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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 on account of My name, because 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.&rsquo^(a);

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, because you have been with Me from the beginning.