Read the Gospels in 40 Days
15 I am the real fruit tree. My Father is the One who takes care of the tree.
2 He takes away from me every branch that does not bear fruit. And he cleans every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit.
3 What I said to you has made you clean already.
4 But you must be in me and I will be in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself. It must be joined to the tree. And you cannot do any good thing if you are not joined to me.
5 I am the fruit tree and you are the branches. I will be in the person who is in me. That person will have a fruitful life. But you can do nothing without me.
6 If any person is not in me, he is cut off like a branch and dies. People gather the dry branches and throw them into the fire to be burned.
7 If you are in me and obey me, you may ask me for anything you want and I will give it to you.
8 If you do much good and become my disciples, you will make my Father's name great.
9 `I have loved you just as my Father has loved you. So let me love you always.
10 If you obey me, I will love you always. That is what I have done. I have obeyed my Father. And he will love me always.
11 `I have told you these things so that you may be glad in the same way I am glad. Then you will be very glad always.
12 `I am telling you to love each other as I have loved you.
13 The strongest love anyone can have is this. He will die to save his friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I tell you to do.
15 I do not call you servants anymore, for the servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends because you know everything that my Father has told me.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you. I gave you a big work to do. That work is to go out and do good things and to make the good things that you do remain strong. If you do that, my Father will do anything you ask in my name.
17 `Here is the law I gave you. Love each other.'
18 `If the world hates you, remember that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If you belonged to this world, the world would love you. But you do not belong to the world. I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
20 Remember what I told you. I said, "The servant is not better than his master." If the people in the world have troubled me, they will also trouble you. If they obey me, they will also obey you.
21 They will do all these things to you because you are true to me. They do not know the one who sent me.
22 `I came and spoke to them. If I had not done that, then what they did would not have been a wrong thing. But now they have no excuse for doing it.
23 The person who hates me hates my Father also.
24 No other person has ever done the work that I have done. If they had, then what they did would not be a wrong thing. But now they have seen me and hated me and my Father also.
25 This has happened in order to make the words of their law book come true. It says, "They hated me for no reason."
26 `I will send the true Spirit to comfort you. He will come from my Father. When he comes, then he will talk about me.
27 You also will talk about me because you have been with me from the time I began my work.'
16 I have told you these things so that you will not turn back.
2 The people will put you out of the meeting place. Yes, the time is coming when someone will kill you and think he is working for God.
3 They will do these things because they do not know my Father nor me.
4 I have told you all these things now. Then when that time comes, you will remember that I told you about them. `I did not tell you these things in the beginning because I myself was with you.
5 But now I am going back to him who sent me here. Yet not one of you is asking me, "Where are you going?"
6 Your hearts are very sad because I have told you these things.
7 Anyway, I am telling you the truth. It is better for you if I go away. If I do not go away, the one who is to help you will not come to you. But if I go away, I will send him to you.
8 `When the Helper comes, he will prove this to the people of the world that they are wrong. They are wrong about what they call bad and about what they call good. He will show them how to be right with God. He will show them about God's judgement.
9 He will prove it is a bad thing that they do not believe in me.
10 He will show what really is right, because I am going to my Father and you will not see me any more.
11 He will show them how to judge right, because the ruler of this world himself will be judged.
12 `I have many other things to tell you, but you cannot understand them now.
13 When the truth-giving Spirit comes, he will show you everything that is true. He will not speak his own message, but he will tell you the things that he has been told to tell you. He will tell you what is going to happen.
14 He will make my name great. He will take what is mine and tell it to you.
15 Everything that belongs to my Father belongs to me also. That is why I said, "He will take what is mine and tell it to you."
16 `Very soon now, you will not see me. A little while after that, you will see me again, because I go to my Father.'
17 Some of the disciples talked among themselves and said, `He says, "Very soon now, you will not see me. A little while after that, you will see me." And he says, "Because I go to my Father." What does he mean by "a little while"?
18 We do not know what he means.'
19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him this question. So he said to them, `Are you asking each other what I mean by saying, "Very soon you will not see me. Then in a little while after that you will see me"?
20 I tell you the truth. You people will cry and be very sad, but the people in the world will be very glad. At first you will be sad, but after that you will not be sad. You will be glad.
21 `Any woman is sad just before her baby is born. She has much pain because the time has come for the baby to be born. But as soon as the baby is born, she forgets the pain she had. She is very glad because a person has been born into the world.
22 So you also are very sad now. But I will see you again. Then you will be very glad. And no one can take your joy from you.
23 When that time comes, you will not ask me for anything. I tell you the truth. My Father will do for you anything you ask in my name.
24 You have not asked for anything in my name yet. Ask my Father and he will give it to you. That is what will make you very glad always.
25 `I have told you these things by a story. The time will come when I will not talk by stories. I will tell you about my Father plainly.
26 When that day comes, you will ask in my name. I do not say that I will ask my Father for you.
27 My Father himself loves you. He loves you because you have loved me. And he loves you because you have believed that God sent me.
28 My Father sent me into the world. And now I will leave the world and go back to my Father.'
29 The disciples said to him, `Yes, now you are telling us plainly. You are not telling us with words we do not understand.
30 We know now that you know everything. No one needs to ask you questions. This makes us believe that God sent you.'
31 Jesus answered them, `Do you really believe now?
32 Listen, the time is coming. No, the time is here when you will run away. Every man will go to his own home. You will leave me on my own. And yet I am not alone, because my Father is with me.
33 I have told you these things so that you may have peace. I give you peace. The world will trouble you much. But be glad. I have power over the world.'
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