Sermon -- 5th Sunday of Easter (April 28, 2024)

JOHN 15:1-8

ONLY JESUS PRODUCES FRUITFUL LIVES.

In the name + of Jesus.

M:       Alleluia!  Christ is risen!

C:        He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

     Lutheran preaching puts a strong emphasis on what we have been set free from.  You have been set free from sin.  Your sin no longer condemns you.  Jesus Christ has endured condemnation for you in his death on the cross.  You are set free.  You are also set free from the devil.  Jesus Christ has destroyed the devil’s work and has crushed the serpent underfoot.  The devil cannot snatch you away from Jesus.  You are set free.  You have even been set free from death.  Now, it is true that we will go to a grave one day.  These bodies of ours have been corrupted by sin, and nothing sinful can dwell together with God.  But when Jesus comes again on the Last Day, he will raise you up from the grave with a glorified, holy body.  In the end, the grave gets nothing.  You have been set free.

     This heavy emphasis on what we are set free from is on purpose.  This is where we find our comfort and our hope.  But if we are set free from something, it stands to reason that we are set free for something.  The Christian faith is more than: “We are set apart as God’s people.”  It is also, “We are set apart to be godly people.”  The apostles made this clear in their preaching to the Church.  For example, St. Paul wrote, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor….  For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4,7).  You have been set apart for a godly life and for good works.  Only Jesus produces this fruitful life in us.

     Jesus said, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8).  We do not get to opt out of producing fruit, that is, good works.  Nor do we get to tell God which good works we will do and which we will not.  Fruitful lives are evidence that our faith is genuine.  Faith cannot just sit there; it is active and productive.  If we confess faith in God’s word but our lives contradict it, then our confession is empty and faith is dead.  If we believe that God’s word is true, then we will also strive to live according to it. 

     Jesus assures us that we will produce the fruitful lives the Father seeks.  He says, “Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit” (John 15:4-5).  If our faith rests in Jesus, the good works will flow forth.  It is Jesus who works in us to will and to act according to God’s purpose.  Only Jesus produces fruitful lives.

     Now, you may compare yourself with people who have no use for Jesus at all, and conclude that their works are just as good as yours.  If they look like they are doing the same works that you are, you might wonder if even matters.  But Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).  Scripture also says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please [God]” (Hebrews 11:6).  Those who do not believe in Jesus are still in their sin.  No matter how good their works appear, no matter how much they are praised for them, they are still covered in sin.  God cannot delight in that.  But Jesus tells you, “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you” (John 15:3).  God is not pleased with your works because they are more holy or spectacular than that of others; God is pleased with your works because he is pleased with you.  Jesus has taken away your sin.  He presents you to his Father as holy and blameless.  And Jesus produces in you the works that delight God.  Only Jesus produces fruitful lives.

     Another problem you might struggle with is that you recognize that your works are flawed.  Your sin rears its ugly head even in your good works.  For example, if you give a charitable gift to a noble cause, your gift is done out of love.  But it may also stir up your pride as you think, “That was wonderful of me.  Surely God will reward me for that.”  So, your good work is done for your sake as much as for the good of another.  Sin infests everything.

     But remember Jesus’ promise: “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you” (John 15:3).  Through faith in Jesus, you have become God’s children.  Through holy baptism, you have been purified in Christ.  Even though your works are flawed, God the Father sees you as pure.  If the Father sees you as pure, then he sees all your works as pure.  It is like a kindergartener who wants to draw a picture for her mother for Mothers’ Day.  She pulls out her box of crayons and draws on a sheet.  She goes to her mother and says, “Here, Mommy!  I made this for you!”  No mother in the world would squawk, “Well, this certainly isn’t a Rembrandt, is it?”  No, she will gush over it.  “This is a beautiful drawing.  I am going to put this on the refrigerator so we can see it all the time.”  She loves it because it came from her daughter whom she loves, a daughter who loves her and wants to please her.  Since you are children of God, the Father does not sniff in contempt at your less-than-perfect works.  He delights in you and in the fruit you bear.  Only Jesus produces fruitful lives.

     Now let’s consider one of Jesus’ words which sounds unsettling.  He said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:1-2).  When the master gardener comes, he prunes and hacks away at the grapevine.  If a grapevine could speak, it would protest, “Why are you coming to do such harm to me?  You are cutting away branches that have already begun to bud.  You are taking away good fruit.  Why would you inflict such pain on me?”  But the master gardener knows what he’s doing.  He removes some of the sprouts and buds so that the remaining branches get more nutrients.  That makes the remaining branches even more fruitful.

     This is what the heavenly Father does to us.  The Father does not prune only dead branches.  Jesus says, “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2).  So, he prunes away things that are good in order to have us produce even more good.  But since it is a pruning, it seems painful, cruel, and unnecessary to us.  All we know is that it hurts as God strips blessings from us or allows us to suffer.  But he is the master gardener.  He knows what he is doing.  What you and I think is cruel the Father knows is for our good.  The pruning makes us more fruitful.  Jesus produces that fruitful life in us even in suffering.

     Consider how this worked out in Jesus’ own life.  Without a doubt, Jesus had a fruitful life, overflowing with good works.  He had compassion on the outcasts.  He welcomed the crowds even when they were infringing on his private time.  He drove out demons and cured the sick.  But this was not his most fruitful labor.  That happened when he was most cruelly oppressed, vilified, beaten, and killed.  The injustice that was heaped upon Jesus was done by the hands of wicked men, but it was also according to the will of his heavenly Father.  St. Peter wrote, “Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.  He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.  When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:21-23).  Jesus endured unjust suffering patiently both to glorify his Father and to win our salvation.  You are the fruit which Jesus has borne.

     So, when the heavenly Father starts to prune blessings from you—and this happens more as you get older—he is teaching you to trust him all the more.  If he takes away your family or friends, he is saying, “Well, you can’t trust in these anymore.  But you can trust in me.”  If your eyesight fades or your balance and mobility grow weak, he is saying, “Well, you can’t trust in your abilities anymore, but you can still trust in me.”  If you lose your money, your reputation, or your memory, he is teaching you, “Well, you can’t trust in those anymore.  But you can still trust in me.” 

     If the Father prunes you this way, what else can you do but call on him for mercy?  What else can you do but endure your sufferings with patience?  What else can you hope for but a better future in the heavenly kingdom?  What else can you do but acknowledge that everything in this world is passing away and is, therefore, untrustworthy?  But the word of the Lord will never pass away.  His mercy endures forever.  And Jesus still abides in you.  He still produces the fruitful life that shows you are his disciple and the faithful confession that glorifies God.  Besides, what makes a better confession before the world—praising God for abundance and comfort, or praising God in the midst of suffering and loss?  Rejoicing in good times is easy.  Rejoicing despite one’s suffering shows a faith that leans upon God for everything that is truly good.  In the end, if all you have is Jesus, you have everything that matters.

     One final promise we will consider because it is often misunderstood.  Jesus declared, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).  This sounds like Jesus is issuing a blank check—that you should be able to get anything you want just by asking for it.  But what happens when you pray for healing and a loved one dies anyway?  What happens when you pray for that new job but the company hires someone else?  Did Jesus lie? 

     Pay careful attention to the promise.  Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).  In other words, if your prayers are in line with God’s word, it will be done for you.  God will always say, “Yes,” to his own word.  Now, you can pray for anything you want.  But you don’t know if all your requests are in line with God’s will.  He may provide relief from suffering.  He may put an end to suffering by bringing you to your heavenly home.  He may have your suffering linger to teach you patience and increase your prayers.  Even if you don’t understand why the Father prunes as he does, you know that he is your good and merciful Father.  And you know Jesus will abide in you to preserve you in the faith.  Jesus will abide in you to sustain you through suffering and loss.  Jesus will abide in you so that you will and act according to God’s good pleasure.  Only Jesus produces a fruitful life, and only Jesus bestows everlasting life.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.