The Gospel of John argues that Jesus lived a life that gave maximum glory to his Father (John 17:4). Therefore, it was only natural that Jesus would instruct his disciples on the way in which they would bring glory to the Father as they carried on his ministry: "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples" (John 15:8, emphasis added). The significance that Jesus placed on believers bearing fruit cannot be overstated, but much remains to be understood about the nature of the fruitful life Jesus expounded.

The purpose of this paper is to uncover the meaning behind karpo/j in Jesus' vine analogy in John 15:1-17. This essay will not seek for a comprehensive understanding of the use of fruit in the Bible, but only that which applies to the John 15 discourse. After briefly surveying the significance of the vine in Israel and in the Bible in general, the discussion will turn to an exegetical investigation of John 15. This analysis will provide the framework for understanding what a "fruitful" Christian life looks like in the context of Jesus' explanation and mandate to abide in him.

Viticulture in Ancient Israel

When Jesus employed the imagery of the vine, he was pulling upon a thread that was intricately woven into the hearts and culture of his listeners. Viticulture (the cultivation of grapevines) holds a long and prominent history in Israel. Numbers 13:23 records that when the spies returned from scouting out the land of Canaan, they came bearing evidence of the fruitfulness of the land, carrying a single cluster of grapes between two men. The natural contours in the hill country of Samaria and Judea have provided excellent terraces for growing grapevines for centuries.

Starting a vineyard required selecting and cultivating hill slopes that would minimize erosion, loosening the soil and clearing it of stones, planting the vines, building a tower and walls for protection from animal depredations and trespassers, and constructing a winepress. Newly planted vines required three or four years of care before they began producing fruit. When the grapes ripened, they would need to be harvested within a mere few days, or else they would fall off the vine and rot. Hence, maintaining a vineyard was a massive undertaking, especially in comparison with the hardier olive tree. Even so, virtually every Judean farmer owned a vineyard, since vines contributed to their economic stability as one of the only plants that produced during the hot and arid summer months.

More than just providing needed sustenance, the fruit of the vine captured the hearts and culture of Israel. The fruit harvest occurred during the fall in connection with the Feast of Tabernacles (Ex 23:16, 34:22, Lev 23:39), and was marked as a time of jubilation and celebration. By the time of Jesus, the vine was such an integral part of Jewish culture that its image was stamped on coins and architecture, including the very gates of the Temple.

As a symbol that resonated with the descendants of Abraham, it is only natural that Yahweh and his messengers would employ the imagery of the vine in Scripture. In the Old Testament, the primary word for fruit, yrP, appears 119 times. Fruit often took on a literal meaning as the various products of agriculture, but frequently embodied a figurative sense, including the idea of abundance. Various passages speak of the fruit of the womb or the fruit of one's deeds.

Most significantly, Israel herself came to be identified with the vine, and Yahweh as the gardener (Ps 80:8-16, Isa 5:1-7, 27:2-6, Jer 2:21, Ezek 15:1-8, 19:10-14, Hos 10:1-2). When the prophets employed this imagery, one of the striking features is the fruit that Israel produced. Yahweh expected good fruit from his people, but instead they only produced bad fruit through their wicked deeds (Isa 5:2). Since luscious fruit was the prize of a vineyard, the Jews would have understood the appalling nature of Yahweh finding rotting fruit on the vine of Israel.

The New Testament picks up the imagery of fruit mainly in the word karpo/j, which appears 66 times. Its literal and figurative usages are parallel with those of the OT. In its most basic sense, fruit is generally a product or outcome that portrays evidence of the nature of the person or thing that produced it. This is the way that Jesus employed the fruit imagery when he said that people are known by the good or bad fruits that their lives produce (Matt 7:15-20, 12:33-37). Similarly, Paul referenced "fruit of the Spirit" as the outcome and evidence of a believer walking in step with the indwelling Spirit (Gal 5:22-25).

Perhaps the most significant passage on fruit is Jesus' conversation on the fruit of the vine in John 15:1-17. The discussion now turns to unraveling one of Jesus' finest illustrations on the believer's life in him.

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Hearing the Master's Voice: A Book on Celebrating the Lord in All Nations | The Moral Vision - A Misnomer in Today's World? John Updike and His Stories | The Nature of Fruit as the Product of Abiding in Christ in John 15:1-17 | Principles and Concepts for International Teaching Ministry | Waiting for God - Three Poems | Zac Poonen - A Leading Evangelist from India | Religious Freedom in Two Most Populous Nations of the World China and India | The Greatest Evangelist of India - Brother D.G.S. Dhinakaran | On Christian Literature | HOME PAGE of November 2009 Issue | HOME PAGE | CONTACT EDITOR