John 15:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

NIV: You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

NASB: You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

CSB: You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

NLT: You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.

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

NKJV: You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

This comment comes in the middle of Jesus' analogy of the vine and branches (John 15:1–2). In prior verses, He mentioned that "branches" which do not produce fruit will be cut off and burned. This corresponds to those people who appear to be followers of Christ, but who are in fact just dead, lifeless impostors.

To both reassure and clarify this point, Jesus returns to a point He made after washing the feet of the disciples (John 13:10–11). Those who have saving faith in Christ are "clean," as are the eleven men to whom Jesus now speaks. These "clean" ones correspond to branches that will eventually become abundantly productive. Those which are not "clean" are impostors like Judas, without saving faith, and correspond to the branches destined to be discarded and destroyed (John 6:71; Mark 14:21).

Jesus inserts this comment to clarify the "dead branches" reference: it is not to Christians somehow losing salvation or falling into damnation. Jesus is explicitly reassuring the disciples that they are not among the dead branches. As this analogy continues, we see further explanation that bearing spiritual fruit is evidence of a life-giving connection to Christ. It is not a prerequisite for being attached to the True Vine in the first place.

John 15:1–11 contains one of Jesus' most well-known metaphors: the vine and the branches. This features the seventh of seven "I Am" statements as recorded by John. Jesus lays out several nuanced ideas, touching on Christian perseverance, faith, false conversion, and spiritual effectiveness. This ends with another reference to loving obedience, which sets up the next passage of Jesus' teaching.

This passage begins with a celebrated analogy from Christ: the vine and the branches. This includes the seventh and final "I Am" statement of the gospel of John. Jesus uses this metaphor to explain how our spiritual life, as born-again believers, is drawn from His life. God's intent for our lives is to progress from barrenness to fruitfulness, to spiritual abundance. Jesus also repeats His command for believers to love each other. In this context, He goes so far as to refer to those who follow His teachings as His "friends."

Jesus is in the middle of a long discourse given to the disciples, which began during the last supper. He presents the analogy of a vine and branches, then repeats His command for believers to love each other. Jesus also warns about how the unbelieving world will hate and persecute Christians. This leads into the teachings of chapter 16, which focus on perseverance in the face of trials.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.