Jesus the True Vine

¹ “I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard. ² He cuts off^* every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain^* in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains^* in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain^* in Me.

⁵ I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not remain^* in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered 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, proving yourselves to be My disciples.

No Greater Love

⁹ As^* the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. ¹¹ I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

¹² This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

¹⁴ You are My friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends,^* because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will remain — so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. ¹⁷ This is My command^* to you: Love one another.

The Hatred of the World

¹⁸ If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.

²⁰ Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept^* My word, they will keep^* yours as well. ²¹ But they will treat you like this because of My name, since 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. Now, however, 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 that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵ But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law^*: ‘They hated Me without reason.’

²⁶ When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father — the Spirit of truth who proceeds^* from the Father — He will testify about Me. ²⁷ And you also must testify, because you have been with Me from the beginning.