Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world and go to the Father. While sharing his last meal with his disciples, Jesus told them he was leaving, which they struggled to understand. Throughout that evening, he told them a series of analogies, illustrating the relationship between himself, the Father and his disciples, and why he must leave.
Using a vineyard as the setting, he begins by saying
“Imagine my Father as the keeper of a vine, where I am the true source of life for that grape vine. My Father carefully cuts off any parts of the vine that hinder growth of fruit. He also trims the branches that grow fruit, so they will make more fruit. You are those branches, already pruned clean by following me. Continue to follow me, and I will continue to be with you, in the same way as the branches produce fruit only when they remain connected to the life of the vine. In this way, I am the vine, and you are the branches.
As long as you have my power in you, you will produce abundant fruit. Without me, you can produce none. If you stop following me, you will be like the branch that is cut off. It dries up and is burned on the waste pile. But if you continue to follow me, and believe in what I have taught you, then you will find that whatever you want is the will of the Father, and he will provide what you ask for. Our Father is glorified, when you produce fruit because you follow me. “
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