John 15:
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
In the rules of interpretation, this is a classic mis-interpreted passage. Jesus is not referring primarily to a Christian picture of Christians being in the Vine and the Father being the Vinekeeper. Rather he is continuing a conversation with his Jewish disciples about the Father being the Husbandman of Israel.
Consider the setting. Judas is even now betraying his Christ to the leaders of Israel. The leaders are fomenting the death of Christ. All of the disciples are about to forsake the Christ and run away. Why would Jesus suddenly depart from contextually speaking to his disciples and start speaking to his Christians before the cross? It would make no sense, other than the great comfort we get from reading these words. They certainly apply to us, at least some of them. We are being kept by the Father who tends us even as a Loving Father does his son, or as a farmer might tend his vines. But that is application, not interpretation.
To look at the interpretation, we must understand the context. Jesus was facing desertion on every side, but mainly with the national leaders. Israel was about to forever reject their Christ. What else would Jesus have in mind when he declares, “if a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered, and men cast them into the fire and they are burned.” What other thing could possibly be on his mind? His chosen nation, his people are about to reject him and he is facing the cross all alone.
Not only the betrayal of Judas and the priests is on his mind; he is also thinking of his disciples. Peter has just foolishly, along with all the disciples, that they would never forsake him. But Peter does it so insistently, that Christ predicts that Peter would deny him three times. Having just said that in John 13, and having sent Judas on his way to betrayal, what else would he possibly be thinking about?
Does he not talk in the Vineyard passage about pruning the branches? Is he not thinking about the disciples being pruned here? Of their denial, and eventual restoration to belief? Israel was constantly being compared to a vine, with different pictures, but all having the background of God being in charge and Israel being responsible.
Early in my Christian life, I was learning the doctrine of eternal security. Here is a verse that gives eternal security fits: “If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth. . . into the fire.” I used to worry over these verses, contrasting them with the many verses on eternal security and worry about what God could possibly mean? But now I see that these verses are referring the nation of Israel, telling them that if they do not abide, they will be cast out. Is not the evidence before us? Israel has long denied their Christ, and has spent 2,000 years being cast out and burned. This tragedy is foretold in Jesus speaking in John 15.
