John 15-17

New King James Version

The True Vine

15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ²^(A)Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He ^[a]takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear ^(B)more fruit. ³^(C)You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. ⁴^(D)Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

⁵“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much ^(E)fruit; for without Me you can do ^(F)nothing. ⁶If anyone does not abide in Me, ^(G)he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷If you abide in Me, and My words ^(H)abide in you, ^(I)you^[b] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸^(J)By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; ^(K)so you will be My disciples.

Love and Joy Perfected

⁹“As the Father ^(L)loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰^(M)If 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“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and ^(N)that your joy may be full. ¹²^(O)This is My ^(P)commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³^(Q)Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. ¹⁴^(R)You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. ¹⁵No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, ^(S)for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶^(T)You did not choose Me, but I chose you and ^(U)appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father ^(V)in My name He may give you. ¹⁷These things I command you, that you love one another.

The World’s Hatred

¹⁸^(W)“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹^(X)If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet ^(Y)because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the word that I said to you, ^(Z)‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. ^(AA)If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹But ^(AB)all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. ²²^(AC)If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, ^(AD)but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³^(AE)He who hates Me hates My Father also. ²⁴If I had not done among them ^(AF)the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have ^(AG)seen and also hated both Me and My Father. ²⁵But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ^(AH)‘They hated Me without a cause.’

The Coming Rejection

²⁶^(AI)“But when the ^[c]Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, ^(AJ)He will testify of Me. ²⁷And ^(AK)you also will bear witness, because ^(AL)you have been with Me from the beginning.

Jesus Warns and Comforts His Disciples

16 “These things I have spoken to you, that you ^(AM)should not be made to stumble. ²^(AN)They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming ^(AO)that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. ³And ^(AP)these things they will do ^[d]to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. ⁴But these things I have told you, that when ^[e]the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.

“And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

⁵“But now I ^(AQ)go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ⁶But because I have said these things to you, ^(AR)sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but ^(AS)if I depart, I will send Him to you. ⁸And when He has ^(AT)come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹^(AU)of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰^(AV)of righteousness, ^(AW)because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹^(AX)of judgment, because ^(AY)the ruler of this world is judged.

¹²“I still have many things to say to you, ^(AZ)but you cannot bear them now. ¹³However, when He, ^(BA)the Spirit of truth, has come, ^(BB)He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴^(BC)He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵^(BD)All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He ^[f]will take of Mine and declare it to you.

Sorrow Will Turn to Joy

¹⁶“A ^(BE)little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, ^(BF)because I go to the Father.”

¹⁷Then some of His disciples said among themselves, “What is this that He says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?” ¹⁸They said therefore, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not ^[g]know what He is saying.”

¹⁹Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, “Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’? ²⁰Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and ^(BG)lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into ^(BH)joy. ²¹^(BI)A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. ²²Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and ^(BJ)your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

²³“And in that day you will ask Me nothing. ^(BK)Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. ²⁴Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, ^(BL)that your joy may be ^(BM)full.

Jesus Christ Has Overcome the World

²⁵“These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you ^(BN)plainly about the Father. ²⁶In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; ²⁷^(BO)for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and ^(BP)have believed that I came forth from God. ²⁸^(BQ)I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”

²⁹His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! ³⁰Now we are sure that ^(BR)You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this ^(BS)we believe that You came forth from God.”

³¹Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ³²^(BT)Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, ^(BU)each to his ^[h]own, and will leave Me alone. And ^(BV)yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. ³³These things I have spoken to you, that ^(BW)in Me you may have peace. ^(BX)In the world you ^[i]will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, ^(BY)I have overcome the world.”

Jesus Prays for Himself

17 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, ^(BZ)the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, ²^(CA)as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He ^[j]should give eternal life to as many ^(CB)as You have given Him. ³And ^(CC)this is eternal life, that they may know You, ^(CD)the only true God, and Jesus Christ ^(CE)whom You have sent. ⁴^(CF)I have glorified You on the earth. ^(CG)I have finished the work ^(CH)which You have given Me to do. ⁵And now, O Father, glorify Me together ^[k]with Yourself, with the glory ^(CI)which I had with You before the world was.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

⁶^(CJ)“I have ^[l]manifested Your name to the men ^(CK)whom You have given Me out of the world. ^(CL)They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. ⁷Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. ⁸For I have given to them the words ^(CM)which You have given Me; and they have received them, ^(CN)and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that ^(CO)You sent Me.

⁹“I pray for them. ^(CP)I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. ¹⁰And all Mine are Yours, and ^(CQ)Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹^(CR)Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, ^(CS)keep^[m] through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one ^(CT)as We are. ¹²While I was with them ^[n]in the world, ^(CU)I kept them in ^[o]Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and ^(CV)none of them is ^[p]lost ^(CW)except the son of ^[q]perdition, ^(CX)that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴I have given them Your word; ^(CY)and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, ^(CZ)just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but ^(DA)that You should keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷^(DB)Sanctify^[r] them by Your truth. ^(DC)Your word is truth. ¹⁸^(DD)As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹And ^(DE)for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

Jesus Prays for All Believers

²⁰“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who ^[s]will believe in Me through their word; ²¹^(DF)that they all may be one, as ^(DG)You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²²And the ^(DH)glory which You gave Me I have given them, ^(DI)that they may be one just as We are one: ²³I in them, and You in Me; ^(DJ)that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

²⁴^(DK)“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; ^(DL)for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵O righteous Father! ^(DM)The world has not known You, but ^(DN)I have known You; and ^(DO)these have known that You sent Me. ²⁶^(DP)And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love ^(DQ)with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”