Read Isaiah 5:1-7 + John 15:1 in your personal Bible or at the link provided.
Review
1. In Isaiah, who do the vine and gardener represent?
2. What did the vine produce?
3. In John, how did Jesus describe Himself?
Reflect
John 15 is part of Jesus’s final conversation with His disciples before His crucifixion. When He mentioned vineyards, they would’ve been familiar with the metaphor from other Scriptures like Isaiah. God spoke through the prophets to rebuke Israel for their lack of faith in Him, which resulted in bad fruit, when He’d called them to be blessings to others.
Because we can’t do anything to save ourselves from our sins, Jesus took on our deserved punishment. He called Himself the true vine, accomplishing for us what we couldn’t do on our own. Through Him, our relationship with God is restored, and He gives us eternal life. When we put our trust in Him, we’re no longer defined by what we do – we're now defined by who we’re connected to.
All the destruction God warned His people of through Isaiah has been redeemed through Jesus’s death and resurrection. He served the due punishment for sin, and His new life is available to you today. He’s worthy of your trust. Isaiah 5:4 says that God as the gardener provides everything His garden needs.
Respond
How do you typically define yourself? If you removed everything apart from Jesus, how would that change how you define yourself?