John 15

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I Am the True Vine

1 "I am the ¹true vine, and my Father is ²the vinedresser.

2 ³Every branch in me that does not bear fruit ⁴he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, ⁵that it may bear more fruit.

3 Already ⁶you are clean ⁷because of the word that I have spoken to you.

4 ⁸Abide ⁹in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

5 I am the vine; ¹⁰you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that ¹¹bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

6 If anyone does not abide in me ¹²he is thrown away like a branch and withers; ¹³and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

7 If ¹⁴you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ¹⁵ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

8 ¹⁶By this my Father is glorified, that you ¹⁷bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

9 ¹⁸As the Father has loved me, ¹⁹so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

10 ²⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as ²¹I have kept ²²my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

11 These things I have spoken to you, ²³that my joy may be in you, and that ²⁴your joy may be full.

12 ²⁵"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

13 ²⁶Greater love has no one than this, ²⁷that someone lay down his life for his friends.

14 You are ²⁸my friends ²⁹if you do what I command you.

15 ³⁰No longer do I call you servants,^[a] for the servant^[b] ³¹ does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for ³²all that I have heard from my Father ³³I have made known to you.

16 You did not choose me, but ³⁴I chose you and appointed you that you should go and ³⁵bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that ³⁶whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

17 These things I command you, ³⁷so that you will love one another.

The Hatred of the World

18 ³⁸"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

19 ³⁹If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because ⁴⁰you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

20 Remember the word that I said to you: ⁴¹'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, ⁴²they will also persecute you. ⁴³If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

21 But ⁴⁴all these things they will do to you ⁴⁵on account of my name, ⁴⁶because they do not know him who sent me.

22 If I had not come and spoken to them, ⁴⁷they would not have been guilty of sin,^[c] but now they have no excuse for their sin.

23 ⁴⁸Whoever hates me hates my Father also.

24 ⁴⁹If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, ⁵⁰they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have ⁵¹seen and hated both me and my Father.

25 But ⁵²the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ⁵³'They hated me without a cause.'

26 "But ⁵⁴when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, ⁵⁵he will bear witness about me.

27 And ⁵⁶you also will bear witness, ⁵⁷because you have been with me ⁵⁸from the beginning.

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John 15 Commentary

Chapter 15

Christ the true Vine. (1-8) His love to his disciples. (9-17) foretold. (18-25) The Comforter promised. (26,27)

Verses 1-8 Jesus Christ is the Vine, the true Vine. The union of the human and Divine natures, and the fulness of the Spirit that is in him, resemble the root of the vine made fruitful by the moisture from a rich soil. Believers are branches of this Vine. The root is unseen, and our life is hid with Christ; the root bears the tree, diffuses sap to it, and in Christ are all supports and supplies. The branches of the vine are many, yet, meeting in the root, are all but one vine; thus all true Christians, though in place and opinion distant from each other, meet in Christ. Believers, like the branches of the vine, are weak, and unable to stand but as they are borne up. The Father is the Husbandman. Never was any husbandman so wise, so watchful, about his vineyard, as God is about his church, which therefore must prosper. We must be fruitful. From a vine we look for grapes, and from a Christian we look for a Christian temper, disposition, and life. We must honour God, and do good; this is bearing fruit. The unfruitful are taken away. And even fruitful branches need pruning; for the best have notions, passions, and humours, that require to be taken away, which Christ has promised to forward the sanctification of believers, they will be thankful, for them. The word of Christ is spoken to all believers; and there is a cleansing virtue in that word, as it works grace, and works out corruption. And the more fruit we bring forth, the more we abound in what is good, the more our Lord is glorified. In order to fruitfulness, we must abide in Christ, must have union with him by faith. It is the great concern of all Christ's disciples, constantly to keep up dependence upon Christ, and communion with him. True Christians find by experience, that any interruption in the exercise of their faith, causes holy affections to decline, their corruptions to revive, and their comforts to droop. Those who abide not in Christ, though they may flourish for awhile in outward profession, yet come to nothing. The fire is the fittest place for withered branches; they are good for nothing else. Let us seek to live more simply on the fulness of Christ, and to grow more fruitful in every good word and work, so may our joy in Him and in his salvation be full.

Verses 9-17 Those whom God loves as a Father, may despise the hatred of all the world. As the Father loved Christ, who was most worthy, so he loved his disciples, who were unworthy. All that love the Saviour should continue in their love to him, and take all occasions to show it. The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment, but the joy of those who abide in Christ's love is a continual feast. They are to show their love to him by keeping his commandments. If the same power that first shed abroad the love of Christ's in our hearts, did not keep us in that love, we should not long abide in it. Christ's love to us should direct us to love each other. He speaks as about to give many things in charge, yet names this only; it includes many duties.

Verses 18-25 How little do many persons think, that in opposing the doctrine of Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, they prove themselves ignorant of the one living and true God, whom they profess to worship! The name into which Christ's disciples were baptized, is that which they will live and die by. It is a comfort to the greatest sufferers, if they suffer for Christ's name's sake. The world's ignorance is the true cause of its hatred to the disciples of Jesus. The clearer and fuller the discoveries of the grace and truth of Christ, the greater is our sin if we do not love him and believe in him.

26,27. The blessed Spirit will maintain the cause of Christ in the world, notwithstanding the opposition it meets with. Believers taught and encouraged by his influences, would bear testimony to Christ and his salvation.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 58

1. [Jeremiah 2:21]
2. [1 Corinthians 3:9]
3. ver. 6; Matthew 3:10; Matthew 7:19; [Romans 11:17; 2 Peter 1:8]
4. [Matthew 15:13; Romans 11:22]
5. [Matthew 13:12]
6. John 13:10
7. John 17:17; [ver. 7; Ephesians 5:26]
8. ver. 5-7; 1 John 2:6; [Philippians 1:11; Colossians 1:23]; See John 6:56
9. See John 3:15
10. Romans 6:5
11. ver. 16; Colossians 1:6, 10
12. See ver. 2
13. Matthew 13:40-42; [Ezekiel 15:4]
14. See John 8:31
15. See John 14:13
16. Isaiah 61:3; Matthew 5:16; 2 Corinthians 9:13; Philippians 1:11
17. ver. 5
18. See John 5:20
19. See John 13:34
20. [John 14:15, 23]
21. John 8:55; John 17:4; Philippians 2:8
22. See John 10:18
23. [2 Corinthians 2:3]
24. John 3:29; John 16:24; John 17:13; 1 John 1:4; 2 John 12
25. See John 13:34
26. Romans 5:7, 8; Ephesians 5:2
27. See John 10:11
28. Luke 12:4
29. [ver. 10; Matthew 12:50]
30. [ver. 20]
31. [John 13:7, 12]
32. John 3:32; John 8:26, 40; [John 16:13]
33. John 17:26; [Genesis 18:17; 1 Corinthians 2:16; 1 Corinthians 13:9, 10]
34. See John 13:18
35. [2 John 8]
36. [ver. 7]; See John 14:13
37. ver. 12
38. John 7:7; 1 John 3:13; [ver. 23, 24]
39. [1 John 4:5]
40. John 17:14, 16; [Luke 6:26; Galatians 1:4; James 4:4]
41. John 13:16; Matthew 10:24; [ver. 15]
42. John 16:33; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 2 Corinthians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 2:15; 2 Timothy 3:12
43. [Ezekiel 3:7]; See John 8:51
44. John 16:3
45. Matthew 10:22; Matthew 24:9; Revelation 2:3; [Acts 5:41; 1 Peter 4:14, 16]
46. See Acts 3:17
47. [Matthew 11:22, 24; Luke 12:47, 48]; See John 9:41
48. See John 5:23
49. John 3:2; John 7:31; John 9:32; Matthew 9:33; [John 10:32, 37]
50. [See ver. 22 above]
51. See John 14:9
52. See John 10:34; John 12:38
53. Cited from Ps. 35:19 or 69:4
54. See John 14:16, 17, 26
55. 1 Corinthians 12:3; 1 John 5:7
56. John 19:35; John 21:24; 1 John 1:2; 1 John 4:14; [3 John 12]; See Luke 24:48
57. See Acts 4:20
58. [Luke 1:2; Acts 1:21, 22; 1 John 2:7]