God likes to use stories and illustrations to help us know the story of his glory in the Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason, when God sent his one and only Son into the world, he came teaching with stories and illustrations. In John 15:1-8 Jesus gave the illustration of the Vine and the branches.
When Jesus told his disciples (learners) this word picture, he used imagery from the Old Testament Scriptures (Psalm 80:9-16; Isaiah 5:1-7; etc.) God had pictured his people Israel as a vineyard from which he expected fruit. Now in the Gospel of John, Jesus says that he is the “true vine”. Christ is the ultimate reality of what God had expected of Israel. The members of Christ’s new people (his followers or learners) are branches in him. Jesus is the fullness of God’s plan; in him are a people that will bring forth the righteous fruit that God desires. The good news is that if we are in Jesus Christ by grace through faith, we are part of God’s people.
Jesus also tells us that the Father is the gardener; he cares for the Vine and his branches. In the Christian life we too often forget that God the Father is active in our lives. We can wrongly think that producing fruit for God is a matter for our best efforts. And we fail miserably! But Jesus wants us to know and to experience that fruitfulness comes from our union with him, as the Father acts in our lives. So believer in Jesus, rejoice today! You are connected to him who has power to produce fruitfulness in you, and the Father kindly acts to help you bear fruit.