John 15: I Am The True Vine
1 “I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the Word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
There are many thoughts as to the circumstance of this allegory, such as it being on the way to Gethsemane. But there is no evidence that the eleven have left the Lord's table. “That which most obviously suggests itself is the look at the cup of wine (comp. Matthew 26:29...), which precisely at this supper had assumed so great significance.” (Heinrich Meyer)
"The vine is a fruitful plant, though it has little pomp, and is only useful in fruitbearing, bringing forth plenty and variety to make glad the heart of man. Thus the fruits of Christ’s death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession, are many and great, delightful and sweet. As the fruit of the vine is pressed, that it may become drink to men; so Christ submitted to be trod in the winepress of God’s wrath, that thereby the sweetest fruit and benefit might redound to his people." (Joseph Sutcliffe)
“Over and over again in the Old Testament, Israel is pictured as the vine or the vineyard of God. ‘The vineyard of the LORD is the house of Israel’ (Isa 5:1-7). ‘Yet I planted you a choice vine’ is God's message to Israel through Jeremiah (Jer 2:21). Ezekiel 15:1-8 likens Israel to the vine, as does Ezekiel 19:10. ‘Israel is a luxuriant vine,’ said Hosea (Hos 10:1). ‘Thou didst bring a vine out of Egypt,’ sang the Psalmist, thinking of God's deliverance of His people from bondage (Psa 80:8).” (William Barclay) Within the congregation that left Egypt was a hidden remnant- the Vine within the vine, composed of those spiritually connected with Jesus by obedience.
Jesus said, "I am the True Vine," from Heaven, “and My Father is the Vinedresser.” "As the vine is the root from which all the branches derive their nourishment and fruitfulness; in like manner is Christ the Stock, into which all His members are engrafted; the Root, in which they all subsist; and the Fountain, from whence their spiritual life and fruitfulness proceed." (Joseph Sutcliffe) “In the Old Testament the vine is the type of Israel, planted by the Almighty as the husbandman to adorn, refresh, and quicken the earth (Psa 80; Isa 5:1; Jer 2:21; Eze 19:10; Hos 10:1). But Israel proved itself ‘the degenerate plant of a strange vine.’ Jesus, therefore, is here the ‘True Vine,’ because He is the True Israel of God, in whom is fulfilled all that is demanded of the True Vine, whether for beauty and blessing to the world, or for glory to the Husbandman. In Him all His people are summed up. He is not merely the stem: He is ‘the Vine,’ including in Himself all its parts.” (Schaff's Popular Commentary)
Jesus shows forth by that same similitude "what His Father meant to do with Judas, and with all unfruitful branches like him, even to take them away, cut them off, and throw them into the fire." (Joseph Sutcliffe)
"Every branch in Me"- professed disciple – "that does not bear fruit He takes away;" (2a) "as the vine-dresser will remove every unfruitful branch from the vine, so will my Father remove every unfruitful member from my mystical body - such as Judas, the unbelieving Jews, the apostatizing disciples, and all false and merely nominal Christians..." (Clarke) These appear to have received the Word, but they regard it not as such in their hearts. They do not desire to obey it and share it to the glory of the Father.
“Every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean"- PRUNED- "because of the Word which I have spoken to you." (2b-3) “As our Lord has not changed the metaphor, it would be wrong to change the expression- through the Word.” (Adam Clarke) "Purgeth it; in the original, cleanseth it; that is, by pruning, which here represents all the discipline to which Christ subjects his disciples." (Justin Edwards) He reproves their behavior by His Spirit through His Word.
“The Messiah, the Protector and Saviour of the church, is the Man of God's right hand; He is the Arm of the Lord, for all power is given to Him. In Him is our strength, by which we are enabled to persevere to the end. The Vine, therefore, cannot be ruined, nor can any fruitful branch perish; but the unfruitful will be cut off and cast into the fire.” (Matthew Henry)
John 15: Love and Joy Perfected
9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
"'Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you: abide ye in my love.' Regarding the strange use of the perfect tense here, Westcott noted that: 'It is simpler to regard the tense as chosen with regard to a work now looked upon as completed, according to the usage which is not infrequent in these discourses. The love of Christ, as it were, is looked upon as the atmosphere in which the disciple lives.'
And: 'Abide ye in my love...' again presupposes the ability of the believer either to abide, or not abide, depending upon his own will, and not upon any capricious election from all eternity. Westcott stressed that 'This enjoyment depends upon the human side upon the will of man, for it can be made the subject of a command.' [B. F. Westcott]
'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.' The love of Christ by His disciples and His reciprocal love for them do not indicate a subjective emotional condition but a course of obedient action. This verse is almost the converse of John 14:15 (which see); and, taken together, they strongly teach that the love of Christ on the part of men means keeping Christ's commandments. This is reinforced by the truth, also stated in this verse, that even the love of the Father by the Son meant keeping God's commandments. Once more in John, it is revealed that the relationship between Christians and Christ is the same as that between Christ and the Father." (Coffman Commentary)
“That your joy might be full- filled up:
a metaphor taken from a vessel, into which water or any other thing is poured, till it is full to the brim. The religion of Christ expels all misery from the hearts of those who receive it in its fullness. It was to drive wretchedness out of the world that Jesus came into it." (Adam Clarke)
12 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 17 These things I command you, that you love one another.
"Having spoken of His commandments, now in verse 12 He shows that love is the very essence of His commandment, love that willingly relinquishes its own rights and comfort for the sake of the blessing of others. His love to us is its measure. None can be greater, for the next morning He would be on the cross, to lay down His life for those whom He calls friends." (Grantt's Commentary)
You are My friends. "Let the expression before us encourage Christians to deal familiarly with Christ in prayer. Why should we be afraid to pour out all our hearts, and unbosom all our secrets, in speaking to One who calls us His 'friends'? Let it cheer us in all the troubles and sorrows of life, and increase our confidence in our Lord. 'He that has friends,' says Solomon, 'will show himself friendly.' (Proverbs 18:24.) Certainly our great Master in heaven will never forsake His 'friends.' Poor and unworthy as we are, He will not cast us off, but will stand by us and keep us to the end. David never forgot Jonathan, and the Son of David will never forget His people. None so rich, so strong, so well off, so thoroughly provided for, as the man of whom Christ says, 'This is my friend!'" (J. C. Ryle)
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” The election or choosing here is most likely “to the Apostolic office, which was peculiar to the eleven.” (J. C. Ryle) Moreover, for whatever office Jesus has for us, I believe that when we choose Jesus and remain in our calling, we are predestined to be like Him. “Election is always to sanctification," as we continue to respond to the Spirit's corrections by His Word. Thus, the elect are predestined “not only that they may be saved, but that they may bear fruit, and fruit that can be seen. All other election beside this is a mere vain delusion, and a miserable invention of man. It was the faith and hope and love of the Thessalonians, which made Paul say, 'I know your election of God.' (1 Thessalonians 1:4.) Where there is no visible fruit of sanctification, we may be sure there is no election.” (J. C. Ryle)
"These things I command you, that you love one another.” (17) “Not by power nor by might, but by My Spirit” says Yahweh.
Final Repost: John 15: The World’s Hatred
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you 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, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.
After Jesus exhorted the apostles to perseverance by knowledge of His love for them, and His mercy towards them, "He faithfully acquaints them with the world's hatred of them..." (John Gill)
“If the world hates you—“You may not, or you may, be persecuted. If you are not, there is room for inquiry. If you are, there is ground of comfort and strength." (H. E. Manning)— “you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” (18) “You are hated, then, not because you are bad, but because you are good. It is the hatred of badness against goodness; for they hated incarnate goodness before they hated you." (Whedon's Commentary)
“If you were of the world, the world would love its own.” (19a) “The rule is universal and needed no farther exposition." (Schaff's NT Commentary) "but you are not ‘of’ the world, rather I chose you of the world, therefore the world hates you." (19b)
“Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ (John 13:16) If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” (20a) The apostles were to minister to church and world, symbolized by foot washing- John 13:16, but they were not to expect reciprocal love from the children of men, but rather persecution. They "are in the position of their Master, are one with Him; therefore are they bound to the same duties and exposed to the same trials." (Schaff's NT Commentary)
"If they kept My word, they will keep yours also." (20b) There seem to be two groups. One persecutes the church and the other keeps the word of God. And if they keep Jesus's words, they will adhere to the apostles doctrine. "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 18:18)
"But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake," (21a) "... because they were called by His name, and called upon His name; because they professed His name, and confessed Him to be the Messiah and Redeemer; because they loved His name Jesus, a Saviour, believed in His name, and hoped in Him for eternal life." (John Gill)-
They will persecute you- the apostles- "because they do not know Him who sent Me." (21b) "They professed to know God, and some of them even thought that they were rendering acceptable service to God when they rejected His Son, whom He had sent unto them." (C. H. Spurgeon)
22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. 25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’ [Psalm 69:4]
If I had not spoken and done these works among them, they would have no sin... but now they have no excuse for their hatred of Me. (22-24) "This is the crux of the matter. Jesus has come as a light into the world (John 3:16-21; John 8:12). His words have shone like a searchlight piercing into men’s innermost being (compare John 7:7). But men shy from the light, for it reveals what they are. They love darkness rather than light because by coming to the light what they do is shown to be evil in God’s eyes (John 3:19). Previously such men had been living in a self-satisfied state, not fully aware of the inadequacy of what they believed. They were not aware of how sinful they were. But by His words Jesus has brought home to them that inadequacy, undermining much of what they cherished, especially their sense of their own spiritual achievements. Thus they no longer have any excuse, and if they are unwilling to admit it, and change, they will hate Him for what He has done. It is always difficult to admit that we have been wrong and to begin again." (Pett's Bible Commentary)
"But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’ [Psalm 69:4]" (25) John quotes David. Jesus fulfilled the saying because it was entirely true of Him alone. King David- a man after God's own heart said it. But even he cried out to Yahweh, while deep in the mire of earthly passions (Psalm 69:2) He cried thus: "O God, You know my foolishness; and my sins are not hidden from You." (Psalm 69:5)
But as Jesus lifts us out of the mire, we suffer more for the kingdom of God and for righteousness sake. “The meaning here is that the same thing happened to Him which did to the psalmist. The same words which David used respecting his enemies would express, also, the conduct of the Jews and their treatment of the Messiah. In both cases it was without cause. Jesus had broken no law, He had done no injury to His country or to any individual. It is still true that sinners hate Him in the same way. He injures no one, but, amid all their hatred, He seeks their welfare; and, while they reject Him in a manner for which they ‘can give no reason in the day of judgment,’ He still follows them with mercies and entreats them to return to Him. Who has ever had any reason to hate the Lord Jesus? What injury has He ever done to any one of the human race? What evil has He ever said or thought of any one of them? What cause or reason had the Jews for putting Him to death? What reason has the sinner for hating Him now? What reason for neglecting Him? No one can give a reason for it that will satisfy his own conscience, none that has the least show of plausibility. Yet no being on earth has ever been more hated, despised, or neglected, and in every instance it has been ‘without a cause.’ Reader, do you hate Him? If so, I ask you why? Wherein has He injured you? or why should you think or speak reproachfully of the benevolent and pure Redeemer?” (Albert Barnes)
“So they dealt by David, so by Christ, and so still by his members. There is but the same pageant acted over again as of old.” (John Trapp)
John 15: Our Ally
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
"Our Lord has been speaking of a world hostile to His followers and to Him. He proceeds, in the words which immediately follow our text, to paint that hostility as aggravated even to the pitch of religious murder. But here He lets a beam of light in upon the darkness."(Alexander MacLaren)
"Though a wicked world reject and deny, there is a Holy Spirit that confirms and testifies." (Whedon's Commentary) He will testify of Me, bring to remembrance, "referring to that glorious Pentecostal attestation of the Messiahship of the Lord Jesus which, in a few days, gave birth to a flourishing Christian Church in the murderous capital itself, and the speedy diffusion of it far and wide." (Jamieson; Fausset; Brown)
"And you"- the apostles- "also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning." (27) "Kings and princes are honored. They have a conspicuous place in history. But far above kings, emperors, or czars, is the dignity to have been an original witness to Christ, a co-worker with the Spirit of truth, an apostle of the indestructible Church." (Whedon's Commentary)
"We should observe lastly, in these verses, how our Lord speaks of the special office of the Apostles. They were to be His witnesses in the world. 'You also shall bear witness.' The expression is singularly instructive and full of meaning. It taught the eleven what they must expect their portion to be, so long as they lived. They would have to bear testimony to facts which many would not believe, and to truths which the natural heart would dislike. They would often have to stand alone, a few against many, a little flock against a great multitude. None of these things must move them. They must count it no strange thing to be persecuted, hated, opposed, and discredited. They must not mind it. To witness of Christ was their grand duty, whether men believed them or not. So witnessing, their record would be on high, in God's book of remembrance; and so witnessing, sooner or later, the Judge of all would give them a crown of glory that fades not away.
Let us never forget, as we leave this passage, that the position of the Apostles is that which, in a certain sense, every true Christian must fill, as long as the world stands. We must all be witnesses for Christ. We must not be ashamed to stand up for Christ's cause, to speak out for Christ, and to persist in maintaining the truth of Christ's Gospel. Wherever we live, in town or in country, in public or in private, abroad or at home, we must boldly confess our Master on every opportunity. So doing, we shall walk in the steps of the Apostles, though at a long interval. So doing, we shall please our Master, and may hope at last that we shall receive the Apostles' reward." (J. C. Ryle)