Lessons from the Master’s Vineyard.

In John 15:1-8, Jesus gives us an illustration of who we are in Christ. Jesus says, “I am the Vine and you are the branches.” There is a truth in today’s passages that Jesus teaches about the Lord’s Supper, also known as Communion. Today we will look at lessons from the Master’s Vineyard.

The Mediating Work of Christ Makes Us Useful

The first lesson coming from John 15:9-11 is that Jesus Christ is our mediator. A mediator is defined as a person who attempts to make people in agreement who are against each other on a matter. He allows one party to get to another party in order to reconcile.

Because of Jesus’s connection to the Father, we, through Jesus, have a connection to the Father. Besides the vine, you can see another illustration as a chain and links to a chain. In verse 9, Jesus says, ”Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you.” For our illustration, God the Son is the loving link between us and the Father.

Without Jesus, there is no reason that the Father should love us. Sin cannot stand before Him. But the basis of the chain is love. John 15:10 says, "if you keep my commandments, you will abide in His love." In John 14:31, Jesus intends the world to know that He loves the Father because He does “exactly” as the Father commands.

This is the context in which Jesus is useful to the Father because He keeps His commandments. We also have usefulness to the Father, and it will give us joy. As love flows down from the Father and as obedience flows up, our usefulness increases.

If you want to have joy, you need to be useful to the Master. The more useful you are, the more joy you’ll have.

The Meaning of Bearing Fruit

Loving Jesus, abiding in Jesus, bearing fruit, and keeping His commandments are all connected. A concrete way to bear fruit is simply to obey.

If obedience is the general reality of bearing fruit, the specific way is to love one another. According to Jesus, love looks like John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends.”

If you want to be useful for the Master's purposes, then you need to love like Jesus by laying down your life. He has already set this example for us! What a Friend we have that Jesus, the Son of God would sacrifice His life for us. When Jesus lays down His life, we become useful. That means if we lay down our lives, others will become useful to Christ.

The Method That Christ Employs for Those Who Abide in Him

Finally, in John 15:15-17, Jesus reveals the heart of the Father towards us. Jesus says, “No longer do I call you slaves but I have called you friends.”

Jesus says God's heart toward us is not the heart of a Master to slaves, but one of friendship. We have access, just like a friend, to the Father. God, who is Sovereign and in control of all, wants us to know that He chose you. God appointed you to go and bear fruit.

Application Points

• Jesus is the Mediator between God the Father and us. If you are in Jesus, you have an unbreakable connection and can be assured of the Father’s love.
• The Lord’s Supper is a reminder to us of the access that Jesus provides to the Father because of Jesus’ broken body and spilt blood. Let it be a refresher of our faith and how we interact with each other.
• Jesus' definition of love is a high calling. We want to lay down our very lives, like Christ did for us, so that others can become useful. We need to be eager for others to be more useful and to bear more fruit than ourselves.
• If you are a father, you need to grasp the truth that life in your family is not about your desires, your way, and your thinking. It's about laying down your life so that others in your home can increase.
• Mothers tend to sacrifice themselves for their families perhaps more naturally than fathers. As you do this, remember your ultimate goal is that your children will be successful in the Lord.

Tools for Further Study

Cross References to Explore:

• Romans 8
• John 4:31
• Hebrews 12:1
• Ephesians 5