John 15

Introduction

John 15 is the heart of the Farewell Discourse, spoken by Jesus to his disciples on the night before his crucifixion. At the close of chapter 14, Jesus said "Get up, let us go from here" (John 14:31), yet the discourse continues — possibly spoken as they walked from the upper room toward the Garden of Gethsemane, perhaps passing vineyards along the way. The chapter is built around two great metaphors: the vine and its branches (vv. 1-17), and the world and its hatred (vv. 18-27). Both are shaped by the single command that sits at the center: love one another.

The vine imagery would have resonated deeply with Jesus' Jewish audience. Throughout the Old Testament, Israel is pictured as God's vine or vineyard — planted with care, expected to bear fruit, and often found wanting (Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80:8-16, Jeremiah 2:21, Ezekiel 15:1-8, Hosea 10:1). A golden vine adorned the entrance to Herod's temple. When Jesus says "I am the true vine," he is not merely offering an illustration; he is claiming to be the genuine Israel, the faithful vine that God always intended, and he is redefining who belongs to God's people — not by ancestry but by abiding connection to himself. The chapter then turns from the intimacy of the vine to the hostility of the world, preparing the disciples for the persecution that will come precisely because they belong to Jesus and not to the world.

The True Vine (vv. 1-8)

¹ "I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard. ² He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.

⁵ I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to My Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, proving yourselves to be My disciples."

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 does bear fruit he prunes so that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.

⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him — this one bears much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like the branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will come about for you. ⁸ In this my Father is glorified: that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples."

Notes

This passage contains the last of the seven great ἐγώ εἰμι ("I am") sayings with a predicate nominative in John's Gospel. The word ἀληθινή — rendered "true" — does not mean merely "truthful" as opposed to "lying" but rather "genuine, real, archetypal" as opposed to all that is derivative or merely symbolic. Jesus is not a vine among many; he is the vine — the reality to which Israel's vine imagery always pointed. The same word is used of the "true light" in John 1:9 and the "true bread" in John 6:32.

The Father is called γεωργός, literally "earth-worker" (from γῆ, "earth" + ἔργον, "work"). This is the farmer, the vinedresser, the one who tends the vineyard. In Isaiah's vineyard song (Isaiah 5:1-7), God is the vineyard owner who planted Israel and expected good grapes; here the Father is the one who actively tends the branches in his Son.

Verse 2 contains a famous ambiguity. The verb αἴρει (from αἴρω) can mean either "takes away / cuts off" or "lifts up / raises." In viticulture, branches that trail on the ground are lifted up and propped on stones to receive sunlight before they are given up as dead. Some interpreters read this as the Father first lifting up unfruitful branches — giving them a chance — before removing those that still fail to produce. Others take it straightforwardly as removal. The translation "takes away" preserves the ambiguity of the Greek better than "cuts off," which forecloses one reading.

The second verb, καθαίρει ("prunes / cleanses"), sets up a deliberate wordplay with verse 3, where Jesus says "you are already καθαροί" ("clean"). The pruning of fruitful branches is a cleansing. And the means of this cleansing is the word Jesus has spoken — τὸν λόγον. This echoes John 13:10, where Jesus told the disciples after the foot-washing, "You are clean." The word prunes; the word cleanses; the two are the same action.

The keyword of the entire chapter is μένω — "remain, abide, dwell, stay." It appears eleven times in this chapter (vv. 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 16). It is the same root behind μοναί ("dwelling places") in John 14:2 — the Father's house has many "abiding places." The call is reciprocal: "Remain in me, and I in you." This is not mere intellectual assent or emotional attachment but an ongoing, life-sustaining connection — like sap flowing from vine to branch.

The stark warning of verse 5 — χωρὶς ἐμοῦ οὐ δύνασθε ποιεῖν οὐδέν — is emphatic in Greek: "apart from me you are not able to do nothing" (the double negative intensifying). The word χωρίς means "separated from, apart from, without." Severed from the vine, the branch does not merely produce less; it can do absolutely nothing.

Verse 6 uses a striking tense shift. ἐβλήθη is an aorist passive — "was thrown out" — as though the result has already happened. This is sometimes called a gnomic aorist, treating the outcome as so certain that it can be stated as already accomplished. The branch that does not remain is, in effect, already cast out.

Verse 8 clarifies the purpose of fruitfulness: it brings glory to the Father and it is the mark — the proof — of true discipleship. The verb γένησθε means "you become" or "you prove to be." Fruit-bearing does not earn the status of disciple; it reveals it.

Remaining in Christ's Love (vv. 9-17)

⁹ "As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and remain in His love. ¹¹ I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

¹² This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are My friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.

¹⁶ You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. ¹⁷ This is My command to you: Love one another."

⁹ "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be made full.

¹² This is my commandment: that you love one another just as I have loved you. ¹³ No one has greater love than this: that someone lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you slaves, because the slave does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything 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 so that you would go and bear fruit — and that your fruit would remain — so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. ¹⁷ These things I command you, so that you love one another."

Notes

Verses 9-10 establish a chain of love: the Father loves the Son, the Son loves the disciples, and the disciples are to remain in that love by keeping Jesus' commandments — just as the Son remains in the Father's love by keeping the Father's commandments. The verb ἀγαπάω dominates this section. It describes not sentimental feeling but covenantal, self-giving commitment. The parallel structure is deliberate: the relationship between Jesus and his disciples mirrors the relationship between the Father and the Son.

In verse 11, Jesus reveals the purpose behind his teaching: ἵνα ἡ χαρὰ ἡ ἐμὴ ἐν ὑμῖν ᾖ — "so that my joy may be in you." This is not happiness in general but χαρά, a deep gladness that belongs to Jesus himself and is transferred to his followers. The goal is that their joy be πεπληρωμένη — "filled to the full, completed, brought to its maximum." Joy in John is never an add-on; it is a result of union with Christ and obedience to his word (compare John 16:24, John 17:13).

Verse 13 is one of the most beloved sentences in Scripture. The Greek reads μείζονα ταύτης ἀγάπην οὐδεὶς ἔχει — "greater love than this no one has." The word for "life" here is ψυχή — not βίος (livelihood) or ζωή (the life of the age to come), but the whole self, the breath-life, the soul. To lay down one's psychē is to give everything. Jesus is not speaking in the abstract; within hours he will do exactly this. The phrase θῇ ὑπὲρ ("lay down on behalf of") uses the same construction found in John 10:11 and John 10:15, connecting the Good Shepherd to the true vine — the same self-giving love expressed through different metaphors.

The transition from δοῦλος ("slave") to φίλος ("friend") in verse 15 is a remarkable elevation. In the ancient world, a slave carried out orders without understanding the master's purposes. A friend is brought into the inner circle of knowledge and intention. The basis of this friendship is revelation: πάντα ἃ ἤκουσα παρὰ τοῦ Πατρός μου ἐγνώρισα ὑμῖν — "everything that I heard from my Father I made known to you." The verb γνωρίζω means "to make known, to reveal." Friendship with Jesus is grounded not in emotional warmth alone but in shared knowledge of the Father's purposes. I have rendered δοῦλος as "slave" rather than "servant" because the Greek word refers specifically to one who is owned, not merely employed, and the contrast with "friend" is sharper when the full force of the original is preserved.

Verse 16 reverses any notion that the disciples chose Jesus: οὐχ ὑμεῖς με ἐξελέξασθε, ἀλλ᾽ ἐγὼ ἐξελεξάμην ὑμᾶς. The verb ἐκλέγομαι means "to choose, to select, to elect" — it is the standard word for God's choosing of Israel and later for the election of believers. The second verb, ἔθηκα (from τίθημι), means "I placed, I appointed, I set in position." The disciples are chosen and then commissioned: ὑπάγητε — "go." Their mission is to bear fruit that μένῃ — "remains." The same keyword, μένω, now applies to the fruit: it is lasting, enduring, not seasonal.

Verse 17 forms an inclusio with verse 12, bracketing this entire section with the single command: love one another. The repetition is not accidental. Everything between — joy, friendship, election, mission — is enclosed within and sustained by mutual love.

The World's Hatred (vv. 18-25)

¹⁸ "If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. ²⁰ Remember the word that I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.

²¹ But they will treat you like this because of My name, since they do not know the One who sent Me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵ But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated Me without reason.'"

¹⁸ "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world — rather, I chose you out of the world — for this reason the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word I said to you: 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also.

²¹ But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me. 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 The one who hates me hates my Father also. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works that no one else has done, they would have no sin. But now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵ But this is so that the word written in their Law may be fulfilled: 'They hated me without cause.'"

Notes

The tone shifts dramatically at verse 18. From the warmth of vine, love, joy, and friendship, Jesus turns to the cold reality of μισέω — "to hate." The word κόσμος ("world") appears six times in verses 18-19 alone. In John's Gospel, "the world" is not merely the created order (which God loves, John 3:16) but the human system organized in opposition to God — the realm of darkness, hostility, and unbelief.

The verb γινώσκετε in verse 18 is grammatically ambiguous: it could be the indicative "you know" or the imperative "know!" — that is, either a statement of fact or a command. The imperative reading ("understand this!") seems more fitting as a preparation for what is to come. I have rendered it "know" to preserve this ambiguity in English. The perfect tense μεμίσηκεν — "has hated" — indicates that the world's hatred of Jesus is an established, ongoing reality, not a one-time event.

Verse 19 returns to the language of election: ἐγὼ ἐξελεξάμην ὑμᾶς ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου — "I chose you out of the world." The same verb from verse 16. Being chosen by Jesus is precisely what provokes the world's hatred. The world loves τὸ ἴδιον — "its own," what belongs to it. The disciples no longer belong to it; they have been extracted, drawn out, and this dislocation is the cause of the hostility.

Verse 20 quotes Jesus' earlier saying from John 13:16: "A slave is not greater than his master." There it was about humble service (foot-washing); here it is about shared suffering. The logic is simple: if the master was persecuted (διώκω, "to pursue, persecute"), the slave will be too. The parallel "if they kept my word, they will keep yours" is likely spoken with bitter irony — they did not keep Jesus' word, and they will not keep the disciples' word either.

Verses 22-24 make a startling claim about the increase of guilt through revelation. Jesus' coming — his words and his works — has removed all possibility of excuse. The word πρόφασιν means "pretext, excuse, cover" — not merely "explanation" but a cloak behind which sin could hide. Before Jesus came, ignorance provided a kind of cover. Now that he has spoken and acted, the cover is stripped away. The works are described as works ἃ οὐδεὶς ἄλλος ἐποίησεν — "which no one else has done." They are without precedent, and therefore the refusal to believe is without excuse.

Verse 25 quotes from the Psalms — either Psalm 35:19 or Psalm 69:4 — and calls it "their Law" (τῷ νόμῳ αὐτῶν). The word νόμος here refers broadly to the Hebrew Scriptures, not just the Pentateuch. The phrase "their Law" is striking: Jesus distances himself from the religious establishment while affirming that their own Scriptures testify against them. The key word from the quotation is δωρεάν — "without cause, for nothing, freely." The world's hatred of Jesus is groundless, gratuitous, without rational basis. It fulfills the ancient pattern of the righteous sufferer hated for no reason.

The Witness of the Spirit and the Disciples (vv. 26-27)

²⁶ "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me. ²⁷ And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning."

²⁶ "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father — the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father — he will bear witness about me. ²⁷ And you also bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning."

Notes

After the weight of the world's hatred, Jesus points to the counter-testimony: the witness of the Spirit and the witness of the disciples. The word παράκλητος — "Advocate, Helper, Comforter" — appears here for the third time in the Farewell Discourse (see also John 14:16 and John 14:26). The word comes from the legal sphere: a paraklētos is one called alongside to help, an advocate who speaks on someone's behalf. This is the third Paraclete saying, and it emphasizes the Spirit's role as a witness.

The theological weight of verse 26 is immense. The Spirit is described as τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας — "the Spirit of truth" — and is said to ἐκπορεύεται — "proceed, go out from" — the Father. This single verb became central to one of the great theological controversies of church history: the filioque debate. The Western church added "and the Son" (filioque) to the Nicene Creed, asserting that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Eastern church maintained that the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone, as this verse states. John's text says the Spirit proceeds from the Father, while also saying that Jesus sends the Spirit. The relationship between "sending" and "proceeding" — the economic and the ontological — has been debated for over a millennium.

The verb μαρτυρήσει ("will testify, will bear witness") comes from μαρτυρέω, the root from which English derives "martyr." In its original sense it means simply "to witness, to testify." The Spirit's testimony is about Jesus — not about itself. This is characteristic of the Spirit's work in John's Gospel: the Spirit always points to and glorifies the Son (see John 16:14).

Verse 27 joins the disciples' witness to the Spirit's witness: καὶ ὑμεῖς δὲ μαρτυρεῖτε — "and you also bear witness." The verb form could again be either indicative ("you bear witness") or imperative ("you must bear witness"). Either way, the ground of their testimony is their direct, firsthand experience: ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἐστε — "from the beginning you are with me." They have been there from the start of Jesus' public ministry. Their witness is not secondhand. The chapter thus ends with two witnesses standing against the world's hatred: the divine Spirit and the human disciples — the very combination that will drive the book of Acts and the spread of the early church.