Jewish Idioms: The Golden Vine

The next Jewish concept comes from John 15:1-8:

1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain 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. 6If 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. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.

During the time of Jesus, there was a golden grapevine that was draped across the entrance to the Temple. In Antiquities, Josephus records that the vine was, "a marvel of size and artistry, to all who saw with what costliness of material it had been constructed."

The Mishnah, which is the Jewish "oral law", says that people would sometimes make a freewill offering by purchasing a golden leaf, berry, or cluster which the priest would then attach to this vine. Some who gave generously to the Temple had their names inscribed on the golden leaves (sound familiar).

The fact is that everyone was familiar with this practice or custom in Jerusalem. I love how sometimes things that Jesus did or said don't make sense in our context, but when you think about it in his context it starts to make sense, and you really begin to see how different and how bold He was.

For example, if you didn't know the context in which Jesus was speaking, that there was a vine draped across the temple that people would donate money too, then the parable reads sort of like a common sense teaching. You have a vine, and if it doesn't bear fruit, then you cut it off, and so on and so forth, which is correct and a good illustration of our faith. But if you think of it only in that regard you miss half of what Jeus was saying.

You see Jesus, was about to finish his work on Earth, and the disciples would be left to tell the world about what they witnessed, and He knew they would be persecuted and all that.

So He is basically saying to the disciples, hey do you see that vine over there on the Temple? Well, it is just a temporary vine, I AM THE TRUE VINE, and if you offer yourselves to me to the same degree that people offer themselves to that golden symbol, I promise the result will be abundant spiritual fruit. When you are persecuted, hated for my name sake, or even if I choose to bless you according to the worlds standards, if you remain in me then you will bear much fruit.

No matter how much you have on your own, apart from me you can do nothing. If you abide in me, no matter how little you have, your connected to the "true vine", ask what you wish and it will be given.

And from verse 8, our fruit show us to be his disciples, and we should labor by God's grace (remembering that being attached to the vine, is what gives us the stength and gifts to labor), to produce fruit, because His Glory is at stake, and for His name's sake dead branches must be cut off, so that the "true vine" is not made less glorious.

What an awesome promise that is, that if we remain in Jesus (the true vine), we will bear fruit. I want to challenge you this week, to not miss an opportunity to bear fruit for Jesus. If you see an opportunity to give money, give as the Spirit leads, not just 10%, if you see an opportunity to serve, serve humbly not out of gain, if you see an opportunity to share the gospel, share it with the authority and love that the Spirit gives, and if you have devoted more effort to the golden vine rather than Jesus, repent and follow Jesus, He will provide what you need.