\b0 Jesus would sometimes describe himself as the true vine and his disci
ples as its branches that would produce much fruit. The comparison was suggestive and effective for his listeners who lived in an agricultural and pastoral society and had learned of the symbolic significance of the vine from the holy scriptures. In the
days of the prophets the vine already represented the people of God who, like the vine, were subject to the special care of the Lord. The vine was also used as an image to represent healthy growth and fertility. Jesus defined himself as a vine and his
disciples as the shoots of the vine also as a way of stressing the strong tie that bound them thanks to which the \b \cf4 \ATXht70102 Apostles\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 received the power to bring the fruit of its vine into their hearts and into the world.\par