4/21/02 Sermon - Baldwin Christian Church

John 15

In the last verse of the fourteenth chapter of the great book of John, Jesus says "But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence." The time has come for Jesus to fulfill that which he's been charged to do, and he gives his disciples the order: get up, and let's go. They had just finished the last supper, and their destination was the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus knew he was going to be taken prisoner. It would seem that chapter 15 takes place during the walk from the upper room, and through the streets of Jerusalem. Chapters 16 and 17 also take place during this walk, and chapter 18 begins with them crossing the brook that flowed through the little valley. Since this brook is so close to the temple, it's not hard to imagine that it ran red with blood during the Passover.

Jesus knew what was about to happen to him. Judas had already left, and the betrayal was well underway. He knew what was going to happen to his disciples. He knew that soon after his death the disciples would not be welcome in the temple. He knew of the trials they would soon endure. They would be persecuted in his name. He had already warned them about that. I believe chapter 15 of John begins as Jesus and the group see the temple. It was Passover, which meant the moon was full. The moonlight would have glinted off of the golden vine that decorated the massive temple gate, and perhaps it caught the eye of Jesus. The vine has always been a national symbol for Israel. You can find this in Genesis 49, Isaiah chapter 5, Jeremiah chapter 2 and in the book of Hosea to name a few. Jacob himself had prophesied that the scepter would not depart from Judah until Shiloh come. Shiloh, the ruler who was to descend from Judah. Well, Shiloh was here, but he was about to be crucified, and he knew his disciples would be tempted to forsake him. After all, it is human nature to go along to get along. If the disciples returned to the law, and to Moses, after Jesus' death, there would be less chance of persecution. Knowing the hour of his trial was near, and the scepter was about to be passed, Jesus' words in chapter 15 may have been inspired when a shimmer of moonlight reflected off the golden vine.

John 15
1. I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

This passage is often translated to mean that if you are a Christian, and you're not bearing fruit, you will be taken away, and if your life does bear fruit, God will be pruning on you. After doing some word study of this verse, I now have a less painful view of what Jesus is telling us here.

"He taketh away..." The Greek word for taketh here is airo in the original text. This word airo shows up quite a bit in the New Testament, and it's translated several different ways. It helps me to understand a difficult verse if I take a look at how the words are used in other scriptures.

Looking in John 1:29, John the Baptist sees Jesus coming to him, and he says "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." In this context, we should all agree that "taketh away" is a good thing. In the Greek, it is the word airo.

In John 8, the Jews in the temple say to Jesus (v.57) "You aren't fifty years old yet, and you have seen Abraham?" Jesus replies "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." Of course this was blasphemy to the Jews. In verse 59, the Jews took (they) up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. Here we have the word airo being translated as "picked up," and it's safe to say that the Jews weren't picking up stones to take them away.

In John 11:41, when Jesus was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, they took away the stone from the tomb, and Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me." In this instance, airo is translated "lifted up." Airo is used in this way several times in the New Testament. Lifted up hands, lifted up voices, lifted up eyes. Lifted up to heaven, up to Jesus, up to God, up to the Father.

Airo can be translated several ways. It is often used in the context of a violent catching away, but the first definition in your Greek lexicon will be "lifted up." It's even used in the context of hoisting an anchor. Weigh anchor so you can set sail. For a reference, you can look at Matthew 16:24, Luke 17:13, Acts 4:24, Acts 27:13, and Revelation 10:5 among many others. Airo is Greek number 142 in your Strong's concordance.

There's a popular inspirational poem that points out what I'm trying to say better than I can, and I hope it's been out of the limelight long enough that you won't mind hearing it once again.

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints. Other times there were one set of footprints. This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow, or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord, "You promised me, Lord, that if I followed You, You would walk with me always. But I noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there have only been one set of prints in the sand. Why, when I have needed you most, you have not been there for me?" The Lord replied, "The times when you have seen only one set of footprints is when I carried you." (By Mary Stevenson)

The first part of verse 2 of John 15 should read: "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he lifteth up." (or carries) Ok, now for the "purgeth" part. The part where you get pruned when your life bears fruit. The word translated as "purgeth" is "kathairo," where we get our English word "catharsis." It's a cleansing, a purification. This word "kathairo" appears only one other time in the New Testament. In Hebrews chapter 10, verse 2, and the context is cleansing of sins, and the word kathairo is translated as purged.

With this in mind, let's try John 15, verse 2 once more. "Every branch (that's us) in me (Jesus) that beareth not fruit he (the Father) lifteth up: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanses it, that it may bring forth more fruit." During those low periods of our life, when we are suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, we're usually not bearing fruit. If (and that's a big word to us as Christians) we are in him, he is faithful to lift us up when we are not bearing fruit. He will lift us up, away from the cares and entanglements of this world. As a vindresser does, he lifts us up so we can get some Son-shine. If we are bearing fruit, he cleanses us so that we may bear more fruit, and this becomes more clear as we continue with verse 3 of John 15.

3. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

From this verse, it is plain to see that the Lord wants us to bear lots of fruit. If we live for him, and let Jesus live in our hearts, there is a progression of fruit bearing here. Verse 2 starts with no fruit, then we have some fruit, then more fruit, and finally, in verses 5 and 8, we can bear much fruit. But, what is all this fruit, and how does it manifest in our lives?

In Colossians 1:10 it is revealed as "good works." In 2 Corinthians 9:6~10 it explains clearly that "giving" is fruit unto us. God loves a cheerful giver. Romans 6:22 lets us know that "holiness," living a life free from sin is fruit. Hebrews 13:15 tells us that doing good and continually giving thanks to our Father is fruit. Giving God praise is fruit. John 4:36 and Romans 1:13 will fill you in on the fruit unto life eternal. Witnessing to lost souls. This is fruit you can take with you. Galatians 5:22 gives us the fruit that is commanded us. Love. Love is then described in this verse as joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. I'm sure there are many more kinds of fruit. The more fruit we bear, the more our Father is glorified.

9. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17. These things I command you, that ye love one another.
18. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
21. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
22. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
23. He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
24. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
25. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
26. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
27. And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

During the low times of our life, when fruit is a distant memory, the Holy Spirit is still with us. Another "thread of continuity" that runs through the scriptures is that God uses the low, the weak, the despised to accomplish his purpose. Knowing this should lift our hearts during those times. Joseph, the son of Jacob, was forsaken by members of his own family, sold into slavery, falsely accused and imprisoned. God used him greatly. A little shepherd boy named David was used mightily against a warrior giant. In those days, shepherds were among the lowest class of citizens. They weren't even allowed to testify in court, but some of them were chosen to proclaim that a savior was born. A Samaritan woman who had been through five husbands, and wasn't married to the one she was with presently. She was so afraid of the condemnation, that she was afraid to be seen in public. Jesus spoke with her as she gathered water from Jacob's well during the heat of the day. That woman bore much fruit. She pointed a whole city of Samaritans to Jesus, and many were converted thanks to her testimony. It is in this conversation with the woman at the well in chapter 4 of John that Jesus says "I am the living water." This is the same living water that flows through the vine and into the branches. Spiritual nourishment.

During the Exodus from Egypt, all of Israel witnessed the awesome power of God when the Red Sea was parted, and Pharoah's army was drowned. They feared the Lord, and believed in the Lord and his servant Moses. They celebrated with songs of praise. Then they went into the wilderness, and for the next three days found no water. When they came to water, it was bitter, and they could not drink it. Three days is very near the limit of human endurance when it comes to thirst. The people naturally were complaining and murmering against Moses. After all, he had clearly shown power over the waters in Egypt even before the miraculous Red Sea crossing, so why were God's chosen people led out of bondage, and into the wilderness, only to find waters that were bitter? Rather than trying to answer all the bitterness confronting him, Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When the tree was cast into the bitter waters, the waters were made sweet.

When faced with the bitter waters of this world, we often murmer and complain. I have an apple tree. To this day I have never heard the branches complain about bearing fruit, but people do. I'm a prime example. It is better when we do as Moses did, and just cry out to God. He will hear us. Sometimes his answer to my cry is to just do what the branches do. They don't murmer and complain, but they do occasionally bear fruit. In Philippians 2:14, Paul tells us to "Do all things without murmerings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;" What exactly does a branch do to bear fruit? It just hangs in there. It remains a living part of the trunk. It clings to the source of nourishment with all it's might, and it has a meaningful relationship with the vine.

God has shown us a tree. A tree that was raised on Calvary. That tree of everlasting life. The next time you are confronted with the bitter waters of life, just toss that tree into them, remember that the source of living water flows through you, and just hang in there.