John 15:1–16:33

Jesus the True Vine

¹⁵“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. ²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes^g to make it bear more fruit. ³You have already been cleansed^h by the word that I have spoken to you.^{* 4}Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.^{* 5}I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.^{* 8}My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and becomeⁱ my disciples.^{* 9}As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.^{* 11}I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.^*

¹²“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.^{* 13}No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.^{* 14}You are my friends if you do what I command you.^{* 15}I do not call you servants^j any longer, because the servant^k does not know what the master is doing, but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.^{* 17}I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

The World’s Hatred

¹⁸“If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.^{* 19}If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Slaves are not greater than their master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also.^{* 21}But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.^{* 22}If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.^{* 23}Whoever hates me hates my Father also.^{* 24}If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.^{* 25}It was to fulfill the word that is written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’^*

²⁶“When the Advocate^l comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.^{* 27}You also are to testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.^*

¹⁶“I have said these things to you to keep you from falling away.^{m* 2}They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God.^{* 3}And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me.^{* 4}But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.

The Work of the Spirit

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. ⁵But now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’^{* 6}But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. ⁷Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocateⁿ will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about^o sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹about sin, because they do not believe in me; ¹⁰about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, and you will see me no longer; ¹¹about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.^*

¹²“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.^{* 13}When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.^{* 14}He will glorify me because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.^*

Sorrow Will Turn into Joy

¹⁶“A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.”^{* 17}Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me,’ and ‘because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” ¹⁹Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? ²⁰Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. ²¹When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.^{* 22}So you have pain now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.^{* 23}On that day you will ask nothing of me.^p Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.^{q 24}Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.^*

Peace for the Disciples

²⁵“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but will tell you plainly of the Father. ²⁶On that day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf, ²⁷for the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.^{r* 28}I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.”^*

²⁹His disciples said, “Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! ³⁰Now we know that you know all things and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.”^{* 31}Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ³²The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.^{* 33}I have said this to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution, but take courage: I have conquered the world!”^*