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Greetings dear family of our beloved Saviour Jesus Christ, may the good Lord fill our hearts with every grace so that we may always bear good fruit for Him.
Continuing the theme ‘the titles of Jesus’ we come to ‘The True Vine’. Jesus said: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.” (John 15:1) In the Old Testament there are several references where God’s chosen people (Israel) are spoken of as ‘The Vine’. In Isaiah’s Song Of The Vineyard, God complains that despite His love and care, His vineyard has yielded only wild grapes. (Isaiah 5:1-7) Jesus also made His complaints, but it was generally not the people that He was reprimanding but the leaders (the Pharisee’s). The Jewish people were still God’s chosen people at this time; many of them being very devout in keeping God’s law, and the first Christians were all Jews. However, in saying “I am the true vine,” Jesus was telling them that the old chosen people would be succeeded by the new chosen people, the church, of which He was to be the Head. The Old Covenant had now been superseded by the New Covenant that God had promised to His people. Those who could not except Jesus as the Messiah are still bound to God under the Old Covenant (which is everlasting – Gen 17:19) and are to be considered our cousins in faith, it is hoped that they will join us in welcoming Jesus when He returns In glory accepting Him as the Messiah, and that we shall all be as one family once more.
Jesus also uses the image of the vineyard in His parable about the murderous tenants. (Matt 21:33-4) Here He was complaining to the Pharisee’s about the number of Prophets sent by God that they had murdered, and then they will also murder Him, the Son. This rejection of Jesus’ teaching will fulfil another prophecy: “The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner.” (Psalm 118:22 And Isaiah 28:16) - see also (Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:6 & 7). It is here that we get the title of ‘The Corner Stone’ for Jesus: the Corner Stone being the most important stone, the first one laid – upon which all others must build.
Jesus goes on to say: “Every branch of mine that bears no fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2) We note that Jesus said, “every branch of mine.” So we understand that both groups of branches were attached to Jesus, the Vine. Our Lord is speaking here about fellowship: that of those who, although still joined to the vine externally, yield no fruit at all and are cast out, and those who are united in deep fellowship and bear fruit, but could still bear more fruit. In order to produce fruit, which is pleasing to God, it is not enough to be baptised and profess the faith externally, a person has to be united to Christ, the Vine, through a living faith. Faith is a gift from God, but we have to make use of this gift: Remember the parable of the talents (Matt 25:14 –30). The parable ends with the words, “For everyone who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” We have to make use of all God’s gifts if we do not wish to lose them. Continued on next page.
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