15" “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine dresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. 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. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned."
John 15:1-6
This is not the first time in John's gospel that this truth - about Jesus being the new Israel of God - has been underlined. In the story of the marriage at Cana of Galilee, one of the points made was that the water-pots represented the purificatory regulations of ancient Jewry and these - which were all that was left of a living testimony - were shown to be ineffective and barren of life, and were now being superseded by Christ, the true vine who provided the 'fruit' that was to nourish the people. By using this parable, Jesus therefore confers upon His disciples a new dignity, and a solemn responsibility as bearers of light to the Gentiles. It is rather like His words in the Sermon on the Mount, 'Ye are the light of the world...Let your light so shine before men...' (Matthew 5:14, 16). The significance of the chapter, therefore, is that it speaks of the responsibility of fulfilling this function of being instruments of revelation in the hand of God for the blessing of the world. Where could we find the demands and conditions of effective discipleship unfolded more strikingly or challengingly than in these wonderful words? We shall study them in this light.