The Vine and the Branches (John 15:1-8)

1. I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

7. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

8. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. (John 15:1-8)

In John 15:1-8, we have a comparison of Jesus to a vine, and His disciples and us to branches. Israel was often compared to either an olive tree or a fig tree. The olive tree was regarded as the king of trees (Judges 9:8) because its fruit and oil were so basic to life and health. In the Old Testament, Israel is often compared to a vine, but the references are normally negative, i.e., they speak of a degenerate Israel (Ps. 80:8-13; 19:10; Isa. 5:1; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 15:2; Hosea 10:1). However, the coins of the Maccabees depicted Israel as a vine. The vine produces grapes, raisins, and wine. The True Vine, Jesus Christ, is here shown as the new Israel of God.1

The use of the vine by our Lord points to both its productivity and its relationship to the vineyardist. For a small “tree,” the vine is very fertile, and its grapes can be so plentiful that their bulk in comparison to the size of the vine is amazing. Moreover, the productivity of the vine is maintained by the vineyardist’s annual pruning. The vine that grows wild produces little, whereas the vine that is pruned is highly productive. This means that the continual discipline of pruning is essential to a producing vine.

Jesus identifies Himself as the true vine, and His Father as “the husbandman” or vineyardist (v. 1). The dead branches are removed, and every healthy, productive branch is pruned back so that it will bear more fruit (v. 2). The disciples are “clean” through Christ’s words, which have separated them from evil and from apostasy (v. 3). The disciples may not have immediately understood all that Jesus taught but they would understand later.

The branch is dead apart from the vine, and so, too, are they lifeless unless they abide in Him (v. 4). “Churches” and “Christians” who separate themselves from Jesus Christ are soon dead.

This is because Christ is the vine, our source of life (John 14:6), and only if we abide in Him can we bear fruit. “Without me ye can do nothing” (v. 5). Dead branches can bear no fruit. All men and churches that separate themselves from Christ are dead. They are fit only for burning, for destruction (v. 6).

As against this, our Lord says, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (v. 7). This is a remarkable statement. The first conditional clause is, “If ye abide in me...” It means that we must live in Christ, as a member of His new human race and as His life-bearing, fruit-giving branch. The second conditional clause is, if “my words abide in you.” Three living powers are cited in these two clauses: Christ, us, and His words. His words are presented as life-giving forces of divine power. If we meet these conditions, then “ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” At this point, too much thinking in the church has centered on the believer and his wishes, as though the believer were the vine and not a branch. There are particular promises to the believer, but this is a promise to a branch of the true vine, to someone seeking to bear fruit to Jesus Christ. To generalize unduly can mean to dissipate the meaning of the text.

“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (v. 8). Here is the focus: it is on being Christ’s disciple by bearing much fruit for Him. We become His disciples as we are productive for Him. But we are productive only as we are fully dedicated to His word. G. Campbell Morgan translated v. 7 thus: “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall demand as your due whatever you are inclined to, and it shall be generated unto you.”2

Pruning is a form of discipline exercised on the vine by the vineyardist. God as our Keeper continually exercises His pruning power in our lives to prepare us to bear more fruit, both in time and in eternity. Westcott observed that, while a Christian is a Christian, “A Christian never ‘is,’ but always ‘is becoming’ a Christian.”3 Modern existentialism gives Westcott’s wording a new meaning, but, as Westcott meant it, the Christian’s life is one of growth. In Leon Morris’ words, “Always the true disciple is becoming more fully a disciple.”4

These words are spoken to the disciples, and they now apply to all within the church. Our lives must either have results for Christ and His Kingdom, or we are cut off. What is here said has no reference to the world at large.

Verse 4 specifies that no branch can bear fruit of itself. If separated from the vine, Jesus Christ, it is dead and worthless, fit only for destruction. The comparison of God to a vineyardist is very important. It does not allow us to think of God as an absentee landlord: He is the very present Keeper who carefully watches our growth and productivity, “pruning” us when we need it.

Jesus in v. 1 declares, “I am the true (or, the real) vine, and my Father is the husbandman.” This means Christ is in us as our life, and God is over us as the one judging our productivity. This means that the purpose of our lives is not our salvation, but our productivity for Christ’s Kingdom. It means that each of us brings his or her particular domain under the dominion and into the service of His Kingdom. Just as the vineyardist prunes the vine, we prune our sphere of life to serve God’s Kingdom.

A common and serious error limits fruit-bearing to “spiritual” exercises and to faithfulness of a pietistic kind. The analogy to fruit-bearing in these verses is to actual results. The branches do not simply grow and bear beautiful leaves: they produce grapes. This means that our faith must bear fruit by commanding the way we live, what we do, and the practical consequences for our sphere of life.

1. J. H. Bernard, A.H. McNeile: The Gospel According to St. John, vol. II, (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1928, 1972), 477f.

2. G. Campbell Morgan: The Gospel According to John (New York, NY: Fleming H. Revell, n.d.), 254.

3. B. F. Westcott: The Gospel According to St. John (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1881, 1954), 219.

4. Leon Morris: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1971, 1977), 673.