Metaphors: Be Pruned and Abide in Him
July 28, 2024Pastor Patrick presented today's message, "Metaphors: Be Pruned and Abide." Here's a video of the message.
Pastor Patrick was absolutely right about the vineyard and proper vineyard care being very familiar to the folks of Bible times, much like today with potatoes in Idaho and wheat in Kansas. The point is very similar to the point we made at our Family Dinner just this past Saturday: "What's the secret to life?" The answer is "Cows don't give milk." Cows don't just give milk, the farmer has to earn it (via a whole host of actions such as feeding the cows, getting up at 4am to begin the process, milking them, etc.) and you have to buy it (presumably with earned money). Food and drink production must be earned (barring miracles in the desert).
It's quite clear, then, that whoever is in charge of the earning cannot afford anything that gets in the way. Things in the way must be gotten out of the way, cut off, pruned. The effort must be made productive by removing what's counterproductive.
Interestingly, the scripture for today (John 15) contains one of the very rare but very real passages in the New Testament that does seem to hint at earning your way into heaven. John 15:2a, "He [God] cuts off every branch in me [Jesus] that bears no fruit." Another is James 2:17, "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." Don't worry, it's made abundantly clear in far more areas of the New Testament that it is in Jesus that salvation lives. When confronted with this apparent contradiction, I often fall back on this thought: How can you say you have faith in, believe in, trust in someone without behaving as they suggest or command?
On this Jesuit webpage, I found an interesting take on being a branch on a vine: "But we were not created to be self-sufficient. We were created to live connected to God and to each other." In other words, we are part of, branches of, a bigger whole.
Another point made in the Jesuit piece just mentioned... "we may assume that branches bear fruit, but in another sense, it's really the vine that makes it all happen. The point is: there is such interconnectedness that while we are doing the work, Jesus is doing the work in us as well."
It's interesting to note that the Greek word for pruned in John 15:2 is kathairó (καθαίρω) which fundamentally means to make clean or purify by purging. This is the only occurrence of that word in the Bible.
There are several words in Biblical Hebrew that can be translated as cut off. One of them is mul (מוּל) which is sometimes translated as cut off but mostly translated as circumcised. Biblical circumcision is a ritual focusing on obedience where a rather useless piece of male skin is cut off from the body to indicate the person has been made better in covenant with God.
Another Hebrew word is karath (כָּרַת) which can mean many things related to cut off but also it is translated as "made" as in Genesis 15:18, "the Lord made a covenant" (with Abram) - which seems almost the opposite. You might say pruning makes the whole better. This word occurs nearly 300 times in the Old Testament with most variants meaning cut off and a smaller, but substantial number, meaning made/make.
The pastors have all pointed out during this series that all these metaphors are related to the "I am" statements of Jesus. It seems more than coincidence that this reminds us of Exodus 3:14 where God calls himself "I am who I am" (or one of many similar possible translations) at the Burning Bush. Seems to me that Jesus is clearly suggesting He is part of the "I am" of God. This thought also comes from the Jesuit piece.
"The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel" (Isaiah 5:7).
"You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it" (Psalm 80:8).
One of the signs of God's great bounty in the Promised Land was a cluster of grapes (brought back by the spies) so large that it had to be carried by two men (Numbers 13:23).
Lastly, note this... Joseph was described as a fruitful vine in Genesis 49:22, "Joseph is a fruitful bough [a main branch of the vine], a fruitful bough by a spring [a well, a fountain]; its branches run over the wall [influencing others]" (Amplified Bible).
Bonus
Opening Ceremonies / Pagans / Judeo-Christian Values
Did the 2024 Olympics opening ceremonies really mock Christianity, including its Judeo roots? Many people saw the Last Supper mocked, Revelation mocked (the 4th horseman, and with angel wings behind him), and the Golden Calf mocked. The Olympic folks themselves say these were representing Greek gods and events unrelated to Christianity or the Bible. At the very least, the "sensitivity" that the Left wants us all to have was absent. Surely some of the officials realized that a good number of the 2.x billion Christians in the world would recognize the connection, intended or not.
And if not anti-Judeo-Christian, these caricatures in the Olympic ceremonies were certainly pagan in nature, something that the Old Testament in general and the Torah specifically fights. Paganism has never gone away; it just looks different these days.
I use this as an introduction to what I really want to do, and that is introduce you to a couple books I've read recently...
Domestic Enemies: the Founding Fathers' Fight Against the Left by Daniel Greenfield makes the case that Leftism has been around a very long time in the U.S., from its inception in fact. Lest you think this is something new, read this book.
You Shall Be as Gods by Erick Erickson talks about what the real problem is today in our country: "Our country doesn’t have a partisan problem, a political problem, a social problem, or an economic problem. We have a spiritual problem." I've followed Erick (he's a radio talk show host) for a few years now and find him to be a level-headed, rational, knowledgeable Christian, including the Judeo part.
One thoughtful question I read was, "Are there any classical images of a bacchanalia event that they may have been imitating?" You decide.
One last data point... The actual name of the event printed on the Olympic program was "The Last Supper on a Stage on the Seine" (per Jeff Blehar via Erickson). In French, it's something of a play on words with Cène (Last Supper), Scène (stage), and Seine (the name of the river) all rhyming (short e followed by n): "La Cène Sur Un Scène Sur La Seine."
Bonus2
Great Are You Lord
One of the songs sung at church this morning was "Great Are You Lord." It crossed my mind to ask, "is that phrase in the Torah or even the Old Testament?"
I couldn't find any phrase exactly like that, but there are plenty with that meaning.
There are a number of words in the Old Testament that mean great. They end up translated in many ways, such as bigger, much, extremely, heavy, high, large, loud, mighty, older, and the like. But sometimes, these words do end up in phrases that carry the meaning of "Great are you Lord" such as Deuteronomy 7:21, "Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God."
Another song, "How Great Thou Art" (an oldie but goodie from most Protestant hymnals), can be traced to Psalm 145, specifically verse 3: "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom." This, too, could easily source "Great Are You Lord."
There are a number of Psalms that make a similar declaration, and the idea appears elsewhere, too, as in 1 Chronicles, Nehemiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Malachi, and more.
So, the answer is yes; close enough.