The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody p. 124
The Lections The Passion History
The Lections The Passion History
The Sermon – I AM the True Vine; I AM the Vine - You Are the Branches
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace p. 45
The Hymn # 554 Now Rest Beneath Night's Shadow
The Hymn # 554 Now Rest Beneath Night's Shadow
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| 16 αλλ ου παντες υπηκουσαν τω ευαγγελιω - ησαιας γαρ λεγει κυριε τις επιστευσεν τη ακοη ημων? Romans 10:17 αρα η πιστις εξ ακοης - η δε ακοη δια ρηματος θεου |
Note above - Greek students -
who has believed our akoue (sermon, report)?
Faith comes from the akoue,
and the akoue from the utterances of God.
John 15 I AM the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I AM the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
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| Rose hips packed with Vitamin C. |
Lenski, p 1027:
The point of comparison intended by the image of the vine is brought out in the elaboration of the allegory. It centers in the one word "fruit." As the natural vine through its branches and the care they receive brings abundant fruit for the delight of the owner of the vine, so does Jesus in a far higher sense through his disciples for the glory of God. The tertium comparationis is, therefore, not that a vine has branches even as Jesus has disciples. This lies in the concept itself: every vine has branches as a matter of course. In v. 2 Jesus introduces the branches without further explanation — the vine and its branches naturally go together. The entire development of the allegory is positive and deals only with the relation of the disciples to Jesus, their remaining in him in order to produce as much fruit as possible, or their separation from him in judgment. The allegory intends to elaborate the thesis expressed
in 14:20: "You in me, and I in you." The picture as drawn by Jesus does not concern itself with false Christs who pretend to be vines but are not, nor with the Old Testament Israel in which the true vine, Jesus, was foreshadowed. These contrasts might also have
been elaborated, starting from the keyword "true" but Jesus has a different aim. He will dwell in his disciples after he leaves them; they are to understand what this their spiritual relation to him means for all the days to come; they are to bear much spiritual fruit by the power they constantly draw from him, and by their fruit they are to glorify God. What was begun in Israel of old in connection with the promised Messiah is now to be consummated in the new Israel in connection with the Messiah actually come and established in glory forever.
I AM the True Vine; I AM the Vine - You Are the Branches
This I AM sermon is especially appealing, because we are all more aware of gardening than shepherding. As Lenski points out, a different emphasis can be seen in this sermon. Instead of contrasting the Good Shepherd with thieves and robbers, this is an allegory about the Savior and all believers.
Although my neighbor grows grapes, most of us do not. But we do grow fruit of various kinds - and roses, which grow fruit - and they all have the same things in common with the grape vine. Someone would have to be completely in the dark about gardening to miss the main points of this allegory or parable.
Jesus is the Vine the True, which is like the phrasing used for the Good Shepherd - I AM the Shepherd the Good. We still use titles that way, such as Fredrick the Wise, Pippin the Bald, and Alexander the Great. The adjective afterwards emphasizes the quality and indicates there is no other quite like this one. There are subcategories in history too, like "born to the purple," which meant born in the Byzantine Empire palace.
The True Vine is therefore unique and there is no other. Therefore, all fruiting will take place by remaining on the Vine. That simply means sticking with or being faithful to the invisible Word of preaching and teaching, the visible Word of the Sacraments. Not only do we become fruitful, but we are cleansed so that we become even more fruitful.
There is no other passage that describes the effect of the Means of Grace so well as this one. It is just the opposite of worrying about how many members and how popular we are and what kind of an impact we are having. And this holds true of individuals too. How do we become fruitful? By remaining.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
There is the negative portion of the sermon. Who does not bear fruit? Why is it not explained? But it is, in a positive way. Those who remain or abide in the Word are fruitful.
This reminded me so much of the Toronto pal of Billy Graham, who must have been a really big deal. He said, "I owned Toronto, religiously speaking." That is such an obnoxious and self-serving statement that the rest followed. He lost his faith and felt forever left behind by his old friend. He could see what Graham was doing and yet he could not follow or do anything more than use his voice in radio. He bore no fruit.
The ones not bearing fruit are taken away, but the ones bearing fruit are cleansed - justified by faith - and become even more fruitful.
That is just how we treat fruiting plants, because the plant wants to flower and fruit to make seed for the next generation. Rose pods are called hips, and they contain the seed. If we prune the rose flowers, the plant grows more canes and deeper roots to make more flowers and seed. In the fall, when we want the plant to stop growing, we let the flowers finish and go to seed. Birds then happily take the hips away and eat them. But so do you. Much of the Vitamin C we consume is from rose hips, and some make rose hip tea.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
This is a gentle but powerful reminder that we only accomplish what is worthwhile for the Kingdom if we abide in Christ. In the long run, what we accomplish for spiritual treasures makes everything else rather mundane. God gives us many things to love and enjoy, but the spiritual treasures are going to impact many generations to come. We can see that in the Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry, where old books are published again and sections blogged, so people can be strengthened and inspired by them.
One person wrote me specifically about Loy and Walther. That meant a lot to him because he was trained in Justification by Faith (Gausewitz) and then inflicted with UOJ, which is the opposite. It won't buy a loaf of break in Peoria, but it gave a lot of insight to one person in another state.
Likewise, a couple in the Upper Midwest asked me about a puzzling statement from a false teacher who seemed to be correct and yet something also seemed wrong. So I went over the details and added some definitions for everyone. Someone from a different state said thanks.
Spiritual insights mean a lot because, as Luther wrote, one error can bring an entire nation to ruin. If you doubt that, look at the rationalism in New England, where Calvinism first settled in. As one pastor said, "We stand outside our churches and beg people to come it. No interest at all." That was 30 years ago. The Calvinists became Unitarian in thought, word, and deed, and then they became even more radical.
5 I AM the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
The alternatives are:
- Very fruitful, or
- Nothing.
The solution is abiding in Christ. That is why people should put aside worries and complaints about institutions. What matters is faithfulness to the Word, abiding in the Gospel in the Means of Grace.
ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 15 1550 Stephanus New Testament (TR1550)
15 εγω ειμι η αμπελος η αληθινη και ο πατηρ μου ο γεωργος εστιν
2 παν κλημα εν εμοι μη φερον καρπον αιρει αυτο και παν το καρπον φερον καθαιρει αυτο ινα πλειονα καρπον φερη
3 ηδη υμεις καθαροι εστε δια τον λογον ον λελαληκα υμιν
4 μεινατε εν εμοι καγω εν υμιν καθως το κλημα ου δυναται καρπον φερειν αφ εαυτου εαν μη μεινη εν τη αμπελω ουτως ουδε υμεις εαν μη εν εμοι μεινητε
5 εγω ειμι η αμπελος υμεις τα κληματα ο μενων εν εμοι καγω εν αυτω ουτος φερει καρπον πολυν οτι χωρις εμου ου δυνασθε ποιειν ουδεν
6 εαν μη τις μεινη εν εμοι εβληθη εξω ως το κλημα και εξηρανθη και συναγουσιν αυτα και εις πυρ βαλλουσιν και καιεται
7 εαν μεινητε εν εμοι και τα ρηματα μου εν υμιν μεινη ο εαν θελητε αιτησεσθε και γενησεται υμιν
8 εν τουτω εδοξασθη ο πατηρ μου ινα καρπον πολυν φερητε και γενησεσθε εμοι μαθηται
9 καθως ηγαπησεν με ο πατηρ καγω ηγαπησα υμας μεινατε εν τη αγαπη τη εμη
10 εαν τας εντολας μου τηρησητε μενειτε εν τη αγαπη μου καθως εγω τας εντολας του πατρος μου τετηρηκα και μενω αυτου εν τη αγαπη
11 ταυτα λελαληκα υμιν ινα η χαρα η εμη εν υμιν μεινη και η χαρα υμων πληρωθη
