Easter 5 Text: John 15:1-8 Title: No Good If Detached
Easter 5
Text: John 15:1-8
Sermon Title: No Good if Detached
Heavenly Father, we humbly come before you today, asking that you will bless the words that I am about to speak, so that we who are gathered here this morning will be strengthened in our understanding of the resurrection and its meaning for our lives. Amen
Quite often an admission ticket to an event, whether it is to an opera, sporting event, or a rock concert will have written on it, “Void, or no good if detached.” In other words, if you tear the ticket apart before you give it to the ticket taker; it is no longer any good. You would not be allowed in because both ends of the ticket have to stay attached to each other to be granted admission.
The analogy that Jesus is using as he talks to his disciples in this morning’s Gospel lesson points out that the same thing happens in our relationship with Jesus. We must be connected to him, for us to be True Christians. Just like that ticket that lost all of its value when it was detached before the ticket-taker took it from you; you have lost your salvation when you are separated from Jesus. Notice I said Jesus, not God, for it is only through Jesus that we can enter the kingdom of God.
I remember, as a young man, struggling with the meaning of this text, for it was almost always preached as an example of what God does to his followers, the branches attached to the vine Jesus. More than one pastor stood in the pulpit and told the congregation that the tragedies of life that happened to Christians were a result of God’s pruning. Pruning had to be painful for it to be of any good. The more painful the pruning the more you knew God loved you.
Because of that teaching I had to do a lot of soul searching as I got older, for how could we have a God who loves us so much that he would die for us, and yet have a God who would give so much pain to those he says that he loves? It just didn’t make sense then and to be honest with you it didn’t make any sense this past 10 days as 3 families’s experienced great tragedies in their lives.
First there was the accidental death of Daniel, the 19 year old son of Angie and Pastor Jim Reeves. Then there was the death of the young man from Oak Grove, who was only 17 years old and getting ready to graduate, in just a couple of weeks, who was killed in a car accident. Last, but not least was the death of Jill, a member of our congregation, who in just a matter of less than one day, went from a young woman recovering from successful surgery to being in an irreversible coma. Three days later she was taken off of life support and died.
Why would our loving God prune these families so severely, or for that matter prune them at all? It just doesn’t make sense, so as the week went by I spent as much time as possible studying the text. By Saturday morning as I wrote my sermon, I had come to the conclusion that God does not cause such things to happen to those he calls his own. This particular text does not even speak of such things. Oh, it speaks of pruning alright, but it is not the type of pruning that I believe most of us think of, that harsh pruning we think God sometimes sends our way. I will show you what I mean a little later in this sermon.
But first, let’s take a few minutes and look closely at John 15, verses 1 through 8, particularly verses 1-3, for in those first three verses we find the meaning of Jesus’ words to his disciples and to us.
Jesus and his disciples were walking out of the city toward the Garden of Gethsemane where he, unknown to the disciples was going to be arrested. Jesus was giving them some last minute instructions as they walked along, for he knew what was going to happen. He knew that they were going to deny him, and run off like scared rabbits. He knew and he wanted to give them something that they could hang on to so that they would not be lost to Satan.
Jesus and the disciples were probably walking past some freshly pruned grape vines when he stopped to talk to them. I am not sure they completely understood what he was telling them that night, but they knew what he was talking about was true. You see, grapes were a common crop, so they knew that it was critical that the workers of the vineyard cut back the grape vines before they started growing and then keep them pruned. If they didn’t the grapevine would look great, really healthy and strong, but as you closely examined it you would see that it was all show, for the energy of the vine had gone into the leaves and not the grapes.
They knew that, so when Jesus pointed out the stack of dead branches that had been piled up ready for burning, they knew that is what happened to those vine branches that had been cut off. They were not worth anything; fit only to be burned.
The purpose of pruning is not to harm the branch, but to allow the branch to bear more fruit, in our case spiritual fruit. We need to always keep that in our focus, for it allows us to grasp what Jesus wants us to learn.
In the Greek language the word that means “clean”, we translate in English as “prune”, or “cut off”. There is an entirely different word in Greek that means “cutoff or “remove”. So when you read the text, Jesus is not saying he is removing when he prunes, but is cleaning the branch.
That is why he says in verse 3 as he speaks to his disciples, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” I can’t honestly say that I ever paid much attention to that sentence before I started to prepare for this sermon. I have to admit it was Friday morning before I really started to understand Jesus’ words, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”
What does that mean, “You are already clean”? That is a tough question, but one that we must find the answer to if we are to understand the message that Jesus want us to learn. It sounds an awful like a Gospel message to me.
To be made clean is to be free of the condemnation of your sins as distinguished from the pruning done in the living of your life of sanctification, which is what the branches represent. Pruning is not the slashing away of but the removal of those troubling areas of your life; those little sucker branches that sap the spiritual life out of you, most of the time without you even knowing it is happening.
In saying that the disciples are already clean Jesus is taking any credit for their salvation away from them. Think about it for a moment. When Jesus said to them, “You are already clean,” they were already clean and they had done nothing. It was a done deal. Now that is Good News.
Are you hearing what Jesus is saying to you today as he says, “You are already clean.” Each one of you that has faith in Jesus as your Savior is free of the condemnation of your sins. You had nothing to do with it and never will. The only thing for you to do is to let God rid your life of all those little sucker branches that are sucking the spiritual life out of you.
Let him do it. Don’t be afraid, for you cannot do it yourself. Just as a branch cannot get its nutrients from the soil without the vine which is attached to the roots, you cannot, no matter how hard you try, do it yourself.
When you let God prune you, yes, even look joyfully toward his pruning, you will bear fruit. Just as some vine branches bear more fruit than others, some of you will bear more fruit than others. It really doesn’t matter as long as you bear fruit God has given you to bear.
And just what is that fruit you might be asking. Well, we are told in Galatians 5:22-and the first half of verse 23 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.”
Not a bad list at all. Wouldn’t you like to be better in at least one of those areas of your life, or if you are like me, all of them? You can, if you remain in Jesus and let God start removing what remains of your sinful nature with all its outward appearances.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, be at peace, for you have a God who loves you, who has provided a way for you to free from the condemnation we all deserve, and who will lovingly keep working on you though out this life so that not only will you live a better life on this earth, but you will also be able to stand before him and say, “I am a branch that bore much fruit because you lovingly pruned me after I was cleansed by your word in my Baptism, for that is when you joined me to the true vine Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Amen
Text: John 15:1-8
Sermon Title: No Good if Detached
Heavenly Father, we humbly come before you today, asking that you will bless the words that I am about to speak, so that we who are gathered here this morning will be strengthened in our understanding of the resurrection and its meaning for our lives. Amen
Quite often an admission ticket to an event, whether it is to an opera, sporting event, or a rock concert will have written on it, “Void, or no good if detached.” In other words, if you tear the ticket apart before you give it to the ticket taker; it is no longer any good. You would not be allowed in because both ends of the ticket have to stay attached to each other to be granted admission.
The analogy that Jesus is using as he talks to his disciples in this morning’s Gospel lesson points out that the same thing happens in our relationship with Jesus. We must be connected to him, for us to be True Christians. Just like that ticket that lost all of its value when it was detached before the ticket-taker took it from you; you have lost your salvation when you are separated from Jesus. Notice I said Jesus, not God, for it is only through Jesus that we can enter the kingdom of God.
I remember, as a young man, struggling with the meaning of this text, for it was almost always preached as an example of what God does to his followers, the branches attached to the vine Jesus. More than one pastor stood in the pulpit and told the congregation that the tragedies of life that happened to Christians were a result of God’s pruning. Pruning had to be painful for it to be of any good. The more painful the pruning the more you knew God loved you.
Because of that teaching I had to do a lot of soul searching as I got older, for how could we have a God who loves us so much that he would die for us, and yet have a God who would give so much pain to those he says that he loves? It just didn’t make sense then and to be honest with you it didn’t make any sense this past 10 days as 3 families’s experienced great tragedies in their lives.
First there was the accidental death of Daniel, the 19 year old son of Angie and Pastor Jim Reeves. Then there was the death of the young man from Oak Grove, who was only 17 years old and getting ready to graduate, in just a couple of weeks, who was killed in a car accident. Last, but not least was the death of Jill, a member of our congregation, who in just a matter of less than one day, went from a young woman recovering from successful surgery to being in an irreversible coma. Three days later she was taken off of life support and died.
Why would our loving God prune these families so severely, or for that matter prune them at all? It just doesn’t make sense, so as the week went by I spent as much time as possible studying the text. By Saturday morning as I wrote my sermon, I had come to the conclusion that God does not cause such things to happen to those he calls his own. This particular text does not even speak of such things. Oh, it speaks of pruning alright, but it is not the type of pruning that I believe most of us think of, that harsh pruning we think God sometimes sends our way. I will show you what I mean a little later in this sermon.
But first, let’s take a few minutes and look closely at John 15, verses 1 through 8, particularly verses 1-3, for in those first three verses we find the meaning of Jesus’ words to his disciples and to us.
Jesus and his disciples were walking out of the city toward the Garden of Gethsemane where he, unknown to the disciples was going to be arrested. Jesus was giving them some last minute instructions as they walked along, for he knew what was going to happen. He knew that they were going to deny him, and run off like scared rabbits. He knew and he wanted to give them something that they could hang on to so that they would not be lost to Satan.
Jesus and the disciples were probably walking past some freshly pruned grape vines when he stopped to talk to them. I am not sure they completely understood what he was telling them that night, but they knew what he was talking about was true. You see, grapes were a common crop, so they knew that it was critical that the workers of the vineyard cut back the grape vines before they started growing and then keep them pruned. If they didn’t the grapevine would look great, really healthy and strong, but as you closely examined it you would see that it was all show, for the energy of the vine had gone into the leaves and not the grapes.
They knew that, so when Jesus pointed out the stack of dead branches that had been piled up ready for burning, they knew that is what happened to those vine branches that had been cut off. They were not worth anything; fit only to be burned.
The purpose of pruning is not to harm the branch, but to allow the branch to bear more fruit, in our case spiritual fruit. We need to always keep that in our focus, for it allows us to grasp what Jesus wants us to learn.
In the Greek language the word that means “clean”, we translate in English as “prune”, or “cut off”. There is an entirely different word in Greek that means “cutoff or “remove”. So when you read the text, Jesus is not saying he is removing when he prunes, but is cleaning the branch.
That is why he says in verse 3 as he speaks to his disciples, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.” I can’t honestly say that I ever paid much attention to that sentence before I started to prepare for this sermon. I have to admit it was Friday morning before I really started to understand Jesus’ words, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”
What does that mean, “You are already clean”? That is a tough question, but one that we must find the answer to if we are to understand the message that Jesus want us to learn. It sounds an awful like a Gospel message to me.
To be made clean is to be free of the condemnation of your sins as distinguished from the pruning done in the living of your life of sanctification, which is what the branches represent. Pruning is not the slashing away of but the removal of those troubling areas of your life; those little sucker branches that sap the spiritual life out of you, most of the time without you even knowing it is happening.
In saying that the disciples are already clean Jesus is taking any credit for their salvation away from them. Think about it for a moment. When Jesus said to them, “You are already clean,” they were already clean and they had done nothing. It was a done deal. Now that is Good News.
Are you hearing what Jesus is saying to you today as he says, “You are already clean.” Each one of you that has faith in Jesus as your Savior is free of the condemnation of your sins. You had nothing to do with it and never will. The only thing for you to do is to let God rid your life of all those little sucker branches that are sucking the spiritual life out of you.
Let him do it. Don’t be afraid, for you cannot do it yourself. Just as a branch cannot get its nutrients from the soil without the vine which is attached to the roots, you cannot, no matter how hard you try, do it yourself.
When you let God prune you, yes, even look joyfully toward his pruning, you will bear fruit. Just as some vine branches bear more fruit than others, some of you will bear more fruit than others. It really doesn’t matter as long as you bear fruit God has given you to bear.
And just what is that fruit you might be asking. Well, we are told in Galatians 5:22-and the first half of verse 23 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.”
Not a bad list at all. Wouldn’t you like to be better in at least one of those areas of your life, or if you are like me, all of them? You can, if you remain in Jesus and let God start removing what remains of your sinful nature with all its outward appearances.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, be at peace, for you have a God who loves you, who has provided a way for you to free from the condemnation we all deserve, and who will lovingly keep working on you though out this life so that not only will you live a better life on this earth, but you will also be able to stand before him and say, “I am a branch that bore much fruit because you lovingly pruned me after I was cleansed by your word in my Baptism, for that is when you joined me to the true vine Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 4:31 PM
|
0 comments
