They may bring some fleeting glory to the disciples, but they will not glorify the Father (v. 8). There is a dark but inescapable converse to what has just been said. A barren branch cannot abide in the vine. The prophet Ezekiel had pointed out (Ezek. 15) with considerable irony that the wood of the vine is the most useless of all the woods of the forest. You cannot even make a peg from it (Ezek. 15:3). The vine considered simply as a tree is the most useless of all trees. If it does not bear fruit