Is there someone you dislike simply because they had the nerve to point something out to you? This sermon begins with our instinctive resistance to confrontation and leads to the upper room, where Jesus says: I am the true vine (John 15). Read alongside Ezekiel, the image of the vine turns out to be not a threat but an exposure of what we really rest our hope on, and it shows that fruit in our lives is God’s work, not our own effort. Listen if you want to understand why Jesus came at all.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In John 15 Jesus says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener." How does the background in Ezekiel, where David's dynasty and Judah turn out to be a useless vine, help us understand these words?
- According to the sermon, the branch's only responsibility is to draw from the vine, and the fruit is God's work. How does that change the way you think about good deeds and effort in your life of faith?
- Jesus contrasts a servant who obeys out of duty and fear with a friend who acts out of love. What most often motivates your obedience to God, and how can you tell?
- The religious leaders were irritated that Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners and touched those no one else wanted to touch. Why was His unconditional love so confronting for them?
- Ezekiel 18:23 says God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but wants them to turn from their ways and live. How does this verse shape your understanding of why Jesus came and exposed our sin?
- Think of someone who recently pointed out something wrong in your behavior. How can you receive that confrontation this week as a chance to change rather than as an attack?
