears much fruit will be called Jesus’ disciples (John 15:8b)
  • Negative impacts on those who do not remain in Him:
    • Jesus does not remain in them who does not remain in Him (John 15:4b)
    • The branch that does not remain in the vine cannot bear fruit (John 15:4)
    • The gardener cuts off every branch in that bears no fruit (John 15:2a)
    • The branches that do not remain in the vine (or those who do not remain in Jesus) are not clean (John 15:3)
    • The branches that do not remain in the vine (or those who do not remain in Jesus) are like a branch that is thrown away and withers (John 15:6a)
    • The branches that do not remain in the vine (or those who do not remain in Jesus) will be thrown into the fire and burned (John 15:6b)
    • The person who does not remain in Jesus and if His words does not remain in them, their prayers will not be answered and whatever they wish, it will not be done for them (John 15:7)
    • The person who does not bear fruit will not bring glory to God (John 15:8a)
    • The person who does not bear fruit will not be called Jesus’ disciples (John 15:8b)

When we study the Old Testament, many of the writers (particularly the prophets) connected the people of God with a vineyard, especially His chosen people Israel. Prophet Isaiah connected the nation of Israel with a vineyard that was planted by God Himself. Let us examine a couple of songs he wrote about the vineyard of God:

1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.” 7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress (Isaiah 5:1-7)

Elsewhere, prophet Isaiah talks about the vineyard in connection with the people of Israel:

2 In that day—“Sing about a fruitful vineyard: 3 I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it. 4 I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle; I would set them all on fire. 5 Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.” 6 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit (Isaiah 27:2-6)

One of the Psalmists, Asaph, also connected the people of Israel with a vineyard. Asaph wrote:

8 You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches. 11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea, its shoots as far as the River (Psalm 80:8-11)

From the writings of prophet Isaiah, we can understand that God Himself dug and cleared the ground on a fruitful hill and planted the choicest vine. He nurtured and protected His vine and set up a watchtower and winepress in His vineyard. He did everything possible for the fruit to be nourished (Isaiah 5:1-4a). As He was waiting for good grapes to come forth, it yielded only bad fruit. Similarly, God did everything possible for the good of His chosen people Israel, but they forsook the God of Israel and practiced idolatry by running after the deities of the nations that God drove out from their presence. Their hands were corrupted with bloodshed and justice was denied for the poor and they did not care for the destitute and needy. Despite God taking care of His vineyard very well with extra care, His people turned their back on Him and walked away from His presence.

Jesus said, He is the true vine, His Father is the gardener, and we His disciples are the branches (John 15:1, 5). He urged His disciples to remain in Him, so that He will remain in them and they will be able to bear much fruit. Like a branch remains in the vine, we must remain in Him. When Jesus said, I am the vine, He gives us confidence that we can trust Him in any given circumstance. As a follower of Jesus Christ, it is important for us to know the ‘I AM’ sayings of Jesus. Each of the ‘I AM’ sayings assure us of something very important:

• • I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty (John 6:35 [also refer to 6:48, 51])
  • I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12)
  • I am the door/gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture (John 10:9)
  • I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11)
  • I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die (John 11:25-26)
  • I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6)
    • Jesus said: I am the Way … and no one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6a)
    • Jesus said: I am the Truth … and the truth shall make you free (John 14:6b; 8:32)
    • Jesus said: I am the Life … and whoever has the Son has life (John 14:6c; 1 John 5:11-12)
  • I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener, if you remain in Me, you will be able to bear much fruit (John 15:1, 5)

Dear friends, as the true disciples of Jesus, we are called to love one another and bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God. In order to have a good start for us to bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God, we must start loving God the same way Jesus loved His Father in heaven (John 14:31; Luke 22:42b), and we must love others just like Lord Jesus loved us – He loved everyone equally (John 13:34). We are called to care for each other and everyone else the same way Jesus is taking care of us (Luke 6:31). Jesus said:

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:28-31)

Let us ask ourselves, are we able to bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God? If not, let’s examine ourselves and ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us to bear much fruit. Let us also pray to our heavenly Father through Lord Jesus Christ to grant us wisdom and power and ability to fulfill the ministry we are called to carry out. May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!