John 15:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

NIV: I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

NASB: I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

CSB: I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.

NLT: Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: “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.

Among Jesus' more famous analogies is that of the vine and branches. In this passage, Jesus has compared the abundant life He offers (John 10:10) to that relationship. Some branches are "in the vine," only in the sense that they're intertwined or touching the other branches. Yet, they are not truly part of the life of the plant. In this context, these are the people Jesus refers to as "in me" but barren (John 15:2). Those "branches" merely associate with Christian faith, identify with believers, or attend a church. But only branches truly connected to the source of life will produce fruit—just as only truly born-again Christians will produce spiritual fruit (John 15:4).

This is the end of a progression which began in verse 2. The process of growing from spiritual barrenness, to spiritual productivity, to spiritual abundance, is possible only through Christ. In the context of this analogy, Jesus distinguishes between branches which are "in" the vine from those which truly "abide in" the vine. The discarded branches Christ speaks about here are those who were never saved in the first place. True salvation cannot be lost, but those who have only an appearance of faith will be judged accordingly (Matthew 7:21–23).

Verses 1 and 5 of this chapter are the seventh of seven times (John 6:35; 8:12; 10:7–9, 11; 11:25; 14:6) where Jesus uses this specific "I Am" terminology in the gospel of John. This echoes the way God identified Himself to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3:14).

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 gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 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”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.