The Vineyard and the True Vine: A Love story

Isaiah and the Apocalypse – Isaiah 27

“In that day, ‘A pleasant vineyard, sing of it!  I, the Lord, am its keeper, every moment I water it...I guard it night and day...I have no wrath...let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me.”  Isaiah 27:2-5 

The 27^th chapter of Isaiah is a love story—a story that begins and ends with a vineyard, begins and ends with a love song.  And will ultimately point to a greater love, the love of the true vine. 

“In that day,” that future glorious day, when the Lord will reign in Zion, it will be a pleasant vineyard, a place of quiet, a place of fulfilment, a place of restoration, a place of peace.   

But what Isaiah saw in his present wasn’t pretty: 

“Measure by measure, by exile you contended with them...the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted...when its boughs are dry...women come make a fire...this is a people without discernment.”  Isaiah 27:8,10,11. 

A Love Song  

It’s a bleak picture—but how did they get there??  The answer actually lies earlier in Isaiah, chapter 5: 

“Let me sing for my beloved a love song...my beloved had a vineyard...he planted it with choice vines, he built a watch tower...he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes...” 

“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, what more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done in it?  And now I will...remove its hedge...break down its wall...” 

“For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel...his pleasant planting...he looked for justice...for righteousness, but behold a cry!”  Isaiah 5:1-7. 

Who will atone for the sin? 

The pivotal point in Isaiah 27, the passage that, like a tall peak, looks down on what comes before and after is verse 9: 

“Therefore, by this the guilt of Jacob will be expiated, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin, when he makes the stones of the altars like chalkstones crushed...” 

How could they possibly atone for, or expiate their fallen condition?  And how can we restore what has been lost?  Isaiah saw a future fruitfulness, a literal blossoming, but will exile be enough to purge them from their sin? 

With regard to the sin of Israel, in his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul argues that Israel failed to find righteousness through the law, because they pursued it as if it was based on works, not faith.  Their failure, however, resulted in salvation by faith being offered to the Gentiles: 

“Through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles...if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!” Romans 11: 11,12. 

The New Covenant 

Interestingly—Paul ties in the expiation of sin in Isaiah 27:9, in his epistle to the Romans, chapter 11, when describing the sovereign plan of God to redeem both Jew and Gentile.  Paul quotes both the prophet Jeremiah (31:34) and Isaiah (59:20, 27:9) in the following Romans text: 

“The deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness...and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”  Romans 11:26,27. 

The covenant cited by Paul is the “new covenant” of Jeremiah 31 and Isaiah 59, both pointing to the Messiah, to Jesus! 

“But this is the covenant I will make: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts...” Jer 31:34. 

“...this is my covenant with them says the Lord: my spirit which is upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth...” Isaiah 59:21. 

This new covenant brings a new spirit, a new heart; Paul was ecstatic about God’s plan to redeem Israel—and all nations--as he, like us, had “the prophetic word made more sure” in Christ! (2 Pet 1:19).  As he fully comprehended this large redemptive plan, he spilled over in song: 

“O the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!  ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’”  Romans 11:33-35. 

It’s personal 

As we mentioned last week, Jesus identified himself with this new covenant in Matthew chapter 26: 

“...this is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  Matthew 26:28. 

His blood would be “poured out” as the Old Testament sacrificial blood was “poured out” at the base of the altar; he would be both high priest and sacrificial victim. 

But it’s important to acknowledge that although Christ would offer redemption, the forgiveness of sins, to all people groups, Jew or Gentile, salvation to all comes through their individual relationship with Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead. 

This was underscored recently when I attended a 3-day silent retreat, which was focused on the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.  The first part of the retreat consisted of a very thorough examination of conscience and meditation on the goodness and grace of God.   The silence meant no talking except short talks by the priest leading the retreat; this silence brought a holy stillness that I had not experienced for a long time—and this shook me up a bit, as it revealed in my meditation and prayer that although I was sorry for my sins, I don’t think I had fully grasped the offense against God, as in Psalm 51: 

“For I know my transgressions...against you, you only, have I sinned.” Psalm 51:2 

Like Paul, I walked away from the retreat both keenly aware of my own sin, and awed and grateful for the saving grace offered to us in Christ, the “depth of the riches and the wisdom and knowledge of God!” 

Jesus: The True Vine 

Although the “pleasant vineyard” in Isaiah 26 awaits its complete fulfilment “on that day,” it’s remarkably and wonderfully in the present age that Jesus will refer to the new covenant in terms of a vineyard.  The apostle John captured the following in Jesus’ last night with his disciples: 

“I am the true vine, and my father is the vinedresser...I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit...by this my Father is glorified...As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you, abide in my love...keep my commands, abide in my love...that my joy may be in you...love one another...greater love has no man...that a man lay down his life for his friends.”  John 15:1,5, 9-11. 

Try to imagine what the disciples were thinking when they heard these words from Jesus: To start, they would have been very familiar with Isaiah’s prophecy on the “beloved” and his vineyard, as well as the following passages from Psalm 80:  

“You brought a vine out of Egypt...you planted it...it took deep root...the mountains were covered with its shade...it sent out its branches to the sea...why then have you broken down its walls...?” But let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong!” Psalm 80: 14-16. 

But what could have prepared them for this literal “love sonnet” from the Christ?  

Jesus, taking up the metaphor of the vineyard, marvelously brings it to the next level, as he lays claim to it personally, clothing himself with the vivid imagery of the vineyard while defining the “abiding” relationship between the father and the son, the disciples, and eventually the church.   

A vineyard is a place of fruitfulness and sweetness, growth and shade, and beautiful and fragrant blossoms. What could be a better illustration of the abiding love, joy and glory shared between the Godhead and his church? 

Jesus announced to the disciples that he had chosen and appointed them, having shared with them everything revealed by the father—now even calling them friends. It only remains for us to lay claim to these promises ourselves—for like the disciples, we have been invited, even created, to love as the father and the son, be fruitful as a vine, and be joyfully faithful in friendship, even to the very end! 

If you’ve hung with me through these 5 posts on Isaiah chapters 24-27, you’ve seen the long view of Isaiah—who foretold the end of the world, the swallowing up of death and tears, and yet, “in that day,” the planting and growth of the eternal vineyard of Christ and his church. 

In each of these posts, we’ve always challenged each other—in light of all that Isaiah prophesied, how then shall we live?

I’ll leave you with Paul’s appeal to the Romans:

“…you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly, as in the day…put in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 13:11-13, 14.