Sermon Tone Analysis

I Am The Vine

Who knows something about growing plants?

How can the plant live?

(Root, Sun, Water)

When you see a dead plant, what is your first thought?

Enough water?

Enough roots?

Enough sun?

When you see a shriveled up plant cut off, what happens?

(It dies)

Beginning in and continuing until Jesus gives a series of farewell addresses immediately before his crucifixion.

He knows he will soon be lifeless on a tree - the Crucified King.

In middle of all this, He graciously reminds us that to be His means to bear fruit and we bear fruit by abiding in Him.

- Jesus was describing Himself as the true vine and His father as the vinedresser.

Direct reference to Old Testament

He was the Messiah and the fulfillment of the covenant because of the Old Testament’s reference to the vineyard (; )

Jesus explains that the branches that do not bear fruit are taken away, but the branches that bear fruit are pruned to bear more fruit.

To bear fruit simply means to grow in character — to become more like Christ and reflect the fruit of the Spirit ().

- His command to abide: “Abide in me, and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me” ().

Not Abiding

Dictionary definition of abiding: “to accept or act in accordance with a rule, decision, or recommendation.”

Synonyms: “to obey, observe, follow, uphold, heed, and accept”

Before Jesus gets down to the definition of abiding, he gives us a picture of what it looks like to NOT abide in Him

Who among us is a plant killer?

Who tries to purchase plants and try to care for them but fails miserably?

Who forgets to water them and give them the needed nourishment?

If we don’t nourish the plant, it will wither and the branches will fall off.

What Jesus is trying to explain to us in .

He explains that by not abiding in him we are like my pitiful plants — we will soon fall off the vine — our roots where we receive nourishment were never truly planted.

The fruit of the vine is proof of our faith.

Not perfection — but fruit, even if a small bud.

Abiding

Picture of what it means to abide in Jesus:

To abide in Jesus means to keep his commandments and to keep his commandments means to love God with all our hearts and souls and minds and to love our neighbor as ourselves ().

- One way that we display our love for God is through our trust, prayer, and devotion to him.

- We abide through relationship.

- We pursue in love.

- We pray in love.

- We obey in love.

And here is the good news: We love Jesus because he first loved us ().

We didn’t choose him; he chose us and he chose us to walk out our faith in obedience to him ().

Apart from Christ, we cannot do anything ().

- This is also good news to the weary person who thinks he must muster up strength to pursue and know Christ (and to love his neighbor — a fruit Jesus emphasizes).

He provides the grace and the strength.

The fruit that Jesus speaks of is simply evidence of a relationship with him.

It is a relationship that he initiates through and by his sovereign love.

In this chapter, Jesus reminds us that there is no greater love than someone laying down his life for his friends.

He then says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you” ().

Jesus tells us that we are his friends (let that soak in for a minute) if we obey his command to love, and that command is fulfilled through abiding.

- As we abide in him we will bear the fruit of righteousness.

This does not add to our salvation by grace alone through faith alone, yet it confirms our transformed heart.

- And the offer to be Jesus’s friend — the author and perfecter of our faith, the Alpha and Omega, the Beautiful One, the one who bore our sins and transgression — the offer to be his friend is irresistible for the Christian.

Abide in him, and he will abide in you.

He who began a good work in you will complete it ().

He who called you is faithful; he will surely do it ().