Bearing fruit is what branches do. They do not bear fruit by themselves, but they do bear fruit.
D.A. Carson describes Jesus’ teaching in John 15 as “an extended metaphor without a plot.”[1] It is not a Pauline epistolary argument with all the grammatical markers of a thoroughly developed sequence of ideas which lands on a clear conclusion. It is not an episode in the life of our Lord or a parable with a setting, characters, and a narrative sequence. John 15:1-8 is “an extended metaphor without a plot.”
It might be tempting to simply “decode” the text for your hearers and tell them what all the aspects of the metaphor “really mean.” That would work well enough, but it would be like explaining a joke: It becomes understandable, but lifeless.
What would it look like to embrace the metaphor and live with it (and in it) with your hearers? Take Billy Collins’ poem, “Introduction to Poetry,” as a source of inspiration.[2] I want to work to present and proclaim the metaphor without trying to explain it.
You could summarize John 15:1-8 with words that sound like Romans or James saying, “Good works always follow faith,” but why abandon the language of John? How about something more akin to, “Bearing fruit always flows from abiding.” I suggest presenting such a proverb-like summary of the text as a refrain, and then “hold it up to the light, like a color slide, or press an ear against its hive.”
When you emphasize or linger on a specific word or phrase, it invites you to experience different nuances and flavors of the text. The following could be arranged and explored in a variety of sequences depending on where you would like to begin or end:
- Bearing fruit always flows from abiding.
- Bearing fruit always flows from abiding.
- Bearing fruit always flows from abiding.
- Bearing fruit always flows from abiding.
1. Bearing fruit always flows from abiding.
Bearing fruit is what branches do. Branches bear fruit. Jesus says, “Every branch of Mine that does not bear fruit He [the Father] takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (15:2). Bearing fruit is what branches do. They do not bear fruit by themselves (15:4), but they do bear fruit. In fact, they bear much fruit (15:5,8). Bearing fruit is what branches do.
It can be the fruit of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Branches bear fruit. It can be praying to God for His good will to be done in our lives. Branches bear fruit. And when branches bear fruit, God the Father is glorified, and we prove to be Jesus’ disciples. This is who we are. This is what we do. Bearing fruit is what branches do.
Branches bear fruit. And when branches bear fruit, God the Father is glorified, and we prove to be Jesus’ disciples.
2. Bearing fruit always flows from abiding.
Bearing fruit is what branches do. Bearing fruit is not optional. When a branch does not bear fruit, the Vinedresser takes it away. It is thrown away. It withers. It is gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. Bearing fruit is not optional.
Bearing fruit is what branches do. Bearing fruit is not optional. When a branch does bear fruit, the Vinedresser prunes it. He tends to it. He gives it His careful attention so it will bear even more fruit, much fruit. Bearing fruit is not optional.
That does not mean the fruit is always perfect. It also does not mean producing new fruit every single day, season after season, like some factory that runs three shifts. Jesus does not require a quota, and He is not comparing the fruit of one branch to the fruit of another. But bearing fruit is not optional. Either a branch bears fruit and it is pruned, or it does not, and it is burned.
3. Bearing fruit always flows from abiding.
Bearing fruit is what branches do. Bearing fruit is not optional. Branches abide in the Vine. Jesus is the Vine, the true Vine, and we are the branches. Branches abide in the vine.
To abide is to stay connected. To abide is to be with. To abide is to be nurtured. To abide is to receive, moment by moment, to receive everything, to receive life itself. Branches abide in the vine.
Jesus says, “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. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.”
Branches abide in the vine. We are connected, with, nurtured, and receive life itself from Jesus, the Vine. He is with us. He nurtures us. He gives us all we need, moment by moment. He gives us everything. He gives us life itself! He gives His own life! We abide in Jesus. Branches abide in the vine.
4. Bearing fruit always flows from abiding.
Bearing fruit always flows from abiding. You do not have to be a botanist or a horticulturalist to get the flow here. The vine provides for the branches and the branches produce the fruit. The sequence matters. Or, as Jesus says elsewhere, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good.” A good tree makes good fruit.
Bearing fruit always flows from abiding. The branch receives from the vine, as it abides in the vine. And from that abiding, from that receiving, the fruit naturally follows. That is not a command, it is simply how it works. Bearing fruit always flows from abiding.
This is not an accusation or a to-do list or a production quota which needs to be met. It is a picture of life: A receptive life, a fruitful life, a God-glorifying life. It is life in Jesus.
Bearing fruit is what branches do. Bearing fruit is not optional. Branches abide in the vine. And bearing fruit always flows from abiding.
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on John 15:1-8.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching John 15:1-8.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach John 15:1-8.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
Lectionary Podcast-Dr. Walter A. Maier III of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through John 15:1-8.
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[1] D.A. Carson. The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to John. Eerdmans: 1991. 513.
[2] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46712/introduction-to-poetry
