Vine and fruit

John 15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² 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. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I will 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. ⁵ "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ⁸ This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Can you tell me the difference between the following statements: 1. When I go away to a pastors’ conference, I come home to the wife. 2. When I go away to a pastors’ conference, I come home to a wife.

Although there is only one word changed in the two sentences, that one word makes a big difference. Congratulations if you figured out the difference.

I offer you my congratulations because not everybody can see such distinctions. At least that appears to be the conclusion of a recent in-depth study made by the Barna Group. In one study, Barna found that 50% of Americans believe the Bible, the Islamic Qu’ran, and the Book of Mormon are different ways of expressing the same truths.

In other words, one-half of Americans believe these three books are just different paths that lead to the same destination … different roads which lead to the same god.

That is completely the opposite of what Jesus says in today’s Gospel. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” Not one of many vines. Not one vine that leads to many gods. Jesus is the true and only vine. It is only connected to this vine of Jesus that we may receive nourishment, faith and life. It is only by being connected to this vine that we may bear fruit.

Jesus continues: “Remain in me, and I will 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 a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

If you listened closely to Jesus’ words, did you hear the command and the promise? People usually get them confused. The command is not to bear fruit – that is the promise. The command is to remain in Christ. When that is done, we will bear fruit. The fruit that God desires. The fruit that only God can produce.

But we hear lots of talk about fruit. Pastors want members who will be active in doing things around the church. Parents want children who will be obedient, polite and respectful around the home. All of us want our five confirmands to keep their confirmation vows of being faithful in worship, receiving the Lord’s Supper and sharing their faith. So, when we hear Jesus talk about bearing fruit, we begin to think about all the things we have to do. “I have to please God.” “I have to sin less.” “I have to be more holy.” “I have to do all those things God wants me to do, and bear the fruit He wants me to bear, or He’ll cut me off and throw me into the fire.”

And so we try. We really do! To clean up our lives. To stay on the straight and narrow path. To not do all the “Thou shalt nots” and to do all the “Thou shalts.” But then one of two things happens: we either become proud of the progress we’ve made and think we’re doing pretty well! Better than most! “Look at all those sinners!” Or we begin to despair because of our lack of progress; because no matter how hard we try, we just cannot do what God commands. “What a failure I am!” Or, we go back and forth between the two! One day feeling pretty good about ourselves and our progress in the Christian life; and the next day plunged back into depression because everything that looked so good and promising keeps getting wiped out by the same old sins over and over again!

Either way, we end up in the same place – apart from Christ. Cut off from the vine. Dead branches. All because we think we can do it ourselves (with a little spiritual boost from God), or thinking it cannot be done at all.

That’s because we are focusing on the fruit. And the fruit is the wrong thing to focus on.

That’s not to say that producing good fruit isn’t important – it most certainly is! We want to live good Christian lives. We want to be salt and light and ambassadors for Christ. Six times producing fruit is mentioned in these verses, with Jesus talking not just about fruit, but His desire for more fruit, and much fruit. But it is important to realize that the fruit is not the command here – it is the promise. A promise that is meant to comfort and encourage us in this life. We are to let the fruit flow naturally out of the connection we have with Christ.

Before we can ever focus on the fruit, we must focus on the vine. We were born separated from this vine. Dead.  Dried up. Barren. By nature, the only fruit we were bearing was bad fruit, sinful fruit, which is worse than no fruit at all. But then we sinful branches were grafted onto the true vine of Jesus Christ. This took place at the baptismal font. Through the water of Holy Baptism we were connected to Jesus and given new life in Him. For three of our confirmands, that new life and grafting took place at this very font.

Once we are grafted to the vine of Christ, like the branches weaving their way around the arch picturing Christ in our church, then Christ abides in us and we abide in Him. When that happens, we are forgiven. And through that forgiveness we become something altogether different; something other that what we were before. We become children of God. Good branches bearing the good fruits of repentance and faith.

We become connected and remain connected to the vine by the same means – the Means of Grace – God’s Word and Sacraments. Then you will bear the fruit that you and your heavenly Father desire. For God will see to it. He is the gardener who does not just plant us in our Savior and then leave us on our own – He continues to care for us.

He feeds us with His Son’s body and blood, so we may grow in faith, blossom, be strengthened and produce the fruits of faith. He bathes us with baptismal waters being sprinkled over us every time we repent and receive His absolution. When we become parched by sin, He waters us with His forgiveness, so that we will not wither under the heat and oppression of our sins. When the challenges and struggles and temptations of the world seek to drag us down, He covers our branches like protection from a strong wind or deep frost. When we become wild branches, becoming overconfident that we don’t need to remain connected to the vine, He prunes our pride with suffering, so that we repent and rely on Him alone. He ties us and binds us up with His Word of truth, that we grow and produce not when and where and how we want, but in accordance with His good and gracious will.

Grape vines are a very rugged crop, but at the same time, they are a very delicate fruit that requires being treated with kid gloves. Our five confirmands are the same. They are very hearty, head-strong, single-minded students. But they are also very delicate. And they are entering a world that wishes to squash them and squish them. A recent poll showed that 50% of Millennials – these young people – describe themselves as “unaffiliated” when it comes to religion. (Public Religion Research Institute and Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs.) The devil and the world wish to cut down these young people, so they are cut off from Christ, so they dry up and wither, so they will eventually be thrown into the eternal fires.

Though they, like all of us, should be cut off and thrown into the fires of hell, Jesus became the One who was cut off in our place. By taking all of our wildness, all our uncontrollability, all our rebellion, all our unfruitfulness upon Himself. What we deserve, He received. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?” Cut off. “I thirst.” Cut off from the life and juice of the vine. “It is finished.” Dead. Cast away. Ready to be burned.

Except, He wasn’t burned. The vine roared back to life in resurrection! The fires of hell cannot consume Him – He is victorious over them! The bonds of the grave cannot keep Him – He bursts them! The penalty of sin cannot enslave Him – it has been paid in full! And so the Tree of Life lives again! You have been grafted into Him, and in Him you have life, true life, now and forever.

As they remain connected to Christ through His Word and Sacraments, Christ will remain in them. That’s a promise! As they remain in Christ, they will bear much fruit. That is the command! The immediate fruits these young people might bear in their lives and for Christ’s kingdom are plenty and bountiful. They have the fruits of drawing, playing instruments, playing sports or dancing or singing. These are great! And I pray they bear these fruit for our church in worship, among their friends as they witness for Christ and throughout their lives as they glorify God with their fruits and talents. These may be their immediate fruits.

But the most important fruits of faith come in their confessions of faith. I asked each of them to answer the question, “Why are you willing to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from the faith in which you are about to be confirmed?” Listen to these confirmands give you the testimony of their fruits, and observe what being connected to Christ means to each of them.

“I would rather be tortured or dead than to refuse my faith in God because of what Jesus did for me. It’s that simple. He suffered the worst in the whole world and no one else will be able to suffer anything worse than what he did. I want to stand firm in my faith like the apostles did. They went to prison, they were tortured, and anything else you could imagine, so I want to follow in their footsteps by not falling from the gospel. Having a short time on earth suffering will be worth it; because once I die I know I will go to heaven thankful that I never fell away from my faith in God.”

“I know that the only thing that will matter in the end is it I have faith. Because if I do have faith and I die, I'll go to heaven. But if I don't, I will go to hell. And the worst possible thing that could ever happen to me is to be away from God. To not have him watching over me for all of eternity.”

“Because God has done more than any in the whole world could do for me, and he loves and forgives everything that I do. Because of the things he has done for me, I will be going to heaven in a place just for me.”

“… We live in a world today where Christ's word is mocked, and his believers are mocked as well. … If people are to know about Jesus, we must tell them of the plan of salvation. And believers, like me, are to spread this word so that others acknowledge it. But the ones whom Satan has possessed and many unbelievers hate and or despise this word and want to get rid of it. So they will even murder the messengers of this word. So I would give up my life in the name of Christ preaching his word so that others at least hear it and have a chance at being saved through faith. So if I die trying to preach someone this word, that would be what I have given back to my Lord for him giving up his life for me.”

“When I got baptized, that put God’s Spirit in me. I was brought up learning about God and everything His Son Jesus did for me. I know that I will be in Heaven with God because I believe in Him and His Word. My Pastor has taught me well!” (Yes, I have. Here’s your dollar.)

There is a difference. There is a difference in going home to the wife or going home to a wife. You just heard that there is a difference between these five young people and most other 8^th graders. That’s because they believe in a different kind of Savior. A Savior of promise. A Savior who promises that if you remain in Him, then He will remain in you. From that promise flows the promise these confirmands are making today. Willing to die for Jesus. Showing yourselves to be God’s disciples. Bearing much fruit. To the glory of the Father. Amen. 

“This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Amen.