John 15.1-8

Easter 5

Hymns: 146, 348, 385, 249

On the night when Jesus was betrayed, the night we call Maun-dy Thursday, Jesus was focused on one thing: the time had come for him to finish the work he came to do, that is, to pay the debt of sin for the human race. But he would not pay that debt of sin in the way we pay our debts...with money. Nor did he pay the debt of sin the way a criminal pays his debt to socie-ty...by going to prison. But he did pay the debt of sin the way a murderer pays for his crime...by execution.

But there are a couple of striking differences between Jesus’ ex-ecution and the execution of a murderer today. 1) Jesus was in-nocent of any crime or any sin that called for the death penalty. And 2) his death was not relatively painless nor quick. It was not death by injecting lethal drugs into his vein but by slowly and agonizingly draining his life from him. And because he is both true man and true God, Jesus knew exactly what he was in for which is why he prayed to his Father on that Thursday night that if it were possible to pay the debt of sin for the human race other than by his crucifixion, he pleaded that his Father would allow him to do that...if it was his will.

There was no other way and Jesus accepted that. At the same time he knew that the time left for him to spend with his disci-ples was limited so he used that time wisely by telling them things that were of greatest importance. It’s what you would do if you knew you were close to death. You would weigh your words carefully and everything you said would have deep mean-ing because you knew they would be your final words.

And what important thing did Jesus want his disciples to know? Our text embodies one of the things Jesus shared with his disci-ples that he felt was of utmost importance. And for that reason you and I also need to pay attention to it...which is this: LIKE BRANCHES, CHRISTIANS REVEAL THE FRUIT OF THE VINE. This may not sound all that profound...branches on apple trees reveal apples, branches on grape bushes reveal grapes. But it is profound when we understand what Jesus had in mind with this imagery.

(v 5) Jesus is the vine, he is main stem of a bush or tree...the tap root that provides for and sustains life for that bush or tree. As life-supplying sap moves up the main vine into the branches, this is what provides life for those branches and makes it possi-ble for the fruit of that tree or bush to grow on those branches. You’ve seen a dead branch on a tree...no leaves, no flowers, no fruit. What do you do? You break off that dead branch and throw it away. It doesn’t mean that the tree or bush is dead but just that branch. Something cut off the supply of sap, the supply of life so that the branch died, which means that there was no longer any fruit on that branch either.

You and I are branches. We receive our life, our spiritual life from Jesus himself. And that spiritual life is revealed in the way we conduct ourselves, the way we live our life. We call our con-duct and way of life fruits of faith or fruit of the Vine.

For example: Galatians 5.22,23. If you were to suggest to some-one to rent a porno movie from Blockbuster would they, would that action reveal that you love Jesus? No. That would not be a fruit of faith. Or if you lost your temper, said something nasty to someone, or acted selfishly, would that reveal love for Jesus in your heart? How about if you complained that God doesn’t care what happens to you when bad things happen to you, or you stopped praying to God because you decided that he wasn’t listening to you anyhow and maybe told someone that it was a waste of time going to church or expecting God to help you through a difficult time...would this reveal a heart of love and faith in Jesus? Hardly. Anyone who would act like this, who would not reveal fruits of faith would indicate that they are like a dead branch, that there is no life in them because they have become detached from the life-giving vine. They would be cut off and burned in a fireplace or on a burning pile.

You know what this is describing (v 6). A branch that reveals no fruit is a branch that is without life. Someone who once was a Christian and showed his/her faith in the way he/she lived life but was cut off from Jesus and his supply of spiritual life is a person who lost faith and Mt 25.41.

Jesus describes something else that may be puzzling to some (v 1- 4). There is a difference between pruning and cutting off even though the procedure looks the same. If you have a tent caterpillar on the branch of a tree you cut that branch off and burn it. Or if you scrape the bark on a branch and discover that there is no green covering under the bark, the branch is dead and you cut it off burn it.

However when a branch reveals buds and fruit and green life beneath the bark, you will cut it back a bit but not cut it off at the trunk. You’re pruning it and by definition "to remove dead or living parts from a branch to improve the production of fruit or flowers." Pruning a branch doesn’t kill it but makes it stronger and increases the production of fruit.

When painful things happen in life to the Christian (and what is the most painful thing that could happen to you?), when painful things happen it is not because God is cutting you off from him-self destroying your faith. It is because he is pruning you to make you stronger and increase the fruit of faith, to reveal the fruit of the vine, Jesus, in your life.

What is the most painful thing that could happen to you? That you would lose your job or your health? That you would have to cut back from two cars to one, or sell your home, or walk away from your home? It is painful to have to struggle to survive or struggle with personal issues in your family. The list of painful items is longer than you or I care to think about.

But when all of the things in life seem to slip away or when things get worse in your life just when you had come to think that things couldn’t get worse, does that not drive you to the source of spiritual life and eternal life and heavenly life...to Jesus who paid for your sin and kept you from suffering the most painful thing that could happen to you which is to die without faith and without heaven and face eternal suffering in the fires of hell?

You are a branch connected to Jesus through faith. As long as you are connected to him you have his love and salvation. Let your love for Jesus be revealed in your life, the fruit of faith.