The seventh ‘I AM’ statement of Jesus

“I AM THE TRUE VINE”

John 15:1-8

15 ‘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.

‘I am the true vine’ is the seventh and last of the “I am” statements of Jesus recorded in the gospel of John. This final ‘I AM’ statement is at the very heart of his Farewell Discourse (13:31-16:33) – Jesus’s last words to his friends on the night before he died.

With this one phrase, ‘I am the true vine’, Jesus presents an extended metaphor (15:1-8) and then explains it (15:9-17). He is saying to his disciples (then and now), ‘stay close to me and all will be well - but drift away and things will go wrong’.

The cultivation of vineyards was central to the life and economy of Israel. As we have seen from the other “I am” statements, Jesus was not introducing something new; it was familiar to every listener. But Jesus wasn’t simply using an agricultural metaphor so that his listeners would find it easier to understand: he was making another statement concerning his identity – that it is He who is the true ‘Israel’.

The vine was a symbol of the Hebrew nation. In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah wrote, ‘The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in’ (Isaiah 5:7). And we read in Psalm 80:8, that God had plucked “a vine out of Egypt” and had established it in the land of Canaan. But the Hebrew nation was a wayward vine.

The symbolism of the vine and branches is similar to that of the head and the body that the apostle Paul uses in Colossians (1:18). In order for us to survive, we must have a living relationship with Jesus and belong to him. We are unable to live on substitutes! As the true vine, Jesus encourages us to live, remain and make our home in him. He calls us to have an ongoing, active connection to him. In the same way a vine branch is able to produce the finest quality fruit as it is cared for and tended, we too are able to produce “fruit” that reflects our connection to Jesus (Galatians 5:22-23), and as we do so, we become more like him, and produce ‘fruit’ that will last.

What are the things that you do that help you maintain your relationship with Jesus?

What are the things that get in the way?

What things can you prune, to help you become closer to Jesus?

Will you ask Him to help you do that?

IN YOUR PRAYERS THIS WEEK

• God's peace and justice in all war torn places of the world, but especially in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan 
• the bereaved
• the sick, in mind, body or spirit, especially thinking of Carol Evans and Bob Austen
• the people of southern USA recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton
• wisdom for our churchwardens and PCC, as we continue the process of finding a new vicar
  

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