*** SHOW NOTES (not a transcript) ***

Lead:

Vines and vineyards are important imagery in the Bible. Here’s why.

Intro:

Yesterday we talked about typology, like Moses was a type or image of Christ — Moses led the people of Israel out of slavery to Egypt, Jesus leads us out of slavery to sin. Today we look at imagery, which functions more like an analogy, and specifically the image of vines and vineyards. I’ve got a bit to cover on that because it’s so prevalent in both Old and New Testaments, so let’s get right to our Bible reading.

Yesterday we started into Matthew revealing the nature of community in Christ, and today that goes deeper in the sense of how we should value each other and community.

Sponsor:

Today’s sponsor and provider of background music is Pip Craighead’s The Dandelion Project, and the new track is Night School.

Bible segment (read along with The Bible Project):

Passage: Matthew 21-22
Translation: HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 92
Words: ~1945

Thinking/reflection segment:

The vine is a very significant image in the Bible from the Old Testament to the New. From God’s perspective, the final goal of Israel’s journey, from Egypt to Canaan, was to be planted as a vine in the good land of Canaan. This was predicted in the song of Moses and Israel, where the prophecy is exclaimed, “You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, the place, O Lord, which you have made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands have established” (Exod. 15:17). The habitation of God in Jerusalem was supposed to be like a fruitful “vine,” which is ampelos in Greek, glorifying both God and men. But Israel failed to bear the proper fruit (Isa. 5:1–7; Jer. 2:19–21).
With this background, we can better appreciate Jesus’ statement in John 15:1, “I am the true vine.” This does not mean that He, in contrast to the physical vine tree, is the real one. It means that He, in contrast to Israel, who should have been God’s vine but failed, is the true vine—the true fulfillment and actualization of the vine. This, then, becomes the fulfillment of Psalm 80, in which “the Son of man” is said to be the vine planted by God.
The whole race of Israel sprang from the patriarch Jacob-Israel; the new race of God’s people are viewed in John 15:1–8 as originating from Christ, organically united to Him, as branches emanating from the vine—the entire economy being under the care of the Father, the vine dresser. The union between the vine and the branches is characterized by the expression “in me” and “in you” in John 15:4. But some of the branches need to be cut off. This reminds us of Paul’s exposition of Israel’s rejection in Romans 11, wherein he speaks of Israel being cut off from the olive tree so that the Gentiles could be grafted in their place. Israel had failed to bear the fruit God required, so there was a need for a removal of the old, dead branches. As such, the branches that are cut off are the Israelites who did not join themselves to Jesus “the vine” and therefore died. But the new, grafted-in branches—if they did not bear fruit—could also be cut off. So, the warning applies to Jews and Gentiles alike (Rom. 11:17–23).
Each branch that continues to remain in the vine will keep on bearing fruit (John 15:5). Some commentators say the fruit is new converts (Rom. 15:6), and others believe that it is “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22). The devotional writer, Andrew Murray said, “… the essential idea of fruit is that it is the silent natural restful produce of our inner life.” The fruit is the practical expression of the indwelling divine life. This expression in our lives should attract people to Christ and thus make them new members of God’s vine.(1)

Vineyard Imagery in the New Testament. The NT continues the use of the vineyard theme that began in the OT, but with a twist. It is no longer ethnic Israel that is God’s vineyard, but the kingdom of God. This may be seen in Jesus’ parables of the vineyard (Mt 20:1–11; 21:33–43). The parable of the tenants (Mt 21:33–43) has the closest similarity to Isaiah 5. The landowner, who is surely meant to represent God, plants and protects a vineyard and then rents it to tenants who end up abusing his servants. The parable concludes with a threat against those who misuse the vineyard.
Revelation 14:18–20 shows that even at the end of the canon the vineyard image can be used to picture the judgment coming on those who resist God. The passage describes an angel who gathers “the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine” and throws them into the “great winepress of God’s wrath,” with the result that “blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia” (NIV).
Perhaps the most striking of all NT uses of the image occurs in association with Jesus. Speaking to the disciples, Jesus proclaims, “I am the vine; you are the branches” (Jn 15:5 NIV). By identifying himself as the vine he claims that participation in the kingdom is possible only for those who “remain in” him. Those disciples who do will bear much fruit.
In the light of this passage, how fitting it is that the ritual of the supper that Jesus institutes on the eve of his death involves drinking the “fruit of the vine” (Mt 26:29; cf. Mk 14:25; Lk 22:18).(1)

What’s the big deal here? Whether you’re a skeptic or believer, it’s useful to remember that “taking the Bible literally” doesn’t mean being an idiot in terms of interpreting genre and figures of speech. Obviously you and I don’t bear grapes, but we do bear fruit. And the blessing of being grafted to the vine is that God it’s not about us earning the next rung on some religious ladder by our works, but it’s God’s grace toward us and His work through our willing hearts that produces good fruit. This, my friends, is good, good news.

Wisdom segment:

Passage: Psalm 75
Translation: NLT (New Living Translation)
Verses: 10
Words: 164

Love you!

-R

Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.

Sources and resources:

(1) Eugene E. Carpenter and Philip W. Comfort, Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words: 200 Greek and 200 Hebrew Words Defined and Explained (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 412.

(2) Leland Ryken et al., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 914–916.

#871: Matthew 21-22 | Vine, vineyard | Psalm 76