John 15

Chapters 13–17 of the Gospel of John record the extended discourse Jesus gave his disciples at the Last Supper, commonly called the Farewell Discourse. Chapter 15 is part of this discourse and follows chapter 14, in which Jesus speaks of his departure and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Outline

• Verses 1–8 Jesus likens himself to the true vine, the Father to the husbandman, and the disciples to the branches. Branches that bear no fruit are taken away, while those that abide in him bring forth much fruit. (The Vine and the Branches)
• Verses 9–17 As the Father has loved him, so Jesus has loved the disciples, and he tells them to continue in his love. He gives the commandment "love one another," speaks of the love that lays down its life for its friends, and calls the disciples not servants but friends.
• Verses 18–25 Jesus tells the disciples that just as the world hated him, it will hate and persecute them as well. He says that this hatred fulfills the word written in the law, "They hated me without a cause."
• Verses 26–27 Jesus says that the Spirit of truth, the Comforter, who proceeds from the Father, will testify of him, and that the disciples, who have been with him from the beginning, will also bear witness.

Key Verses

• John 15:5 "I am the vine, ye are the branches" — a classic image of the union between Christ and the believer. (John 15:1–8)
• John 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" — often read as pointing ahead to the love shown on the cross. (John 15:12–13)
• John 15:26 "the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father" — an important basis for teaching about the Holy Spirit. (John 15:26–27)

People and Places

• Jesus Christ: the speaker.
• The disciples: the listeners; Judas Iscariot had already left in chapter 13.
• The Comforter: a rendering of a Greek term meaning "one who comes alongside to help"; it refers to the Holy Spirit.
• The setting is not specified. On the basis of "Arise, let us go hence" in 14:31, some interpreters understand these words as having been spoken while Jesus and the disciples walked after leaving the upper room.

Points for Reflection

• Interpretations differ over the branches that are cast away in verse 6. Calvinism, in keeping with the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints (the teaching that true believers are preserved to the end), understands them as people who were attached only outwardly. Arminianism and Wesleyan theology read the verse as a warning that genuine believers can fall away.
• Verse 26 bears on the controversy over the procession of the Holy Spirit. The Western church added to the Creed the phrase stating that the Spirit proceeds "and from the Son" (the Filioque), but the Eastern Orthodox Church did not accept this addition. The question was one of the points of contention in the East–West Schism.
• The vine imagery is often read alongside Isaiah 5:1–7, which likens Israel to a vineyard. The words quoted in verse 25 appear in Psalm 35 and Psalm 69.

In the Korean Church

The image of the vine and the branches is frequently treated in sermons and Sunday school lessons. Verse 16, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you," is also commonly used as a sermon text for ordination and commissioning services.