John Chapter 15 - Commentary

1-17 Abide in Me

[1] I AM the True Vine

Using the metaphor of a vine with branches, Jesus represents the True Vine, while we are the branches, and the Father is the Gardener. This is described prophetically in Isaiah 5:

¹Now let me sing to my Well-beloved song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard n a very fruitful hill. ²He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes…. ⁷ For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah are His pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; For righteousness, but behold, a cry for help

The fruit God desired from Israel was obedience, righteousness and justice. What was demonstrated to God’s perfect representation by the Jewish leadership?

[4] Remain in Me

From meno, a primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy):—abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry – 11 times in this chapter alone. Without being “in” the vine, the branch can produce no fruit.

[5] Our job is to bear the fruit of the vine – from God, for God’s glory.

It isn’t that we are commanded to do a work, but by failing to allow fruit in our lives, we are obstructing the purposes of God and denying our role as bond slaves to Christ. Conversely, any fruit that is created comes from God, and cannot be from the branches.

[6] Dead branches

At least three interpretations of this verse are plausible:


1 – the burned branches are Christians who have lost their salvation (this contradicts John 3:16, 5:24, 10:28-29, Rom 8:1, and most of Ephesians).


2 – the burned branches represent Christians who are saved, but their works are destroyed and they escape as if through fire (possibly correct, but not clear this refers to “dead” branches).


3 – the burned branches represent those who confess Christ with their lips but not with their hearts. See Matthew 25.

[8] My true disciples bear much fruit

Conversely, those who remain in the Lord, through effective prayer based on true faith, fulfill the will of the Father. Those who ask in prayer in His name, are answered, thus fulfilling the will of the Father. Are your prayers being answered? If not, are you asking in His will?

[9] More works – keeping commandments

Grace abounds but do not ignore the repeated demand that Christ makes to obey.

Obedience is the fruit of grace, voluntary, and not of ourselves but through the power of the Holy Spirit, achieved through the submission of ourselves to the will and Word of God.

[10] Obedience is the key

Christ set the example, modeling perfect obedience to the Father. His disciples, modeling after Him, cannot ignore God’s will and be an effective follower. Obedience brings joy to the believer (see 17:13)

[12] Another work – love

Love isn’t a passion or feeling – it is a decision. Love is the unconditional commitment to the well-being of another person. That takes effort and determination – it is an active commitment to “do” something in your mind and results in actions over time that would not occur otherwise.

[16] Whatever you ask in My Name…

In verse 7 and again here, Jesus emphasizes that by being grafted to the vine, we have a direct connection to the Father, and that our prayers are heard.

[17] Love One Another

Beginning in v12, Jesus instructs His sheep to love each other as He has loved us. A servant does not have the same relationship as friends do for each other. To love and be loved requires a level of intimacy like friendship. To be a servant of Christ is a voluntary act, not imposed, and willingly given as a act of worship and love.

18-27 The World Will Hate You…

[18] Friendship with God results in hatred by the world

The world is repelled by true love.  Submission to our Lord and sacrifice for others may be praised in theory, but not practiced in the “real world”.  The world is under the control of God’s enemy (John 14:30), and as a result, will be hostile to the message of Christ.  Believers have rejected this world’s ruler, and are therefore a target for his hostility – one reason for this is that we are “more than conquerors” in this spiritual warfare.

[23] Rejection of Christ is Rejection of God

This is profound in scope and depth. Since Jesus is the ONLY way (14:6), the Father honors that by rejecting all who reject His Son

[24] Now there are no excuses

Jesus, by coming into this world has removed all occasion for those guilty of sin to be excused. To reject Christ is to reject the clear and abundant signs the He was sent by the Father. To ignore Him is to reject the gift of salvation offered by the Father. They hate Christ because they love their sins (John 3:19) and serve Satan (John 8:44).

[26] I will send the Comforter….

One Sunday after church Mom asked her very young daughter what the lesson was about. Her daughter answered "Don't be scared, you'll get your quilts "

Needless to say, Mom was perplexed. Later in the day, the Pastor stopped by for tea. Mom asked him what that morning's Sunday school lesson was about. He said "Be not afraid, the Comforter is coming."


Want to know if you are being guided by the Holy Spirit? Test it this way – is it something Jesus has commanded or will it glorify Him? If not, it is a false spirit. All heresies and false teachings ultimately attempt to deify man or diminish Christ.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.