Fruitful for the Father - The Branches

‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 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. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:1‭-‬8 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.15.1-8.NIVUK There are three types of branches in this parable. The first type is the fruitless branch: He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit. John 15:2 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.15.2.NIVUK The Greek word here that is translated as 'cuts off' could potentially have another meaning. You see, gardeners in the Mediterranean, when they see a branch of a vine that doesn't bear fruit, will not cut it off right away. No, they will lift it up from the ground and try to expose it to more sunlight in the hope that fruit will develop. It's possible that the Greek word could also refer to this, as pointed out by James Montgomery Price. After Jesus spoke to the Jews about the need to repent of their sins, He then told them this short parable: Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig-tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, “For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig-tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?” ‘ “Sir,” the man replied, “leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig round it and fertilise it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.” ’ Luke 13:6‭-‬9 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/luk.13.6-9.NIVUK What He is saying there, and, I believe, in John 15, is that if we are fruitless then He will do what He can to make us fruitful. However, if we consistently refuse to receive the nutrients we need by being in Him; if we refuse to obey His commands and live His way; if we resist His calls to fruitfulness, then we can only expect to be cut off from the vine. There is a second type of branch. This type of branch is withered and dry: ‘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. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. John 15:5‭-‬6 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.15.5-6.NIVUK These branches have taken the decision to no longer receive nutrients from the vine. These are people who have chosen to no longer be in Christ, to no longer receive or respond to His love, to no longer obey His commands. This lack causes their spiritual life to dry up. If the process is not stopped quickly, they dry out completely and then become utterly useless for anything but burning. A gardener will to all he can to restore a fruitless branch by encouraging it to take in nutrients. The vine is his livelihood. The vine speaks of his reputation as a gardener. Of course he will try to restore it. But a withered branch is different. A withered branch blocks light from the sun getting to fruitful branches. A withered branch puts extra strain on the vine, which is forced to carry its dead weight. A withered branch has to be cut off for the sake of the other branches. A coconut palm is a very useful tree. Its wood is tough and hard-wearing. It can be used to make timber beams for houses and boats. Its leaves can be used for roofing and for biodegradable plates. Its sap can be used as a drink. Its fruit is good for drinking, eating, building, for beauty products, even as a polish for natural wooden floors. It's truly a valuable tree. Not so the vine. It has one use: for fruit. Its wood is too soft. Once the branch of a vine withers, you can do nothing with it but burn it. This is why Jesus puts the emphasis on fruit here. Our purpose on earth is to be fruitful. We are good for nothing else. So what of the fruitful branch then? Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. John 15:2‭-‬3 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.15.2-3.NIVUK ‘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 15:5 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.15.5.NIVUK If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:7‭-‬8 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.15.7-8.NIVUK So the gardener prunes each branch that bears fruit so that it bears more fruit. One of our neighbours showed us this with a flower bush in our garden. She showed us that if we remove dead, old growth then it allows new growth to appear. But this is more than that. The word was also used of things that were ceremonially clean. Of people who were ceremonially clean and free of sin or anything that might cause them to not participate in worship. Jesus is not talking of a quick spring clean or a wash around the ears here. He is talking about a deep clean. He said that the disciples were clean already because of the words He had spoken to them. They had been deep cleaned inside. As have we, if we have come to believe in Him. And this is what makes us fruitful. However, there are still times when the Father's pruning knife still needs to cut, places where we could still be more fruitful, areas where old die-hard habits are preventing growth. Although we are already clean, the Father still needs to clean house there too (John 13:10). Although we are already fruitful, there is still room for us to be more fruitful. This is where we need to understand how the Father prunes. Yes, He does prune through the preaching of the Word, as Jesus says, when we hear the Word, confess our sins and repent (1 John 1:8-10). But there are times when we don't listen, when the pruning knife has to cut deeper. For this He can use miraculous interventions (like with Moses and the Israelites throughout the Exodus), visions and dreams (Acts 10, 16:9), hardship and even persecution (Acts 11:19-20). This is where we need to consider our present situation. Could God, in His Divine wisdom, knowing everything we need to be truly fruitful, be using our present sufferings to prune us and make us more fruitful? Could these troubles not be a sign of cursing, but blessing? Could He be using them to make us better followers of His Son? No gardener prunes dead branches. That would be a waste of time. No gardener prunes fruitless branches. They are not producing. They need more nutrients first. No, it is the fruitful branches where the pruning knife cuts deep, where the dead areas of past growth that no longer serve any purpose are removed, where hardness is broken and where new life is encouraged to grow. We should not get too downhearted when the pruning knife cuts deep, even if it hurts. It could be that God is preparing us to bear more fruit for Him.