The Husbandman
In John 15:1 Jesus stated that He is the True Vine and His Father God is the Husbandman.
Have you ever heard of this word “Husbandman” before?
It is true! Jesus declared that God the Father is the Husbandman of the True Vine Jesus.
God the Husbandman desires for the Vine to produce good Fruit.
The Husbandman is a person that understands full well what he is growing and his desire is to grow and produce the best Fruit, the Husbandman will prepare the soil, plant the seed, water the plant, prune the plant and protect the plant.
The Fruit is what the Husbandman desires to see for his hardwork.
It was who Noah who became a Husbandman on the Earth after the Flood, he was a Man who was a carer of the Soil, from the Soil he produced the Fruit of the Earth. You can read of this in Genesis 9:20 and can see that Noah planted a Vineyard.
Gen 9:20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
It is amazing that Jesus calls Himself the True Vine and God is the Carer or Husbandman of the Vine, Jesus knew this in an Intimate way.
Jesus knew that God was the one in control and God wanted to see Jesus produce Good Fruit.
Jesus was very close to His Father, Look at what Jesus has to say about the Carer and the Vine.
Joh15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and everybranchthat beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Joh15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Joh15:5 I am the vine, yearethe branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Joh15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and casttheminto the fire, and they are burned.
Joh15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Jesus could not make it any clearer to you and to me; if we are abiding in Christ and God is the Husbandman then we should be producing Fruit, and we should continue producing Fruit.
It is through Jesus Christ and His Word that we are made Clean, we cannot produce Fruit in ourselves, we must abide in the Vine of Christ.
This discussion that Jesus teaches reminds me very much of the Natural Olive Tree that Paul spoke about in Romans 11, as well as the Commonwealth of Israel that Paul spoke about in Ephesians 2 that we Gentiles are Grafted into.
In John 15:2 Jesus makes it clear as Paul does in Romans 9, 11 and Ephesians 2, he that abides in the Vine or Tree and does not bear Fruit God will cut away.
Again in John 15:6 Jesus makes it clear, if a man does not abide in Jesus he is then cast forth as a Branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
This again reminds me of some of Israel that did not believe and because of their unbelief God removed them from the Olive Tree and Grafted in the Wild Olive Branches.
We Must abide in God and His Son Jesus Christ to produce Fruit and we do so by Trusting and walking in obedience.
Jesus had no problem stating that God is the Husbandman and that God will and can cut away anyone that does not continue to abide in Jesus and in God.
God is the carer of His Tree and Vine and He will do what He will for the Vine to continue producing Fruit.
Jesus continues to talk about God and the Vine in John 15:8-11, Look at what Jesus declares:
Joh15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Joh15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
Joh15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
Joh15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, andthatyour joy might be full.
It is True, God is Glorified when we abide in Jesus and when we bear much Fruit, we are the Disciples of Jesus when we abide in Him and when we continue in Love.
The exact same way that God has Loved Jesus is how Jesus Loves us, we are supposed to continue in that same Love.
We Must KEEP His Commandments and Abide in God’s Love even as Jesus KEPT His Fathers Commandments and abided in His Love.
Jesus wants our Life to Remain Full of His Joy.
That “Husbandman” word that Jesus used in John 15:1 is used in various places in the NewTestament. It is the Greek Word “Georgos” which means A Farmer, one who Tills the Earth or Ground.
Three of the places in the New Testament that I am going to look where the Word HUSBANDMAN is used are:
John 15:1
2 Timothy 2:6
James 5:7
John 15:1 we have already looked at.
2 Timothy 2:6 speaks of Jesus as being the Husbandman that laboured and was the First Partaker of the Fruits but it also speaks of each one of us Believers in Christ and how we must be good Husbandman and we will be rewarded when we receive Eternal Life in our Immortal Bodies the same as Jesus, when Jesus returns.
James 5:7 is the Verse that I want to make as the Heart of this Message.
God is the Husbandman of each of us Fruit on the earth, let me read it to you.
Jas_5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandmanwaiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
James had a Great Understanding of the Coming of Jesus Christ and he knew that we Must be Patient until the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. James knew that God the Husbandman has a Plan as the carer of the Precious Fruit and the Harvest will not take place until the Early and Latter Rain falls.
God has LONG Patience for His Precious Fruit and we are that Fruit.
A Farmer never goes and harvests until the Crop is in its fullness.
Jesus is not going to come for the Harvest until the Harvest is Ripe and has received the early and Latter Rains.
I now want to show you something beautiful from the Old Testament and the Hebrew, this will amaze you.
Husbandman in the English is made up of two Hebrew words.
Husband which is “Ish” meaning male in gender, it is also the same word used for our English word husband.
Man which is “Adamah” meaning dirt, ground, earth, and clay.
God was on Earth and with His hands he picked up some “Adamah” soil and from the Soil, God created “Adam” Mankind.
God has created from the earth a Precious Fruit called mankind and ever since the Fall of mankind God has been waiting for the Precious Fruit of the earth to arise so that He may have intimacy with man.
You can see why James calls God the Husbandman of the Precious Fruit of the earth.
God is not going to send His Son for the harvest until the Harvest is Ripe.
We must have the same Heart of James and of God, there is still more Fruit to seek after.
Jesus desire for us Believers in Christ is that we would see the Harvest of Souls as Jesus spoke in Matthew 9:37.
The Labourers are few but if we pray God will answer our prayers and God will send Labourers out into the harvest as Jesus said in Matthew 9:38.
Mat_9:37 Thensaith he unto his disciples, The harvest trulyisplenteous, but the labourersarefew;
Mat_9:38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
We must look around with our eyes and see what God wants us to see.
Joh_4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, andthencometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
There is going to be a Harvest at the End of the Age when God will send His Angels, this is the Harvest that James was talking about.
The Wheat and tares must grow together until the End of the Age and then Jesus will come and the Harvest will take place.
The Resurrection of the Dead will take place and we will be called the Children of God and the Children of the Resurrection.
Until then we Must be about the Lords Work and Must have patience as a Farmer has Patience and as God the Husbandman has Long Patience.