The Vine and the Branches - Week 19

John 15

Note: The study related to these questions may be found at Catholic Exchange. Please go to their site for the complete material concerning this study. Unless otherwise noted, on scriptural references are from the Revised Standard Version (RSV). Below are my thoughts on the questions presented for the given study (Please see disclaimer at bottom).

Read John 14:1-27

1. Why does Jesus refer to Himself as the true vine in verse 1? (Read Isaiah 5:1-7 and Psalm 80)
(a) From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah:

1: Let me sing for my beloved a love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2: He digged it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. 3: And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. 4: What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? 5: And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6: I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 7: For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry! (Is 5:1-7)

0: To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm. 1: Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou who leadest Joseph like a flock! Thou who art enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth 2: before E'phraim and Benjamin and Manas'seh! Stir up thy might, and come to save us! 3: Restore us, O God; let thy face shine, that we may be saved! 4: O LORD God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry with thy people's prayers? 5: Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. 6: Thou dost make us the scorn of our neighbors; and our enemies laugh among themselves. 7: Restore us, O God of hosts; let thy face shine, that we may be saved! 8: Thou didst bring a vine out of Egypt; thou didst drive out the nations and plant it. 9: Thou didst clear the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. 10: The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; 11: it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River. 12: Why then hast thou broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 13: The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. 14: Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, 15: the stock which thy right hand planted. 16: They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance! 17: But let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, the son of man whom thou hast made strong for thyself! 18: Then we will never turn back from thee; give us life, and we will call on thy name! 19: Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! let thy face shine, that we may be saved! (Ps 80)

Israel has been characterized as a vineyard in the Old Testament. Jesus, by referring to Himself as the true vine, is illustrating that salvation comes from Him, not from being an Israelite.

2. Jesus makes it clear, in verse 2, that if the vine's branches do not bear fruit that the "vinedresser" (God the Father) will take them away. Who are the branches? What does it mean that these branches will be taken away? He also states that every branch that does bear fruit will be pruned by God. Why are those that are bearing good fruit pruned? In what ways does God "prune" us?
(a) The branches are Jesus' disciples who have received the gift of salvation. (b) That they will lose this salvific gift and no longer be one with Christ. (c) God "prunes" the branchers in order that they "may bear more fruit". (d) Through tests and suffering.

3. In John 6, Jesus revealed the mystery of the Eucharist in His discourse on the Bread of Life. What Eucharistic imagery do you find in this discourse on the True Vine, especially in verses 4-10?
(a) We find the Eucharistic imagery of the Eucharistic Cup. The vine, bearing fruit (grapes), which in turn become wine.

4. Based on what Jesus is stating about the vine and its branches, can a true Christian lose his or her salvation? Is it enough just to profess faith? What does one have to do to abide in Christ?
(a) Yes. (b) No. (c) Keep His commandments.

5. Read Ezekiel, chapter 15. Does a vine need to bear fruit to be useful? Are the "good works" that we do, i.e., the good fruit that we bear as Christians, done through our own abilities? If not, how are we enabled to bear these good fruits?
(a) From the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel:

1: And the word of the LORD came to me: 2: "Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? 3: Is wood taken from it to make anything? Do men take a peg from it to hang any vessel on? 4: Lo, it is given to the fire for fuel; when the fire has consumed both ends of it, and the middle of it is charred, is it useful for anything? 5: Behold, when it was whole, it was used for nothing; how much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it ever be used for anything! 6: Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 7: And I will set my face against them; though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them; and you will know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them. 8: And I will make the land desolate, because they have acted faithlessly, says the Lord GOD." (Ez 15)

Yes. (b) No. (c) Through the grace of God.

6. If a Christian does fall away from Christ, can he/she still be saved? Has Jesus provided a way for us to start again? If so, how?
(a) Yes. (b) Yes. (c) Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

7. Does it matter whether or not we bear fruit? St. Paul said that we are saved by grace and not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Was St. Paul teaching that we are saved by faith alone? What kind of works did St. Paul have in mind? (See Galatians 5:6) Read James 2:24. Is St. James stating that we don't have to have faith? Are St. James and St. Paul contradicting each other?
(a) Yes. (b) From St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians:

8: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God -- 9: not because of works, lest any man should boast. (Eph 2:8-9)

No. (c) From St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians:

5: For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness. 6: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love. 7: You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? (Gal 5:5-7)

From St. Paul's Letter to the Romans:

20: For no human being will be justified in his sight by works of the law, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21: But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, 22: the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; 23: since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24: they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, 25: whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins; 26: it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus. 27: Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On the principle of works? No, but on the principle of faith. 28: For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of law. 29: Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30: since God is one; and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of their faith and the uncircumcised through their faith. 31: Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. (Rom 3:20-31)

St. Paul was referring to the works of the Mosaic Law (e.g. circumcision, ceremonial washing, etc). (d) From the Letter of St. James:

14: What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? 15: If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, 16: and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? 17: So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. 18: But some one will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19: You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe -- and shudder. 20: Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? 21: Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? 22: You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, 23: and the scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness"; and he was called the friend of God. 24: You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. (James 2:14-24)

No. (d) No.

8. Read verses 18-20. What does Jesus mean when He says "you are not of this world"? Why would the world hate Christians? Can a Christian be worldly? (See Matthew 6:24)
(a) Meaning that Christians are only travelers in this world. Our destination and our home is Heaven. (b) The world rewards and reinforces teachings and behavior that are contradictory to how Christians should act and what they should believe. (c) From the Gospel of St. Matthew:

24: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 25: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26: Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27: And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? 28: And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; 29: yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30: But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? 31: Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32: For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. 34: "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day. (Matt 6:24-34)

A Christian can live in this world but not for this world.

9. Jesus said we can know people by their fruits (Matt. 7:16-20) If the Holy Spirit abides in us, what type of fruits will we bear? (See Galatians 5:22) If one hates his brother, does the Holy Spirit abide in him?
(a) From St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians:

19: Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20: idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, 21: envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23: gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. 24: And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25: If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26: Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another. (Gal 5:19-26)

These are illustrated in the preceding passage. (b) No.

10. In verse 22, Jesus makes the statement, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin." Are we to infer from this statement that ignorance is bliss and therefore we should not try to evangelize those who are in sin and darkness? (See Ezekiel 3:18.)
(a) From the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel:

17: "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 18: If I say to the wicked, `You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 19: But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you will have saved your life. 20: Again, if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. 21: Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning; and you will have saved your life." (Ez 3:17-21)

From St. Paul's Letter to the Romans:

17: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "He who through faith is righteous shall live." 18: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 19: For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20: Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; 21: for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. 22: Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23: and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. 24: Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25: because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen. (Rom 1:17-25)

No, we should try to evangelize to everyone, Jew and Gentile alike.

Disclaimer: I do not wish to present myself as an expert in either theology, history, or scriptural interpretation. I am merely someone who is attempting to answer the call of Christ. The ultimate authority and interpreter of scripture is our Holy Catholic Church. If at any point I deviate from the teachings of the Church, please correct me, alfredo@nevarez.net, as this is my shortcoming and in no way meant to be an expression of my views superceding those of the Church founded by Jesus Christ.

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Alfredo Nevarez
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