First Mennonite Church
January 26, 2025
Fruitful Branches
Text: John 15:1-8
There is a story about the day a children’s Sunday school teacher sat before her class. She pulled out a large poster and showed it to her students. She asked, “Children, what do you see here?” The little kids gave a puzzled look at the teacher, but no one wanted to say anything. That is until a little boy at the back said, “Teacher, I think you want us to say it is Jesus, but to me, it looks an awful lot like a squirrel. I think it is a squirrel.”
We need to call it a squirrel if what we see is a squirrel. We need to speak about the reality we face when it comes to sharing the gospel.
As believers in the Lord, we know very well that sharing the gospel is one of the tasks he gives us to do. Yet, this task seems to be the hardest one to carry out. And there are various reasons for the reluctance, fear, or avoidance we have towards this commandment. So let us talk about it.
First, the problem with sharing the gospel is not that we do not know we should. We are mindful of what Jesus commands us to do. It is very clear in the New Testament. But here are a few of the major challenges we have.
Most likely the people we want to share the gospel with, know their history. They know that Christians do not have a clean record. Our Christian history is embarrassing. We might feel reluctant to share the gospel in light of that checkered past of the Christian church.
Just to give three examples: In the eighth century, for 26 years Charlemagne fought the Saxons and when they refused to be baptized, he proceeded to slaughter them. It is recorded that on one single day, Charlemagne massacred 4,500 Saxons.
In the Eleventh century, Christian Crusaders arrived in Jerusalem to capture the city for the Church of Rome. The soldiers raided homes, their places of worship, and set their buildings on fire. Those who attempted to flee were killed. The children were thrown into the air and caught with their swords. All of this happened while the soldiers were singing, “Christ, We Do All Adore Thee.”
In the Sixteenth Century, A Portuguese conquistador declared, “Who can deny that the use of the gunpowder against the pagans is the burning incense to our Lord God?”
In 1976, Thirty well-known international TV and radio evangelists met with President Ford to express concern over the lagging US military strength abroad. They noted that whenever the US appears to be weak, their evangelistic work abroad becomes difficult. They said it was easier for them to carry out their ministries when the US military is perceived as strong.
In 1991, It is reported that an American fighter pilot painted with large letters on the bomb he dropped over Bagdad, “If Allah doesn’t answer, ask for Jesus.”
So, we should not be surprised if people see a contradiction when we speak of God’s love for the world with this dark backdrop in the history of Christianity.
Once a historian of Christianity was asked, how do you deal with the dark past of in the history of Christianity when doing outreach? He said, “I cannot deny the fact that we have a not-so-good record. There are many instances in which Christian religious fanatics have done more harm than good to the name of Christ. I say Christians are practitioners of Jesus Christ. But we don’t always get it right. It is like the amateur player who tries to play a piece from Mozart. Mozart only wrote beautiful masterpieces, however, it is not guaranteed that everyone who attempts to play them will bring across the exquisiteness as they have been brilliantly written. So it is with Jesus. If the players—practitioners of his teaching get it wrong, the beauty, love, and spirit of Jesus will come out all distorted and unrecognizable or even ugly-looking.”
On the other hand, when the gospel is embodied, its power and beauty are hard to deny. There is the story of a young man whose father was very domineering and always found faults in his children. He verbally abused his children and these grew up never being able to be good enough in his eyes. This young man found healing and the strength to forgive his father’s lifelong abuse when he received Christ as his Lord and Savior.
One day, after having visited his father many times in the hospital, on his deathbed with tears running down his cheeks and a hoarse voice the old man said, “I am sorry; I am sorry! Please forgive the hurt and pain I inflicted on you. I see that your religion is powerful. You never abandoned me. You always cared for me despite everything I did to you. Your love for me is genuine.”
It is clear: when the spirit and character of Jesus are reflected it impacts the life of others. Just as it was with Jesus during his ministry. His listeners were either attracted or repelled by him. Those who were seeking and hungering for God found in Jesus hope, and new life, and became his followers.
In our passage in John 15, Jesus gives a vivid illustration of how to bear fruit that glorifies the Father. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
Jesus’ words here are not of judgment or threat. They are a promise to us. First you and I, by God’s mercy have been grafted to not just any vine, but the true vine. Jesus is the vine appointed by the Father in whom his followers will grow and produce abundantly to the glory of God the Father. Jesus is the true vine therefore, the lives of those who are in him are secure and fruitful. In the true vine, we grow but as you know, vines have by nature a disorderly growth. (I will soon prune my two little vines at home. They look awful) And that is where God the Father comes in to do his work of pruning. The gardener or vine dresser inspects the vine and upon finding unfruitful twigs and branches, he chops them. If we are doing something that does not yield glory to God, God wants to remove it from us.
But the Lord, the true vine, wants us to avoid being fruitless; he desires that what we do for his glory yield even more. Therefore he commands or invites, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you.” Jesus’ call to remain might seem to say that the branches have the option of removing themselves from the vine. And although it is not the case exactly; however, if the branch dies or is sick it can naturally fall off the vine. However, here, Jesus does not say, “Remain in me or else . . . .” No. He says, “Remain in me as I remain in you.” Jesus is committed to be with us if we desire to remain in him. Jesus wants to make us fruitful if we desire to cling to him.
Thus, Jesus says,
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Being fruitful for the Lord includes a life pleasing to God, In Ephesians Paul urges: Live as children of light(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth)and find out what pleases the Lord (Ephesians 5:8b-10). This means we have to be discerning on how to please God in every situation. As Paul also warns: “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything (1Corinthians 6:12). Let us be discerning so that what we do or say helps the cause of Christ and his message.
Being fruitful means giving praise and worship to God. In the book of Hebrews, we read: Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. So, let us not neglect to get together for worship and fellowship. The Lord rejoices when we worship him with joy and gratitude in our hearts.
Being fruitful means also means sharing the gospel. If Christian history is stained because of major missteps in its effort to spread (actually forcing the faith on others through violence), let us make a personal commitment to share the gospel with grace and humility. Let us do it with a heart of genuine concern about the eternal destiny of people who are without God. Many people are going through life without knowing that God desires to be involved in their lives. God is offering so much in terms of peace, strength, and purpose in life. But above everything else, God is offering eternal life to everyone who believes in Jesus and makes him the Lord of his or her life.
Jesus is the true vine. He promises to remain with us and invites us to remain in him. This is the only way we can be fruitful. Thus he said, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Amen!