Gospel according to John 15

¹ ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

² Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more.

³ You are pruned already, by means of the word that I have spoken to you.

⁴ Make your home in me, as I make mine in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself, but must remain part of the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.

⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing.

⁶ Anyone who does not remain in me is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers; these branches are collected and thrown on the fire, and they are burnt.

⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask what you will and you shall get it.

⁸ It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you will be my disciples.

⁹ As the Father has loved me, so I have 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 this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.

¹² This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you.

¹³ A man can have no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.

¹⁴ You are my friends, if you do what I command you.

¹⁵ I shall not call you servants any more, because a servant does not know his master’s business; I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father.

¹⁶ You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit, fruit that will last; and then the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name.

¹⁷ What I command you is to love one another.

¹⁸ ‘If the world hates you, remember that it hated me before you.

¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you do not belong to the world, because my choice withdrew you from the world, therefore the world hates you.

²⁰ Remember the words I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too; if they kept my word, they will keep yours as well.

²¹ But it will be on my account that they will do all this, because they do not know the one who sent me.

²² If I had not come, if I had not spoken to them, they would have been blameless; but as it is they have no excuse for their sin.

²³ Anyone who hates me hates my Father.

²⁴ If I had not performed such works among them as no one else has ever done, they would be blameless; but as it is, they have seen all this, and still they hate both me and my Father.

²⁵ But all this was only to fulfil the words written in their Law: They hated me for no reason.[*a]

²⁶ When the Advocate comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness.

²⁷ And you too will be witnesses, because you have been with me from the outset.