Bearing Fruit

Apples make apples. Disciples make disciples.

Jesus named the mark that gathers up everything in this class.

Scripture — John 15:4–5, 8 (OTB)

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in them will bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. … By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and thus prove to be my disciples.”

Two kinds of fruit grow on that vine.

The first is what you become. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control — and Paul calls it the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of your discipline. Fruit is not manufactured by the branch. It is what happens to a branch that stays attached.

The second is other disciples. This is where following Jesus stops being private. He did not say come and be improved. He said come, and I will make you fishers of people. And at the end:

Scripture — Matthew 28:18–20 (OTB)

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Read what He actually asked for. Not converts — disciples. And not people taught to know everything He commanded: people taught to obey it. That is the whole of this class in one sentence.

Here is the part that decides whether it goes anywhere. People reproduce only what they have seen done and believe they could do themselves. Two gates, not one. So everything in these nine chapters was chosen to be small enough for the newest person to copy: read, re-read, retell; four questions; a dated “I will”; one name to tell. Nothing here needs money, a platform, or training. If you find yourself doing something impressive that nobody watching could repeat, you have stepped off the path — however good it looks.

And invite people to the Bible rather than to a service. An invitation is not a witness. Open the book with someone; it is the most reproducible thing you will ever do.

Count the cost — because Jesus insisted on it. He told a crowd to sit down and do the arithmetic before starting, like a man building a tower or a king going to war. “Whoever does not carry their own cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.” Then: deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow. Daily is the load-bearing word. Not a moment — the rest of your life.

He said all this to a crowd that was already following Him, on purpose, so that nobody signed on to something they had not looked at squarely. We do the same. Count it honestly, and then decide.

Recite it: Apples make apples. Disciples make disciples.

Reflect & do

Write one name — someone you could open the Bible with. Then write the day you will ask them. A name and a date, or this class was a book you read.