Hey Cameron,
Hope all is well. A guy just came into the office today and we were speaking bout this, when he cut me off to mention that ‘dead branches are cut off & go into the fire, if there’s not spiritual life then they go to Hell.’ I said to him “Yeeeeeeeeaaaah but no.” It seems like a good segue into what you are talking about in John 15, because I think a lot of people have the same opinion as this guy.
Chapters 13-17 provide the largest segment in the Gospel and lay a context for what pivots around the parable of the Vine. The parable is sort of the hub around which everything revolves.
So what you want to define is: What are the components of the Parable? Who does Jesus say He is in the Parable? What does it mean to be connected to the vine?(this will be very pertinent to making sense out of the entire segment) Who is the vine? Who are the branches? Who are the disconnected branches? What does it mean to be a connected branch? What does it mean to be a disconnected branch? What does a branch get from the vine(trunk)?
Now you’re probably not wrong when you “say that the parable is saying we don’t need to struggle to bear fruit. A branch doesn’t struggle to bear fruit, it just rests in the vine.” It seems like he is saying something much more basic than that, and this is where the entire context reveals its relationship with the parable and consequently helps us to understand the whole segment of thought.
What does true vine imply? What is a false vine? What does a false vine imply? What does it mean to abide? What does it mean for a branch to abide in the trunk? What does a branch do when connected to the trunk? When does a vine not bear fruit? When does a vine bear fruit? Who is the vine dresser? What does a vine dresser do? What is a vine dresser interested in? What does a vine dresser to insure the maximum amount of fruit? If a vine is not connected to the trunk what happens to it? What does it mean to be withered? What is significant about the fact that abiding in Him means that He also abides in you? What does it mean for a vine to be connected to the trunk? Have I asked that already?
Sorry…
What does it mean for a vine to be connected to the trunk?What does it mean for a vine to be connected to the trunk?What does it mean for a vine to be connected to the trunk?What does it mean for a vine to be connected to the trunk?What does it mean for a vine to be connected to the trunk?What does it mean for a vine to be connected to the trunk?What does it mean for a vine to be connected to the trunk?What does it mean for a vine to be connected to the trunk?What does it mean for a vine to be connected to the trunk?
For what reason is a branch connected to the trunk? What is abiding in the branch if it is connected to the trunk? If a vine is disconnected from the trunk, what does it not receive? What is a vine unable to do if it is disconnected from the trunk? For what reason is a vine unable to produce fruit if it is disconnected? For what reason does a vine wither if it is disconnected(and don’t say, “because its disconnected!)?
If you can figure this parable out the entire segment makes sense. If you struggle to make sense out of the parable, the whole segment will pretty much be nonsense to you. I’m sure you’ll get it.
We love you guys, Leep