Are you bearing fruit? The vine, the branches, and the pruning — John 15
Dillon McCurdy · September 29, 2026 · 10 min read
From a sermon · John 15:1–12
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit... I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me."
Who's who: Jesus is the vine, the Father is the gardener, we're the branches. It's a lot like the picture of the body — Christ the head, we the members. The purpose of the parable is to show how completely the Christian depends on Christ, and what the Father wants from the vineyard.
The gardener wants a better vineyard
The Father is always working to improve the quality and quantity of His vineyard. Branches that bear no fruit He removes. Only the gardener knows which branches are dead — we often can't see when a branch is dying, but He can.
Who are those fruitless branches? It may be people who profess Christ but were never converted. Judas was in the room when Jesus said this. "Ye shall know them by their fruits... Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 7:16–21). The fruit comes from the root — bad fruit, bad root. Professing Christ isn't the same as receiving Him. You might be a fan; are you a follower?
It may also describe branches that have gone dormant — a poor relationship with Christ, a callus over sin, no fruit. At some point a branch has to produce. Young branches get lots of attention and grace. Old branches carry high expectations. We have a new pear tree in our yard and some old apple trees, and I don't expect the same thing from both — but I do expect something from the apple trees.
And the branches that do bear fruit He prunes. God always wants growth. Jesus is always working on us — "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word... that it should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:26–27). That process is sanctification, the stretch between salvation and glorification, and every Christian is in it. If we bear some fruit, He prunes for more. If we bear more, He prunes for much.
Every Christian needs Christ to bear fruit
"You can do nothing without me." So we stay in relationship with Him. We read, study, meditate on, memorize, and apply the Word. We obey His commands — love God, love others (John 13:34–35; 15:9–14) — which means loving actual people: praying for them, serving them, caring for them, not an organization but the families in the room. We pray to the Father, seeking His will; the goal of prayer isn't to get our will done in heaven but God's will done on earth. And we obey the Spirit, who lives in us and guides us moment by moment — the One we yield to, listen for, and neither quench nor grieve.
Every Christian gets pruned
Pruning doesn't feel good. But God never prunes more than a branch can take, and He knows exactly what's best for it to bear more. And He prunes for quality, not just quantity. He may not want you to read more of the Bible so much as understand and apply it more. He may not want more minutes of prayer so much as more meaningful ones. Not more giving, but cheerful giving. Not more doing, but a better spirit in the doing. Not more evangelism, but deeper compassion when you do it. He wants increase — and He wants it to be good.
Every Christian should bear every kind of fruit
There's the fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22–23) — which should be in us and flowing out of us. And there's the fruit of new and growing believers. "My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples." Disciples make disciples (Matthew 28:19).
Here's something I've noticed. If you feel like you lack purpose as a Christian, it's probably because you're not bearing fruit. A mature Christian will not feel fulfilled if they aren't seeing people saved or helping a new believer grow. Your job is to produce fruit, and when you don't, you don't feel fulfilled — and people often drift away from church for exactly that reason, having gotten distracted from the main thing.
How to bear fruit that lasts
Remember that fruit doesn't come from your effort; it comes from Christ flowing through you. So submit to the Spirit every day — that produces the fruit of the Spirit. Give people the gospel — neighbors, coworkers, friends, family. "I am not ashamed of the gospel" (Romans 1:16). Are you?
And disciple people. Seeing someone grow to maturity matters as much as seeing them saved. Follow up. Businesses outdo us at this — a meat-delivery company once sent me eight emails in ten days to get me to try their product. Shouldn't we care more about souls than they care about a sale? Don't just meet people and move on. We're cultivators: we plant, then water, weed, fertilize, and only then harvest. Becoming a follower of Jesus doesn't happen overnight. And once someone is saved and coming, you have a personal responsibility for their growth — "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth" (3 John 4). It's not only the pastor's job. It's yours. It's mine.
Stay connected to the vine. He's the source of all of it. Love Him, serve Him, please Him. Read your Bible, pray, and be with His people as much as you can.
Two invitations
If you're not connected to the Vine — or you say you are but you're really not — get on the Vine. Your eternity is in the balance. And if you are connected, bear fruit: get better connected, let the Spirit bring His fruit out of your life, and lead people to Jesus.
A branch doesn't work at being a branch. It stays attached and the fruit shows up. Sit with that if you've spent years producing things for God without ever being joined to Him. Religion is a branch leaned up against the vine. Salvation is a branch grafted in. Jesus died for your sin and rose from the grave, and the moment you trust Him and Him alone you're in the vine, not beside it. Everything after that grows on its own terms.
If you're His, the pruning is the hard part of this. When life feels empty right now, that isn't always punishment. Sometimes it's the knife, and the Gardener knows exactly what He's doing. Don't fight Him this week. Name the one thing He's obviously cutting and open your hand.
Then do the follow-up you've been putting off. The person you led to Jesus, or invited that one time, and then moved on from. Text them today. Plant, water, weed — the harvest comes last, and it comes to whoever stayed.
Related: Walk in the Spirit and A lifestyle of evangelism.