15:2

Boice escapes the difficulty of interpretation by translating cuts off (airo) as "lifts up", certainly one of its meanings. He argues, "This translation makes better sense of the passage in every way, and in addition it is much better theology. First , the emphasis of this opening section of the parable is, quite rightly, upon the care of the vine by the Father. It would be strange, granting this emphasis, if the first thing mentioned is the carrying away of unproductive branches. But it is not at all strange ot emphasize that the vine dresser first lift the branches up so that they may be better exposed to the sin and so the fruit will develop properly"

John by Kenneth O. Gangel quoting Boice: Boice, IV, p.228

15:2

Jesus noted, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away"

Elmer Town gives various interpretations and then his own conclusion.

"Theologians debate the identity of the unfruitful branch that is apparently cast away.

First some say it represents the true believer apostatizing. Armenians make reference to this passage to claim that Christians who do not abide in Christ are taken from Him, and their salvation is lost.

Second, those who believer in eternal security interpret the unfruitful branch as one who merely professes Christianity, but who was never truly united to Christ.

Third, others interpret this passage with a primary emphasis on fruit bearing, not salvation.

Fourth, the probable solution in seen in the word airei (takes away). This word is the root for resurrection (to take up). The focus here is fruit bearing; the vinedressser does not cut away a vine because it has no fruit but gently lifts it up to the sun so it has an opportunity to bear fruit. The first step of Christ in not judgment but encouragement."

The Gospel of John,Believe and Live, Elmer Towns p 150-151

More on Pruning

In pruning a vine, two principles are usually observed.

1. All dead wood must be ruthlessly removed. Dead wood is a container of insects and disease. These can cause the vine to rot, to decay and to be more unproductive.

2. the live wood must be cut back drastically. Live wood has to be trimmed back in order to prevent such heavy growth that the life of the vine goes into the wood rather than into bearing fruit.

In the springtime the vineyard is comprised of barren and bleeding stumps, but in the fall they are filled with luscious purple grapes.

In a believers life the cutting back of live wood can seem almost cruel, yet those who have been willing to suffer most often are the ones who bear much fruit.

John the Gospel of Belief, Merrill C. Tenney pp 227,228

The Right Stuff

Five points of resemblance between the vine and believers.

1. The Right Stock - Jesus said I am the true vine - The first essential in planting a vineyard is having the right stock. A nurseryman who sells stock guarantees the plant he sells is true to type. Jesus is the true stock, the one true vine, He is the one and only original from which all others must come from.

2. The Right Expert - My father is the husbandman - Great vineyards are taken care of by experts. An expert who knows when to prune as well as how much to prune and when to fertilize as well as how much to fertilize. He knows how to produce a maximum crop. This spiritual vineyard is taken care of by God himself the foremost expert on training and developing the maturity of man.

3. The Right Culture - Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit - to keep the culture pure pruning must take place.

4. The Right Contact - Abide in me, and I in you -

5. The Right Fruitage - the same beareth much fruit - the expert keeps the right stock with the right culture connected to the right contact bearing the right fruit.

The Gospel of Belief, Merrill C. Tenney p 227

15:2

Andrew Murray has a book on the true vine that I have found insightful on the first part of John 15. He writes a passage that gives insight on just what is being cut off in the pruning process. Here is a portion.

Consider for a moment what this pruning or cleansing is. It is not the removal of weeds or thorns, or anything from without that may hinder the growth. No; it is the cutting off of the long shoots of the previous year, the removal of something that comes from within, that has been produced by the life of the vine itself. It is the removal of something that is a proof of the vigor of its life; the more vigorous the growth has been , the greater the need for the pruning. It is the honest, healthy wood of the vine that has to be cut away. And why? Because it would consume too much of the sap to fill all the long shoots of last year's growth: the sap must be saved up and used for fruit alone. The branches, sometimes eight and ten feet long, are cut down close to the stem, and nothing is left but just one or two inches of wood, enough to bear the grapes. it is when everything that is not needful for fruit-bearing has been relentlessly cut down, and just as little of the branches as possible has been left, that full, rich fruit may be expected.

What a solemn, precious lesson! It is not to sin only that the cleansing of the Husbandman here refers. It is to our own religious activity, as it is developed in the very act o bearing fruit. I is this that must be cut down an cleansed away. We have, in working for God, to use our natural gifts of wisdom, or eloquence, or influence, or zeal. And yet they are ever in danger of being unduly developed, and then trusted in. And so, after each season of work, God has to bring us to the end of ourselves, to the consciousness of the helplessness and the danger of all that is of man, to feel that we are nothing. All that is to be left of us is just enough to receive the power of the life-giving say of the Holy Spirit. What is of man must be reduced to the lowest measure. All that is inconsistent with the most entire devotion to Christ's service must be removed. The more perfect the cleansing and cutting away of all that is of self, the less of surface over which the Holy Spirit is to be spread, so much the more intense can be the concentration of our whole being, to be entirely at the disposal of the Spirit. This is the true circumcision of the heart, ... This is the true crucifixion with Christ, bearing about the dying of the Lord Jesus in the body.

Blessed cleansing, God's own cleansing! How we may rejoice in the assurance that we shall bring forth more fruit.

The True Vine, Andrew Murray p. 28,29

15:2

He removes every branch in me that does not produce fruit, and he prunes every branch that does produce fruit, to make it produce more fruit.

There are plays on words in the Greek that cannot easily be reproduced in English'; 'he removes' is airei and 'he prunes' is kathairei. Moreover, kathairei can also mean ' he cleanses' and is linked with 'clean' in verse 3: 'you are kathairei. Here is an echo of John 13:10, 'you are clean (kathoaroi), but not all'. Judas was the exception then; in terms of the present parable, he is an unfruitful branch that has to be removed.

The Gospel of John, F.F. Bruce p.308

15:2

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he trims clean so that it will be even more fruitful.


We should not regard this as a proof that true believers may fall away. it is part of the viticultural picture, and the point could not be made without it. The emphasis here is on bearing fruit.

In a vineyard fruitfulness is not just desirable; it is imperative; that is the whole point of the vineyard; it is what the vineyard is for. Pruning is resorted to to ensure that this takes place. Left to itself a vine will produce a good deal of unproductive growth. For maximum fruitfulness extensive pruning in essential.

This is a suggestive figure for the Christian life. The fruit of Christian service is never the result of allowing the natural energies and inclinations to run riot. "Trims clean" more literally "cleans" where we might have expected "prunes," shows that we have now moved into the spiritual sphere. the interest is in what happens with people rather than with vines. The action of the father is such as to cleanse his people so that they will live fruitful lives.

The Gospel According to John, Leon Morris p. 594-595