What Happens to
Unfruitful Branches?
Paul
Ellis
Jesus said, “if you love me, keep my
commandments” (Jn 14:15). In the hands of a religious person this becomes a
conditional statement: You have to keep the commands of Jesus to prove your
love. The problem with that, however, is the commands of Jesus are impossible
to keep. As we saw in our last post, Jesus said anyone who keeps His commands,
“will do what I have been doing and even greater things.” Well Jesus healed the
sick and raised the dead. Can you? On your own it’s impossible, but that’s okay
because you know what? Jesus has a plan. In the very next verse He begins to
tell us what it is:
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you
another Helper, who will stay with you forever.” (Jn 14:16)
Who is the Helper? He’s the Holy Spirit, the One
who empowers us to show and tell the gospel of the kingdom(Rms 15:19). (Note
that the Holy Spirit doesn’t come and go. Jesus said He will “be with you
forever”!) Jesus then tells the disciples that on the day that the Holy Spirit
is given,
This is the most awesome, incredible thing in the
world! This is the mystery that Paul sought to make known to the Gentiles –
Christ is in you! And you’re in Him! Do you need a picture to help you see
this? Then look at the picture on the right…
Jesus said He is the true vine and we are the
branches. Look at the picture and draw a mental circle around the vine. Do you
see any branches that are not part of the vine? The vine is bigger than any
branch but there’s no branch that is not also vine. Touch any branch and you
are touching the vine. This is how Hudson Taylor describes it:
“Here, I feel, is the secret: not asking how I am
to get sap out of the Vine into myself, but remembering that Jesus is the Vine
– the root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit all indeed… I have
not got to make myself a branch. The Lord Jesus tells me I am a branch. I am
part of him and I have just to believe it and act upon it.” (Quoted in The
Normal Christian Life, pp.56-7)
Now Jesus knows that you can’t bear fruit – “no
branch can bear fruit by itself” (Jn 15:4) – but He plans to bear His fruit
through us. What’s our part in this? He wants us to abide in Him, which means
to dwell or stay put. It means don’t run off and try to do your own thing in
your own strength. What’s His part? He plans to live His life through us and go
on healing the sick and delivering the oppressed and doing all the other
heaven-on-earth things He did when He was here in the flesh (Mk 16:17-18).
Are you a branch with no fruit?
What happens to unfruitful branches? Jesus said
the branches that don’t bear fruit are “lifted up” (Jn 15:2). They are not cut
off – that is a bad translation that would’ve made no sense to a Mediterranean
listener! A viticulturalist would never throw away a branch for that would be
like amputating part of the vine. (If you’re thinking of suckers, see my note in
the comments below.) Unfruitful branches are lifted out of the dirt and
re-dressed so they can be nourished by the sun. Sticking with that metaphor,
the reason why some Christians are barren is that they’re facedown in the dirt
and not looking at the Son. They’re busy, distracted, stressed, and have
wandered from their protos agape, their primary love. When believers
lose sight of Christ’s love they tend to become religious, just like the
Ephesians. The next thing you know, they’re thinking that they have do stuff
like obey His commandments to prove their love or earn His.
What is the remedy for unfruitful branches? God
is. He is the Gardener who does the lifting up. He is not there to slash and
burn but to prune and lift. As you begin to bear fruit it will be for His
glory, not yours. If you’ve been distracted doing the dead works of religion,
just stop and come back to your first love which is His love. His love is like
food for us. We are energized by it. I might tell myself that I am writing
these posts because of my love for Him, but in truth, it’s His love for me that
compels me to tell others the good news. I would not love Him except that He
has first loved me (1 Jn 4:19).
God believes in you!
When Jesus said, “if you love me, you will keep
my commandments,” He was not making a threat but a promise! He was saying, “If
you love me you will do the works and greater works that I have done because
I’m the one who’s going to do them through you. Trust me! Believe in me! Abide
in me!” Why does Jesus say we will do greater works? Because 2000 years ago
there was only one Christ, but now there are millions of Little Christs. Back
then He was just a tender shoot (Is 53:2), but now He’s a mighty vine with
branches reaching into every place. Back then God lived in just one man,
but now He lives in millions of men, women and children all around the world
and He wants out! What are the greater works? They are the works of
Jesus done millions of times over, every day, all over the world by ordinary
branches like you and me.
Aren’t you amazed that God operates this way –
through people? It’s like God is saying, “I believe in you. I have confidence
that you will come to rest in my love and allow me to reveal myself to you and
through you.” Carnal religion says it’s all about you and your faith so you’d
better perform, but the gospel of grace declares it’s about Him and His faith
so rest! Paul understood this which is why he said, “the life I now live in the
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me” (Gal 2:20).
Branches can not bear fruit but vines can and do
so naturally, without any effort. As a branch you carry the nature of the True
Vine in you and He will bear His fruit through you. He promised! Do you
believe Him?
At this point you probably want me to tell you
what to do. “What’s the takeaway? What must I do?” We Christians are so hung up
on working for God that we don’t know what to do with Jesus when He says, “just
abide!” Okay, here’s something you can do. Write this down. The next time
you’re faced with a problem or trial, take a moment to let Jesus love on you.
Allow the Lifter of your head to turn your gaze from the dirt back to Himself
and then bask in His love. He is already shining on you. He has already been
gracious to you and blessed you and given you His peace. Receive it!
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.
Now remain in my love.” (Jn 15:9)
Note: The Greek word airo that is
sometimes translated in Jn 15:2 as “cut off” or “take away,” can also mean to
elevate, raise up or lift up. Here are some of examples of Jesus using the same
word elsewhere: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow me” (Mt 16:24). “They will pick up snakes
with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at
all” (Mk 16:18). “Rise, take up thy bed and walk” (Jn 5:8). It makes
about as much sense to cut off your bed and walk as it does to cut
off bits of an unproducing vine.
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