VINE, VINE GROWER, AND BRANCHES
Jesus declared, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower” (Jn 15:1) and “I am the vine, you are the branches” (Jn 15:5). Using imagery familiar to His listeners, Jesus illustrated His relationship with the Father and His disciples. Vineyards were a common sight in the Holy Land, and Jesus presented Himself as “the true vine,” similar to His descriptions as the gate for the sheep (Jn 10:7-9) and the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (Jn 10:11-15).
Isaiah depicted Israel as God’s vineyard (Isa 5:1-7), and Jesus used this imagery in the parable of the tenants, presenting Israel as God’s well-preserved vineyard (Mt 21:33-46). Psalm 80:9-17 also portrays Israel as God’s vine, starting with, “You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out nations and planted it” (Ps 80:9).
Jesus emphasized His truthfulness, eternity, and perfection as the vine of divine origin by referring to Himself as the “true vine” (Jn 15:1). Unlike Israel, the vineyard of God, Jesus is the perfect vine, bearing the best fruit. Jesus explained, “By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit” (Mt 7:16-18). Jesus, unlike a rotten vine, is the best of its kind, bearing high-quality fruit.
Father is the Vine Grower
God is the owner of the vine, which represents Jesus with His disciples as its branches. In the parable of the tenants, Jesus described the Father as the “landowner who planted a vineyard” (Mt 21:33; Mk 12:1; Lk 20:9), which is Israel. Jesus did not act independently but expressed His close affiliation with the Father. The Father is also the vinedresser who diligently cares for His vine to ensure a good yield.
As the vinedresser, God performs two key tasks for effective fruit production. First, He cuts off the fruitless tendrils to save the sap for the fruit-bearing branches. Then, He trims unnecessary shoots to concentrate the sap on the selected branches, yielding the best results (Jn 15:2).
When Jesus presented this metaphor, Judas was the rotten branch among the apostles. He cut himself off from Jesus’ team through his greed for money, betrayal of his master, and his suicide. The other eleven were the fruitful branches that underwent pruning during their ministry. God pruned the apostles, resulting in their excellent productivity, a pattern that would continue in the Church’s history.
Withered Branches
Jesus is the vine, and His disciples are the branches that He nourishes spiritually. They must bear excellent fruit from the grace they receive. If they fail, God the Father, the vinedresser, will cut them off, leading to their eternal destruction. Matthew chapter 25 provides examples of such futile people.
1. Parable of the Ten Virgins: Five virgins failed to take oil with their lamps while waiting to welcome the bridegroom at night. Jesus called them foolish because they could not join the wedding feast for lack of oil when the bridegroom arrived at midnight (Mt 25:1-13). Non-practicing Christians will face a similar fate at Christ’s second coming or the end of their lives. Those without the oil of Christian virtue will be excluded from the eternal banquet in heaven.
2. Parable of the Talents: A noble person entrusted five, two, and one talent each to his servants according to their ability before he went on a journey. The first two multiplied their talents, but the third buried his master’s money. Upon his return, the master commanded, “Throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth” (Mt 25:14-30). Jesus warned His disciples to be productive with the Christian virtues they had received.
3. Judgment of the Nations: At His second coming, the Son of Man will judge the nations, separating the righteous from the unrighteous. He will say to those on His left, “Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt 25:31-46). This illustrates the fate of unproductive people, akin to withered branches.
Some who join the mystical body of Christ through baptism may lose faith and leave the Church, like cut-off branches. Others may remain nominal members, producing no results from the grace they have received. Judas Iscariot is a typical example. He followed Jesus, preached the gospel, healed the sick, and cast out demons but harbored selfish motives. Jesus said, “‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers’” (Mt 7:21-23). Only those who do the Father’s will, as Jesus taught, will be the true branches preserved for eternal reward. God the Father will destroy the unproductive branches.
Pruning the Branches
In biblical times, farmers prevented vines from bearing fruit during their first three years of growth to keep the plants strong. Careful pruning continued from the fourth year to enhance fruit-bearing capacity. Annual pruning took place in December and January.
Pruning involves:
1. Pinching off the tip of the shoot to slow growth.
2. Cutting larger branches to prevent them from becoming too long and weak.
3. Thinning out unwanted flowers or grape clusters.
These actions hurt the plant but are beneficial for its best productivity. Jesus used this as an example of the hardships and opposition disciples might face in their ministry, leading to glorious results. God the Father allows these for the best outcome.
During Old Testament times, God’s vineyard was the house of Israel, the people of Judah, His cherished plant (Isa 5:7a). “He spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; Within it, he built a watchtower and hewed out a wine press. Then he waited for the crop of grapes, but it yielded rotten grapes” (Isa 5:2). Despite sending prophets to turn them back to the Lord, the people would not listen (2 Chr 24:19). God destroyed the unfaithful through war and natural calamities, like cutting away rotten branches. He pruned the rest with temporary punishments for their repentance and revival of covenantal relationship with Him. “The discipline of the Lord, my son, do not spurn; do not disdain his reproof; For whom the Lord loves he reproves, as a father, the son he favors” (Prov 3:11-12).
Jesus came to prune the imperfect and add the obedient to His kingdom, the Church. After His ascension, Jesus continues to feed the faithful through His Church, like the unseen root of the tree. Christians receive spiritual nourishment from Jesus through the Church to become virtuous in the world. While feeding the faithful with sacramental grace, God also prunes them with life challenges for high productivity. “Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him” (Jm 1:12).
Fruit and food production involve hardship and pain, ending in excellent results. Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (Jn 12:24). Wheat is ground to make bread and grapes crushed to produce wine. Similarly, Jesus’ glorification occurred after His passion, death, and resurrection. He asked His disciples to follow His path: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Mt 16:24-25).
Spiritual pruning is necessary for purification and spiritual growth. Biblical figures like Noah, Abraham, and Job faced challenges on their spiritual journeys, culminating in high rewards. The apostles and the early Christian community faced persecution for their loyalty to Jesus, welcoming the pain of pruning without complaint because Jesus was their role model in facing severe oppression. “Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time” (Dan 11:35). Every failure, sickness, death of a loved one, material loss, prejudice, hardship in ministry, or other hurdles will turn out for the better if we accept them with a positive attitude.
Jesus taught, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few” (Mt 7:13-14). God knows our suffering and, like a parent to a child, He will safeguard us and welcome us to Himself. Hence, we read in Hebrews, “Endure your trials as ‘discipline;’ God treats you as sons. For what ‘son’ is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are without discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards” (Heb 12:7-8). “At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it” (Heb 12:11).
Union with Jesus
A branch cannot function independently but must remain part of the tree to get the sap necessary for survival and productivity. Jesus, the way, and the truth, also gives eternal life. No one can inherit the kingdom without Him. When a branch separates from the tree, it loses life, similar to the prodigal son who insisted on leaving his father with his inheritance. He eventually lost everything and was abandoned by all people. He became like a withered branch. When he reconciled with his father, he regained his lost privileges. Separation from Jesus and His Church is spiritually destructive; union with Jesus through His Church is essential for eternal reward. Jesus came to bring back to Himself and to His Father those who had become withered branches.
The vine can survive even if some branches are cut off, but the branches cannot survive without their connection to the vine. When the branches remain connected, they form one vine and become fruitful. Jesus connects the branches to the ground, allowing the necessary nourishment to flow through the roots and stem. Similarly, we receive grace from heaven only through Jesus and His Church. That is why Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).
In the Old Testament, when the chosen people deviated from God’s commandments, they lost His protection and faced destruction by their enemies, resulting in slavery. When Israel divided after Solomon’s reign, Northern Israel lost connection with the Temple in Jerusalem and became idolatrous. The Assyrians attacked them and dispersed them, leading to their permanent loss of unity with the worshipers of the God of Israel.
Jesus established one Church with Himself as its head. Unfortunately, divisions occurred due to conflicting views and interests, resulting in multiple Christian denominations. Towards the end of His public ministry, Jesus prayed for unity among His disciples (Jn 17:20-21). Some individuals separated from the Church, claiming they wanted only a direct relationship with God. These supposedly spiritual people fail to understand that Jesus is the only way, truth, and life. Without Him and His Church, we cannot reach our eternal destination.
Withered Branches Thrown into the Fire
Jesus said, “Whoever does not remain in me is like a withered branch that is thrown away; and the withered branches are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned” (John 15:6). When the vinedresser cuts away the fruitless and dried branches, they wither and become useless except as fuel for fire (Ezek 15:1-8). Similarly, an unfaithful Christian will wither spiritually, ending up in eternal destruction, even if they appear healthy and wealthy now. Those who abandon their faith in Jesus or their affiliation with the Church He established will not inherit heaven because Jesus is the only way to the Father.
John the Baptist’s message was, “Even now the axe lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Mt 3:10). When Jesus was hungry, He approached a fig tree. Even after three years, it did not produce fruit, only leaves. He said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again.” And immediately the fig tree withered (Mt 21:19). God gives time to fruitless people for conversion. In the parable of the barren fig tree, the owner said to the gardener, “For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?” At the gardener’s request, the owner allowed another year to till the ground and fertilize it, giving it a last chance (Lk 13:6-9). Material prosperity for non-believers is not an assurance of God’s reward but an opportunity for repentance and reconciliation with Jesus and His Church.
The destruction of the withered people in fire will happen at Christ’s second coming. “But as for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved, murderers, the unchaste, sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Rev 21:8).
Productivity with Jesus
When the disciples remain united with Jesus by keeping His commandment of love, His words remain productive through them. They extend His mission by preaching God’s word and serving people in distress, as Jesus did during His public ministry. The Word that became flesh and dwelt among us continues His action through His representatives on earth. At the Last Supper, Jesus told the apostles, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words” (Jn 14:23-24). God blessed David and renewed His covenant with him because David walked before God with fidelity, justice, and an upright heart (1 Kgs 3:6).
REFLECTION
As Christians, we are called to remain united with Jesus, the true vine. Our spiritual vitality and productivity depend on our connection with Him and His Church. Just as branches receive nourishment from the vine, we receive grace from Jesus through the sacraments and teachings of the Church. We must bear good fruit, demonstrating our faith through love, service, and obedience to God’s commandments.
Let us embrace the challenges and pruning that come our way as opportunities for growth and purification. By staying close to Jesus, we can overcome trials and become more fruitful in our spiritual journey. Remember, our ultimate goal is to inherit eternal life with God. Therefore, let us strive to be faithful branches, firmly attached to the true vine, producing the best fruit for the glory of God and the benefit of others.