John 15

The Vine and the Branches

Who is the true vine? (verse 1)

Who is the gardener? (verse 1)

What does the gardener do to every branch in Jesus that bears no fruit? (verse 2)

What does the gardener do to every branch that does bear fruit? (verse 2)

Why are we(or the disciples) already clean? (verse 3)

How are we to remain in Jesus? (verse 4)

Who are the branches? (verse 5)

When will you bear much fruit? (verse 5)

Can we do anything apart from Jesus? (verse 5)

What if we don't remain in Jesus? (verse 6)

What will be done if we remain in 

jesus and his word remains in us? (verse 7)

What is to our Father's glory? (verse 8)

How do I remain in his love? (verse 9-10)

Why does Jesus tell us this? (verse 11)

What is Jesus' command? (verse 12, 16)

Who are Jesus' friends? (verse 14)

What is the difference between a servant and a friend? (verse 15)

Why does Jesus call us friends? (verse 15)

Why does Jesus choose and appoint? (verse 16)

The World Hates the Disciples

Why does the world hate us and Jesus? (verse 18-19)

If the world hates us, what should we do? (verse 18)

What should we remember? (verse 20)
Why will they treat us this way? (verse 21)
Do they have any excuse for their sin after they have been spoken to? (verse 22)
If someone hates Jesus, who do they also hate? (verse 23)
What has been seen and who has they hated? (verse 24)
What was fulfilled? (verse 25)

The Work of the Holy Spirit

Who does the Spirit of Truth testify about? (verse 26)

Thoughts

‘A servant is not greater than his master.’

correlation with John 3:30

Interpretation
What is Jesus saying in verses 1-4?
What is Jesus saying in verses 5-8?
What does "You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you." mean?
what does pruning mean? (verse 2)
How do we show ourselves to be Jesus' disciples? (verse 8)
How do I remain in his love? (verse 9)
Who has best demonstrated the love in verse 13? (cor. Corinthians 13)
Were we once servants? (verse 15)
Who did He choose? (verse 16)
What is persecution? (verse 20)
What does verse 27 mean? Who was with Jesus from the beginning? Is He talking about us? Is He talking about the disciples? Is He praying? (correlation John 1)

Correlation

John 13:16New International Version (NIV)

16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

Psalm 35King James Version (KJV)

35 Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.

2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.

3 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.

4 Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.

5 Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the Lord chase them.

6 Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the Lord persecute them.

7 For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.

8 Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.

9 And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation.

10 All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?

11 False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.

12 They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.

13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.

14 I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother.

15 But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:

16 With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

17 Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destructions, my darling from the lions.

18 I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.

19 Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.

20 For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the land.

21 Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.

22 This thou hast seen, O Lord: keep not silence: O Lord, be not far from me.

23 Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.

24 Judge me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.

25 Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.

26 Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.

27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

28 And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.

Psalm 35:19New International Version (NIV)

19 Do not let those gloat over me
    who are my enemies without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason
    maliciously wink the eye.

Psalm 69:4New International Version (NIV)

4 Those who hate me without reason
    outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,
    those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore
    what I did not steal.

John 15New International Version (NIV)

The Vine and the Branches

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “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. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

The World Hates the Disciples

18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’[b] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’[c]

The Work of the Holy Spirit

26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

Footnotes:

1. John 15:2 The Greek for he prunes also means he cleans.
2. John 15:20 John 13:16
3. John 15:25 Psalms 35:19; 69:4