Bob Josey - 6A The Vine and Branches Lesson #1 - Jan 9, 2022

SLIDES

Thriving in Jesus

6A – The Vine and the Branches Lesson #1

Jesus Our Source

Introduction

How many of you remember the oil crisis in 1973 & 1974. Remember that during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed an embargo against the United States in retaliation for the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military and to gain leverage in the post-war peace negotiations. Arab OPEC members also extended the embargo to other countries that supported Israel including the Netherlands, Portugal, and South Africa. The embargo both banned petroleum exports to the targeted nations and introduced cuts in oil production.

The source of our oil supply from the Middle East had dried up. The effect the 1973 Oil Embargo on the United States was devastating to our economy. It acutely strained a U.S. economy that had grown increasingly dependent on foreign oil. People not only waited in long lines to get gas for their cars, but products that required oil to be manufactured increased in price and sometimes were difficult to find.

As the source of petroleum was vital to the economy of the United States in 1973, in the spiritual realm the source for a believer to receive wisdom, guidance, strength, and power to live the abundant Christian life is also important. The source to live the abundant life as a believer is so important that Jesus less than 24 hours before His crucifixion used an illustration from agriculture of a grape vine and branches to teach the disciples a lesson on this important subject. This lesson on the source of wisdom, guidance, strength, and power to live the abundant Christian life is as important today as it was 2000 years ago the disciples and other believers.

Both the United States and the believer in Jesus needs a source of power. Oil was the main source of power in the United States in 1973 and that continues today. Jesus is the source of power for the believer. Not being able to get our source of power in 1973 was beyond our control and made life difficult at times. We had no choice in the matter. But for the believer, the source of our power to live the abundant life is always available. However, there are times in our lives as believers when we choose not to use this ever-ending spiritual source. We choose to live our lives at times without our power source. When that happens, life can become difficult and sometimes devastating for a believer. Since this subject is so important to the believer in living the abundant life, we are going to spend several weeks in studying the lesson that Jesus taught His disciple on this important subject. The illustration of a grape vine and its branches is what Jesus used to teach this valuable lesson.

Before we begin studying John 15, let’s discuss a little about vineyards and grapevines. Vineyards, grapevines, grapes, raisins, and wine played a significant role in a variety of cultures around the Mediterranean and throughout the ancient Near East. The abundance of vineyards in the Middle East and Israel makes the vine and its branches an excellent symbol for conveying several spiritual truths in the Bible. Excavations in the area around Megiddo have yielded 117 winepresses and archaeologists have discovered hundreds of winepresses in locations around ancient Israel as well. The Old Testament speaks of vines in a variety of ways.

1. Jacob told Joseph his inheritance would be abundant like “a fruitful vine” (Gen. 49:22).

2.If Israel obeyed God’s laws, then He would enable them to enjoy abundant grape harvests (Lev. 26:3–5).

3.Moses enabled the people to visualize the fertility of the Promised Land by describing it as a land of “vines and fig trees” along with other fruits and grains (Deut. 8:8).

4.The vine symbolized national wealth and a satisfying life (1 Kings 4:25).

5. The psalmist used the imagery of a vine in describing a godly wife in a home that honored the Lord (Ps. 128:3).

6. To sit under one’s own vine pictured the blessing, safety, and enjoyment of Israel in the future (Mic. 4:4; Zech. 3:10).

7.When a vine failed to produce fruit, it was a sign of God’s discipline (Jer. 8:13). Amos reminded the Israelites that it was the Lord who struck their gardens and vineyards because of their neglect of Him (Amos 4:9).

In the Old Testament Israel is portrayed as the vine, or God’s vineyard. Coins from the Maccabean era, which was the last time Israel was a nation before 1947, bear the image of the vine on them. Also, above the doors to enter the Holy Place in the was a vine. Alford Edersheim in his book The Temple, commented on the this (p.58).

"Two-leaved doors, with gold plating, and covered by a rich Babylonian curtain of the four colours of the temple ('fine linen, blue, scarlet, and purple'), formed the entrance into the Holy Place [of the Temple]. Above it hung that symbol of Israel, a gigantic vine of pure gold, and made of votive offerings—each cluster the height of a man [cf. Ps. 80:8; Jer.2:21; Ezek. 19:10; Joel 1:7]."

The psalmist said Israel, as a vine out of Egypt, grew and flourished (Ps. 80:8–11). In Isaiah’s song of the vineyard, he spoke of Israel as vines in a vineyard (Isaiah 5:1–7)

1Let me sing now for my well-beloved

A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.

My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

2He dug it all around, removed its stones,

And planted it with the choicest vine.

And He built a tower in the middle of it

And also hewed out a wine vat in it;

Then He expected it to produce good grapes,

But it produced only worthless ones.

3“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,

Judge between Me and My vineyard.

4“What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?

Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?

5“So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:

I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed;

I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.

6“I will lay it waste;

It will not be pruned or hoed,

But briars and thorns will come up.

I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.”

7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel

And the men of Judah His delightful plant.

Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed;

For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.

Israel is portrayed as God’s choice vine planted in a fertile hillside. God Himself cared for the vineyard and expected the nation to be fruitful. The results were not what He wanted, and because of this, the nation would experience His judgment with the invasion of Babylon. Thousands of Israelites were killed or maimed and the remainder were taken to Babylon as captives.

I want to emphasize that John 15:1-11 is an extended metaphor. Jesus is making a comparison of a vine, vine branches, and grapes to the intimate relationship that the disciples should have with Jesus so they can to produce good works. Since the grapevine was important to Israel’s economy and familiar to the disciples, it’s very fitting that He used this illustration. Also, even though the lesson was directed to the disciples, there are certainly spiritual application for us to learn from John 15.

This lesson was given to the disciples after the Passover Seder was celebrated in the upper room and after gave the disciples several other valuable lessons such as loving each other as Jesus had loved them, that He was going away and would prepare a place for them, that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to be their Helper to indwell them, etc. It appears that the lesson on the vine and the branches occurred somewhere after they left the upper room because at the end of John 14 in verse 31 Jesus told the disciples, “Get up, let us go from here.” John tells us in 18:1 that “When Jesus had spoken these words (John 15-17), He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kedron, where there was a garden, into which He Himself entered with His disciples." So somewhere after leaving the Upper Room and before entering he garden, Jesus spoke the words in John 15-17. Some suggest that this lesson could have been given by Jesus to the disciples as they were standing or sitting near the entrance of the Holy Place in the Temple. Above the door was a grape vine. This would have been a very fitting place to teach this lesson.

Now, with the background of Isarel being compared to a vineyard and the importance of the vineyard in Israel’s economy, let’s now see what lessons we can learn from Jesus about the vine and the branches in John 15:1-11.

Questions and Comments

The Vine and the Branches (John 15:1-11)

1a. Jesus is the only source of spiritual strength and wisdom for believers (1a)

1a. I am the true vine... (John 1:1a)

Jesus certainly made it clear to the disciples in John 15:1a that He was their only source of spiritual strength and power. Jesus said He was the true vine, the real, all that a vine should being a spiritual sense. He was obedient to the Father whereas Israel was not. Many in Isarel trusted and followed the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The looked to them for spiritual guidance, but Jesus the Messiah was the only One who could provide true spiritual nourishment and spiritual power to the people.

In verse one Jesus made His last of seven I am statements the we find in the gospel of John. What are the seven I am statements?

I am the Bread of Life.

I am the Light of the World.

I am the Door.

I am the good Shephard.

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

I am the Resurrection and the Life.

I am the True Vine.

When Jesus made the I am statements, He was not only focusing on the fact that He was the things He claimed to be, but He was also emphasizing that He was the I am who was and still is the Bread of Life, the Light of the World, etc. It is Jesus who was/is the I am that makes each of those statements is so profound and so significant. Israel understood exactly the significance of what I am meant and that Jesus claimed to be the I am. In our 20/21^st century American mindset, it is lost on believers the significance of I am and the fact that Jesus was claiming to be the I am. Knowing about the I am goes all the way back to the Exodus from Egypt. The context of this is Moses at the burning bush. God has just told Moses as the burning bush that He wants Him to deliver Israel from Egypt. Exodus 3:13-15

13Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”

14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM (Yahweh) has sent me to you.’ ”

15God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.

I want to show you the significance of what some others thought of Jesus calling Himself I am. In John 18 the Jewish authorities came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Let’s read verses 4-6.

4So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”

5They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.

6So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

It interesting that the name Yahweh was not known to Abrham, Isaac, and Jacob. Let’s read Exodus 6:2-3.

2God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord;

3and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, Lord, I did

not make Myself known to them.

The group who arrested Jesus were made up of the Roman cohort, the chief priests the Pharisees, and the Temple guard. Why did some of them draw back and fall to the ground? It was probably not the Romans who fell back, but some of the Jewish authorities who were there. It would be the Jewish authorities who would recognize what Jesus was claiming. Jesus said I am not I am He. The translators put the He there in English to help smooth out what Jesus said but what that really did was to distract from what He was actually saying. He was saying I am Yahweh. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We also see the incarnation in these verses. Jesus the Nazarene who is a human and Yahweh who is the LORD GOD. He was the LORD GOD who created and sustains His creation. He was claiming to be the promised Messiah. I think some of these Jewish authorizes were either awestruck or fearful at what He said. Something got their attention. Many times, in the Old Testament individuals fell to the ground out of humility and devotion to the LORD. The Magi did exactly that when they saw Jesus – fell to the ground and worshipped Him

Israel was portrayed many times in the Old Testament as a vineyard. God planted them and protected them, but they were disobedient and had to be disciplined as a nation. The leaders of Israel, the scribes, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees, were also part of the vineyard during the first century. The people of Isarel looked to them for leadership, spiritual strength, guidance, and teaching. However, they were false shepherds who led the people in the wrong direction. They were not servants but wanted to be served. Jesus by contrast was the True Vine from the Lord. He came along and did what Isarel refused to do – to be obedient to the Father by living a righteous life. He was an example and a True Shephard. He was the source of spiritual power to the disciples s like the vine is the source of life-giving substance to the branches so grapes can be made.

Today Jesus is the only source of our spiritual strength and power. We all know Jesus is Yahweh, the I am, the Messiah, and the LORD GOD. We all know that intellectually, but do we depend on Him as our source wisdom and strength that leads us to live a life of obedience? We know it but do we live it? We all know He can be trusted to lead and guide us through the good times in life but also through the most difficult times in life. There are many here who can attest to that. But, do we live most of the time like we know it. Do we constantly and consistently seek and receive your power and strength from Him to live your daily life as a believer? Or are there times when you would rather be disobedient by not seeking the LORD’s power. We want to live independent from God at times. Are there times when you would rather live a life in the flesh instead of the Abundant Life? The Abundant Life can only be lived in His power.

Finally, “Are you ever awestruck that Jesus is the I am, Yahweh, and the Messiah like some of the Jewish leaders were in the garden of Gethsemane? Have you ever fallen to the ground to prostrate yourself and worship the Lord in humility and awe like the Magi did?” Most of us probably have not done that, but it is certainly something that would be honoring to the LORD and satisfying to our souls. It is something that each of us should try this week if we are physically able to do it. If you are not able to do that physically, then do it in your mind and heart. Close your eyes and consider your self prostrate on the floor. Then in humility of your mind, worship the LORD. Tell Him that you are thankful that He died for you and that you have put your trust in Him as Savior. Tell Him you want to worship Him today as Yahweh – the God who created and sustains everything.

In today’s lesson we have learned that Jesus is the only true source of our wisdom and power. The Abundant life can only be lived with His discernment and in His strength.

Questions and Comments

Some of you requested we include the two book references that were mentioned in class yesterday related to Bob’s lesson on “The Vine. “ They are:

a. Secrets of the Vine by Bruce Wilkinson; and

b. The Vine Life by Colleen Townsend Evans.