When God "prunes" us, it can hurt. But it makes us the people He created us to be.

I've lived in my house for almost a decade now, and for all that time, we've had a peach tree in our backyard. I knew it was a fruit tree, but I wasn't entirely sure it was a peach tree, because it never produced fruit.

Year after year, nothing.

Well, this past spring, because it was getting difficult to mow around, we decided to prune it back significantly. I'll admit, I was a little anxious doing it, because it felt like I might have cut off a bit too much.

I was genuinely worried I'd damage the tree beyond repair.

But the result?

For the first time since my family lived here, the tree started producing peaches! That wasn't even why I pruned it, honestly. I didn't expect it to happen - but that's what pruning will do to a tree. It will help it become what it was always meant to be.

This experience brought to life a powerful image Jesus uses in John 15, teaching us about the Father's work in our lives.

"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)

Jesus begins this profound teaching with a powerful statement: "I am the true vine." This declaration, "I AM," immediately connects us to God's ancient revelation at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14), establishing Jesus' divine identity. He is not merely a prophet or a teacher; He is God incarnate. The modifier "true" distinguishes Jesus from Israel, which Scripture often portrayed as God's vine that repeatedly failed in its calling (Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80:8-16). Jesus stands as the perfect fulfillment of God's design.

The Father is identified as the "vinedresser," establishing the divine roles: the Father cultivates, the Son provides life, and we, as believers, receive and channel this life. This agricultural image would have resonated deeply with Jesus' hearers, who lived in a society where tending vines was a common and vital practice.

In verse 2, we encounter a profound connection between the Father's actions: He "takes away" fruitless branches and "prunes" or "cleanses" fruitful ones.

This subtle link emphasizes God the Father's active involvement with all branches, though with dramatically different outcomes. This "pruning" is not merely about cutting back, but about purifying. God's cutting work isn't just reductive; it's designed to bring about greater purity and productivity.

 

John 15:3-4 - Cleansed by the Word, Called to Abide

"Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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." (John 15:3-4)

Jesus declares the disciples "clean," using the same idea as "prunes" in the previous verse. This cleansing, He says, came "through the word" that He had spoken. This reveals a crucial truth: God's revealed truth, the Word of God, often serves as the very instrument of His pruning in our lives.

When Scripture confronts our attitudes, behaviors, or priorities, when it speaks into our hearts and challenges our ways, divine pruning is occurring. This "Word" is more than just spoken words; it points back to Jesus Himself, the "I AM" who is the beginning of this parable, and to the eternal "Word" that was made flesh, as described in John's Gospel (John 1:1, 14). Through His very being and His teachings, Jesus cleanses us.

The command to "abide" appears with striking frequency—eleven times in this chapter alone. This isn't casual advice but an urgent, decisive command. "Abide" means to remain, continue, persist, and dwell—a comprehensive attachment to Christ.

This abiding relationship is mutual: "Abide in me, and I in you." Christ doesn't merely call us to cling to Him; He promises His indwelling presence in return. This reciprocal relationship forms the very foundation of Christian spirituality—we remain in Christ, and He remains in us.

The branch's complete inability to bear fruit "by itself" establishes our absolute dependence on Christ. A severed branch might maintain its appearance briefly, but its productivity and life inevitably cease. So too, believers disconnected from Christ may maintain religious appearances while lacking spiritual vitality.

 

John 15:5-6 - Fruitfulness versus Fire: The Consequence of Connection

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned." (John 15:5-6)

Jesus explicitly identifies His followers as "branches," clarifying our dependent status. The believer who abides doesn't just produce minimal fruit but "much fruit," suggesting abundance beyond basic productivity. This fruitfulness isn't a result of striving but an overflowing—the natural result of a vital connection to Christ.

The stark declaration "apart from me you can do nothing" uses strong language to emphasize the absolute truth: without Christ, we can accomplish nothing of eternal value. This demolishes any notion of spiritual self-sufficiency.

Verse 6 presents the contrasting fate of non-abiding branches in a sequence of escalating severity: thrown out, withered, gathered, cast into fire, and burned. This isn't pruning for improvement but final separation, echoing John the Baptist's warning about fruitless trees being "cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matthew 3:10). The fire represents ultimate judgment, not temporary discipline. While pruning aims at increased fruitfulness, removal leads to destruction—a sobering contrast that underscores the vital importance of abiding in Christ.

 

John 15:7-8 - The Purpose of Pruning: Glorifying the Father

"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples." (John 15:7-8)

The promise of answered prayer is conditional upon mutual abiding—not only "you in me" but "my words in you." When Christ's teaching, His living Word—shapes our desires, our requests naturally align with His purposes. Prayer becomes less about convincing God to fulfill our wishes and more about discovering and desiring what God already wishes.

Still more, it becomes surrender to the work of the great "pruner." We don't like being pruned. God works through all kinds of experiences in our lives to "prune" us, to cut away the things we might be clinging to - as an unfruitful tree still clings to all the branches it has grown through the course of its life - so that we can bear the fruit he created us to produce.

The telos, the end of the peach tree is to produce peaches. God made us in His image to produce the fruit of the self-sacrificial love that He made us to reflect as His image-bearers.

Sometimes, that means God has to cut away some of the things we've grown attached to. It means pruning us back, so that we might live out our true purpose, our true telos, the reason we were made.

Fruit-bearing also authenticates discipleship—it's an ongoing process of becoming what one claims to be. True disciples progressively manifest the life of Christ through fruitful living. This isn't about perfect performance but authentic transformation that becomes increasingly evident over time.

Understanding the metaphor of divine pruning in John 15 challenges us to reevaluate our perspective on difficulties and trials in life. Just as I felt anxious pruning my peach tree, often the things that feel like setbacks in life—the hardships we endure, the losses we experience, the uncomfortable truths we confront—feel like they're hurting us, even cutting us off. It's counterintuitive to our natural desire for comfort and ease.

We might be left with anxious questions like, "Why, God? Why is this happening?"

That's because just as the "fruitless tree" will hold onto all the branches it has grown, even if those branches are holding it back from realizing its true telos--the purpose it was created for--we hold onto all the things we've built in our lives. We "cling" to our works, the careers we've built, the reputations we've cultivated, and the like.

But what if those are the things that we have to lose if we're going to become true fruit-bearing disciples?

Seen in that way, when God disciplines us and allows us to endure "pruning" in life, even when it's painful, it's ultimately an act of grace. When we surrender to God completely, it means we allow God to come at us however He will, to prune away what the master-vinedresser knows needs to be cut back so that we can become the people He created us to be.

By cutting back, by removing what hinders and drains our spiritual life, He makes us fruitful. Those dead limbs, those unfruitful habits or attachments, drain the very life out of the tree, making it unproductive.

Sometimes, it's not "bad" or "sinful" things that get pruned away. That's where it can be difficult to understand in the moment. The peach tree in my yard didn't suddenly pop out peaches the moment we cut the branches away. In fact, they were still "leaf-bearing" branches, they weren't dead at all. There was nothing wrong with those branches, per se.

Still, the tree had to lose them to become a fruit-bearing tree. Sometimes, God removes things from our lives that might be very good, when in His incomprehensible wisdom, he knows they have to go in order to make us fruit-bearers.

Pruning might hurt, it might even seem counterintuitive as we walk in faith, but ultimately, Jesus tells us here that we endure this kind of pruning in life precisely because He is making us into the men and women He created us to be—into fruit-bearing people made in His image!

May we embrace God's pruning with trust and surrender, knowing that His ultimate goal is our growth and flourishing in Him. As we abide in Christ and allow His Word—His very presence and truth—to dwell richly within us, may our lives bear abundant fruit that brings glory to the Father and bears witness to our identity as true disciples of Jesus. Let us not resist the pruning work of God but yield to it, confident that through the pain and removal of what hinders, we will ultimately become more fruitful and radiant reflections of the true vine, our Lord and Savior.

 

In Jesus' name,

Judah