Digging Deeper: The Foundation of the House

At the beginning of chapter 15, Jesus introduces a new parable to help explain to his disciples what he’s been telling them.

He says:

“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…” 

And so Jesus compares his followers to branches that are all attached to him. And his says that everyone who attaches themselves to him will at some point feel the sharpness of the blade. Just like a vine, the branches that are worthless and don’t produce any fruit are cut off and thrown away, but the branches that do produce fruit are also cut. But they are not cut off, no, they are pruned so that they can produce even more fruit.

Jesus is saying that his disciples are just like the branches. They are all associated with the main vine, with Jesus. But if the disciples do not reflect the purpose of the main vine, if they have nothing in common with Jesus, if they don’t produce fruit, they will one day be cut off from Jesus, and they will no longer have the choice of bearing fruit or not. What they choose to be in the present is what they will continue to be in the future. If they live now as though they are not attached to Jesus, then in the end they will not be attached to Jesus.

It works the same way for the disciples that truly are changed by Jesus... only with the opposite effect. They are all associated with the main vine, with Jesus. And if they reflect the purposes of the main vine, if they have common-ground with Jesus, if they produce fruit, then when the blade comes they will not be removed from Jesus, but instead they will be brought into even greater alignment with his purposes, and anything in them that is not Christlike will be cut off, they will be pruned, and they will be more and more like their Savior, producing more and more good fruit. What they choose to be in the present is what they will continue to be in the future. If they live now as though they are attached to Jesus, then in the end they will always be attached to Jesus.

Jesus continues:

“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…” 

So what is this fruit that Jesus is talking about?

A lot of people think that Jesus is saying if you don’t get your friends to become Christians then you’ll end up going to hell. But that’s not what he’s saying at all. Yes, we should want are friends to know Jesus as we know him, but we shouldn’t mistake the fruit for the branches. New branches are new Christians. The fruit is something else. But what?

Well, Jesus, as usual, is alluding to several different Old Testament passages when he talks about vines and branches and fruits.

Jeremiah talks about God stripping away all the branches that do not produce good fruit, and he says the reason this happens is because of idolatry. The people choose to follow after other gods, they forsake the covenant with their God and in the end they wind up being cut off from their God, the source of all life… and they die. Jeremiah compares these people to stallions neighing after any mare that trots by.

And Ezekiel paints the same picture of the useless branches of the vine being burned. He says that vines are not like the trees of the forest. You can’t use the branches of the vine to build a house with. The only thing they’re good for is for making fruit, and if they don’t make fruit, then the only thing they’re good for is kindling for the fire.

Zechariah and Isaiah both speak of the coming Messiah as the true vine whose branches will produce good fruit, the best fruit. They say that in past, God has had to burn branches that were useless. His own people were destroyed because they chose to no longer be his people. Israel was the poisoned vine with unproductive branches, perverting justice and abusing the poor. They rejected the source of all life and died. But in the future, a shoot will pop up and grow from the stump of the vine that was cut down, and the branches of this new vine, this New Israel, the Messiah, Jesus, will produce abundant crops.

Isaiah tells us what the fruit of the branches of the true vine are. The fruit of the Messiah, of Jesus and his followers, is this:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
    and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

-- Isaiah 11:1-9

READ IT! - I Love House Music (week 5)

Jesus says, “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…” Think about that as you read these passages.

From the Torah: Genesis 49:1-28

From the Former Prophets: Judges 9:7-15

From the Latter Prophets: Isaiah 11:1-16

From the Books of Wisdom and Poetry: Psalm 80:1-19

From the Late Books: Song of Songs 7:1-13

From the Gospels: John 15:1-8

From the Epistles: Galatians 5:13-26

From the Torah

Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.

“Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob;
    listen to your father Israel.

“Reuben, you are my firstborn,
    my might, the first sign of my strength,
    excelling in honor, excelling in power.
Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel,
    for you went up onto your father’s bed,
    onto my couch and defiled it.

“Simeon and Levi are brothers—
    their swords are weapons of violence.
Let me not enter their council,
    let me not join their assembly,
for they have killed men in their anger
    and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
    and their fury, so cruel!
I will scatter them in Jacob
    and disperse them in Israel.

“Judah, your brothers will praise you;
    your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
    your father’s sons will bow down to you.
You are a lion’s cub, Judah;
    you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
    like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
The scepter will not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come
    and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
He will tether his donkey to a vine,
    his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
    his robes in the blood of grapes.
His eyes will be darker than wine,
    his teeth whiter than milk.

“Zebulun will live by the seashore
    and become a haven for ships;
    his border will extend toward Sidon.

“Issachar is a rawboned donkey
    lying down among the sheep pens.
When he sees how good is his resting place
    and how pleasant is his land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
    and submit to forced labor.

“Dan will provide justice for his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan will be a snake by the roadside,
    a viper along the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
    so that its rider tumbles backward.

“I look for your deliverance, Lord.

“Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders,
    but he will attack them at their heels.

“Asher’s food will be rich;
    he will provide delicacies fit for a king.

“Naphtali is a doe set free
    that bears beautiful fawns.

“Joseph is a fruitful vine,
    a fruitful vine near a spring,
    whose branches climb over a wall.
With bitterness archers attacked him;
    they shot at him with hostility.
But his bow remained steady,
    his strong arms stayed limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
    because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
because of your father’s God, who helps you,
    because of the Almighty, who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
    blessings of the deep springs below,
    blessings of the breast and womb.
Your father’s blessings are greater
    than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
    than the bounty of the age-old hills.
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
    on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
    in the morning he devours the prey,
    in the evening he divides the plunder.”

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.

Genesis 49:1-28

From the Former Prophets

When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. 

They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’

“But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’

“Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’

“But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’

“Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’

“But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’

“Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’

“The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

Judges 9:7-15

From the Latter Prophets

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.

He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;

    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

Righteousness will be his belt

    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
    and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

He will raise a banner for the nations
    and gather the exiles of Israel;
he will assemble the scattered people of Judah
    from the four quarters of the earth.
Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish,
    and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed;
Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,
    nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.
They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;
    together they will plunder the people to the east.
They will subdue Edom and Moab,
    and the Ammonites will be subject to them.

The Lord will dry up
    the gulf of the Egyptian sea;
with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand
    over the Euphrates River.
He will break it up into seven streams
    so that anyone can cross over in sandals.
There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
    that is left from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
    when they came up from Egypt.

Isaiah 11:1-16

From the Books of Wisdom and Poetry:

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.

Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
    shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
    come and save us.

Restore us, O God;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

How long, Lord God Almighty,
    will your anger smolder
    against the prayers of your people?
You have fed them with the bread of tears;
    you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors,
    and our enemies mock us.

Restore us, God Almighty;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

You transplanted a vine from Egypt;
    you drove out the nations and planted it.
You cleared the ground for it,
    and it took root and filled the land.
The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
Its branches reached as far as the Sea,
    its shoots as far as the River.

Why have you broken down its walls
    so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
Boars from the forest ravage it,
    and insects from the fields feed on it.
Return to us, God Almighty!
    Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine,
    the root your right hand has planted,
    the son you have raised up for yourself.

Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
    at your rebuke your people perish.
Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
    the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
Then we will not turn away from you;
    revive us, and we will call on your name.

Restore us, Lord God Almighty;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.

Psalm 80:1-19

From the Late Books

He

How beautiful your sandaled feet,
    O prince’s daughter!
Your graceful legs are like jewels,
    the work of an artist’s hands.
Your navel is a rounded goblet
    that never lacks blended wine.
Your waist is a mound of wheat
    encircled by lilies.
Your breasts are like two fawns,
    like twin fawns of a gazelle.
Your neck is like an ivory tower.
Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon
    by the gate of Bath Rabbim.
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon
    looking toward Damascus.
Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.
    Your hair is like royal tapestry;
    the king is held captive by its tresses.
How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
    my love, with your delights!
Your stature is like that of the palm,
    and your breasts like clusters of fruit.
I said, “I will climb the palm tree;
    I will take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine,
    the fragrance of your breath like apples,
    and your mouth like the best wine.

She

May the wine go straight to my beloved,
    flowing gently over lips and teeth.
I belong to my beloved,
    and his desire is for me.
Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside,
    let us spend the night in the villages.
Let us go early to the vineyards
    to see if the vines have budded,
if their blossoms have opened,
    and if the pomegranates are in bloom—
    there I will give you my love.
The mandrakes send out their fragrance,
    and at our door is every delicacy,
both new and old,
    that I have stored up for you, my beloved.

Song of Songs 7:1-13

From the Gospels

“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.

John 15:1-8

From the Epistles

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Galatians 5:13-26

Digging Deeper: Thanksgiving in the House

Jesus is staying with Lazarus, Mary, and Martha in Bethany six days before the Passover. During a meal, Mary comes to him and pours a pint of pure nard (perfume) on Jesus feet and then wipes his feet with her hair.

In this culture, the folks watching would have considered this to be very inappropriate. Women weren’t allowed to loosen their hair in front of any man other than their husband or in their family. They wore their hair up under a veil. But here we see an unmarried woman loosening her hair in front of Jesus, a great Rabbi, and not only that but pouring expensive perfume on his feet and wiping his feet with her hair. And his feet were likely filthy, too, since he had just walked from Ephraim to Bethany. Mary was taking on the role of a slave in this scene, in washing Jesus feet… something that Jesus will also do for his disciples later. In doing this, Mary showed that she got it. She got what Jesus was all about. God humbled himself and became a slave, and he calls us to the same attitude and action.

When Judas sees what is happening right before his eyes, he gets mad and yells, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages!”

But John writes that Judas only said this because he loved money and not because he loved the poor. He also says that Judas was like in charge of the group’s money, and he used to help himself to the moneybag whenever he wanted.

Jesus tells Judas to leave her alone because she has saved this perfume for the day of his burial. This may mean that she did not use the entire amount of perfume (a pint is a lot for just two feet after all) and that she saved the rest because she knew she would need it to cover his dead body a week later when he is murdered. You see, Mary understands the great risk Jesus has taken for her and her brother and sister. She knows that when he came out of hiding to raise her brother Lazarus from the dead, that he was sacrificing his own life for their sake.

He tells Judas, “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.

The next day, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, and the crowds follow him with palm branches and praise him, shouting, “Hosanna!” Palm branches were the symbols of the last great independent kings of Judah, the Maccabees. And so here, the people are, in fact, preparing to start a revolution to overthrow the Romans that they intend to have Jesus lead. And when they shout “Hosanna!” what they are essentially shouting is “God save the King!” …which is ironic, since it is Jesus who, through his death, is going to save them instead.

John writes that all this took place to fulfill what the prophets had said (see Zechariah’s passage about the humble king arriving on a donkey), but his disciples didn’t realize this until after Jesus was glorified.

The crowds followed Jesus because he had raised Lazarus from the dead, and the Pharisees shook their heads and said, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

There were some Greeks visiting the city, and they asked Philip (who had a Greek name) if he could take them to see Jesus. 

And so Philip took them to Andrew and then Andrew took them to Jesus. 

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” 

Suddenly, Jesus confesses that he is terrified over what is about to happen to him, and he’s like, “What should I do? Should I tell my Father to save me from the hour at hand?”

But then he cries out, “No! It was for this very reason I came to this hour!” 

And instead of begging his Father to save him, he cries out, “Father! Glorify your name!” 

Suddenly, a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have glorified it! And I will glorify it again!” 

The crowd that was there heard the voice and they said it had thundered, and others said an angel had spoken to him. 

Jesus tells them that the voice was for their benefit and not his, because the time has come to judge the world and to drive out its prince. 

He adds, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 

John says that he said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. 

The crowd said, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?” 

Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” 

When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

John says that even after all the miracles Jesus had performed, the Jews still didn’t believe in him, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophesy about them which said that God’s people “keep on hearing, but don’t understand” and “keeping on seeing, but never perceive,” and that if they learned to see and hear what was right in front of them then “they would be healed.”

John also says that there were actually many religious leaders who believed in Jesus, but they didn’t admit it because the Pharisees had threatened to throw the followers of Jesus out of the synagogue. 

Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me! The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me! I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness!” 

He adds, “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”