“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
“I am” = this is another of the “I am” statements found in John. Note that each further develops the nature and mission of Jesus (6:35,41,48,51; 8:12; 10:7,9,11,14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1,5).
John 6:35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:41 At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
John 6:48 I am the bread of life.
John 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 10:7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.
John 10:9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.
John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Jesus used several different metaphors to explain himself and his work: the light, the door, the shepherd, and now the vine. Israel was depicted throughout the Old Testament as a vine (Psalms 80:8-16, Isa 5:1-7, Jer 2:21, Eze 15:1-8, 19:10, Hos 10:1); and in time it became a symbol of Israel, even being stamped on the coins made at the time of the Maccabees. Interestingly enough, in each of the above passages Israel is depicted as a faithless, degenerate vine, having fallen away from God and becoming the object of punishment. Jesus was the true (the Greek word is alethinos which means “that which has not only the name and resemblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name, in every respect corresponding to the idea signified by the name, real, true, genuine”) vine. Israel was not the true vine and neither is the church; only Jesus is the genuine vine. Salvation can be found nowhere else.
Jeremiah 2:21 I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?
Hosea 10:1 Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones.
Matthew Henry observes that “He is the vine, planted in the vineyard, and not a spontaneous product; planted in the earth, for his is the Word made flesh. The vine has an unsightly unpromising outside; and Christ had no form nor comeliness, (Isa 53:2). The vine is a spreading plant, and Christ will be known as salvation to the ends of the earth. The fruit of the vine honours God and cheers man (#Judges 9:13), so does the fruit of Christ’s mediation; it is better than gold, (Pr 8:19).”
Isaiah 53:2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
Judges 9:13 “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?’
Proverbs 8:19 My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.
Notice that immediately after speaking of Himself, Jesus makes a reference to the Father and His relationship to this aspect of the Son and His work. Father and Son always are working together; they never go off by themselves to do their own thing.