October 8


On Pruning
John 15:1-11


One of the difficulties in understanding the analogies of the New Testament is that grapes come wrapped in plastic in our time.
Most of us are not gardeners; very few of us are farmers.  So passages like this may lose some of the meaning that was clear to earlier times.  Here are some of the ways that earlier Christians looked at this process of pruning:

  • Some saw this as persecution.  God allows the persecution of the church, for as Tertullian said, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church."  God prunes off his martyrs--but when He does, see how the church grows!
  • Others saw this as the process of cleansing.  Grape vines evidently must be pruned early in the season to rid them of "sucker vines."  These tendrils trap dirt, but they also reduce the amount of fruit produced.  So therefore we may see this process as God cleansing the Christian to make him more fruitful.
  • Still others saw this as the removal of the fruit itself--in the form of God removing students from the care of a particular teacher.  Why would God do this?  First, so that no one would come to depend entirely upon one particular teacher.  Who is Paul?  Who is Apollos?  Also, God does this so that the teacher's pride may be controlled;  no teacher should think himself indispensable.  Both of these answers are evidence of what Paul tells us:  it is God that gives the increase.
Some think this analogy is talking about Christian evangelism.  Vines produce more vines, after their own kind.  But the same idea may be applied if we think of the fruit of this vine as being good works.  One thing is certain:  all these good things come only when we are "in the vine" - rightly related to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
We cannot bear fruit without him.  Consider the disciples:  were these men naturally courageous and bold?  Were they great speakers?  The Bible tells us they were not, yet after the Resurrection, with the Spirit to guide them, they turned the known world upside down.  Peter, who on that night didn't have courage enough to stand up to a servant girl, later was crucified (upside down) for his faith.
All this has a purpose:  the glory of God.  As we bear fruit today, it fits that same purpose, for we are in that same vine.