King James Version
John 15
27 verses with commentary
I Am the True Vine
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus declares 'I am the true vine' (ego eimi he ampelos he alethine), using alethinos (true/genuine) to distinguish Himself from false or inadequate vines. In Old Testament imagery, Israel is God's vine (Psalm 80:8-16, Isaiah 5:1-7), but Israel proved faithless. Jesus is the true vine, fulfilling what Israel failed to be. The second identification: 'and my Father is the husbandman' (kai ho pater ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **I am the true vine.**—For the word “true,” comp. Note on John 1:9. The ideal truth, of which the natural vine is a figure, is fulfilled in Him. The thought is introduced suddenly, and with nothing in the context to lead up to it. The natural explanation of this is, that here, as in other instances, it was suggested by some external object which met the eye. If we suppose (comp. Note on John ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**34. We have heard out of the law--**the scriptures of the Old Testament (referring to such places as Psa 89:28, 29; 110:4; Da 2:44; 7:13, 14).
**that Christ--**the Christ "endureth for ever."
**and how sayest thou, The Son of Man must be lifted up, &c.--**How can that consist with this "uplifting?" They saw very well both that He was holding Himself up as the Christ and a Christ to die a...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Christ the true Vine.(1-8)
His love to his disciples.(9-17)
foretold.
(18-25)
The Comforter promised.(26-27)
**Verses 1-8**
Jesus Christ is the Vine, the true Vine. The union of the human and Divine natures, and the fulness of the Spirit that is in him, resemble the root of the vine made fruitful by the moisture from a rich soil. Believers a...
Read full commentary →Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away</strong> (πᾶν κλῆμα ἐν ἐμοὶ μὴ φέρον καρπὸν αἴρει αὐτό/<em>pan klēma en emoi mē pheron karpon airei auto</em>)—This clause has prompted considerable theological debate. The phrase "in me" (ἐν ἐμοὶ/<em>en emoi</em>) appears to describe those united to Christ, yet they "bear not fruit" and are "taken away." Several interpretations exis...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away.**—The two chief duties of the vine-dresser, cutting off all fruitless tendrils, and cleansing those that bear fruit, supply illustrations of the training of human souls by the Divine Husbandman. We are not to interpret these words, as they frequently have been interpreted, of the unbelieving world, or of the Jews; but of Christians in...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**35-36. Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, &c.--**Instead of answering their question, He warns them, with mingled majesty and tenderness, against trifling with their last brief opportunity, and entreats them to let in the Light while they have it in the midst of them, that they themselves might be "light in the Lord." In this case, all the clouds which hu...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Christ the true Vine.(1-8)
His love to his disciples.(9-17)
foretold.
(18-25)
The Comforter promised.(26-27)
**Verses 1-8**
Jesus Christ is the Vine, the true Vine. The union of the human and Divine natures, and the fulness of the Spirit that is in him, resemble the root of the vine made fruitful by the moisture from a rich soil. Believers a...
Read full commentary →Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you</strong> (ἤδη ὑμεῖς καθαροί ἐστε διὰ τὸν λόγον)—Jesus declares the disciples <em>katharoi</em> (clean, pure) not through ritual washing but through <em>ton logon</em> (the word). This echoes Ephesians 5:26, where Christ cleanses the church "with the washing of water by the word."<br><br>The perfect tense <em>ἐστε</em> (you are)...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Now ye are clean.**—Better, *Already are ye clean.* The pronoun is emphatic. “Already are ye, as distinct from others who will become clean in the future.” (Comp. Note on John 13:10.)
**Through the word which I have spoken unto you.**—Better, *on account of the word which I have spoken unto you.* The word was the revelation of God to them, and by reason of its moral power they had been clean...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**35-36. Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, &c.--**Instead of answering their question, He warns them, with mingled majesty and tenderness, against trifling with their last brief opportunity, and entreats them to let in the Light while they have it in the midst of them, that they themselves might be "light in the Lord." In this case, all the clouds which hu...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Christ the true Vine.(1-8)
His love to his disciples.(9-17)
foretold.
(18-25)
The Comforter promised.(26-27)
**Verses 1-8**
Jesus Christ is the Vine, the true Vine. The union of the human and Divine natures, and the fulness of the Spirit that is in him, resemble the root of the vine made fruitful by the moisture from a rich soil. Believers a...
Read full commentary →Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus commands 'Abide in me, and I in you' (meinate en emoi, kago en hymin). The verb meno means to remain, stay, dwell permanently. The command is reciprocal - believers abide in Christ, and He abides in them. This is not mere proximity but intimate, organic connection. The analogy follows: 'As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Abide in me, and I in you.**—The clauses are here connected as cause and effect. The second is the promise, which will not fail if the command of the first be observed. The union then, and all that follows from it, is placed within the power of the human will. All is contained in the words, “Abide in Me.” He who obeys this command has Christ abiding in him, and is a fruitful branch of the tr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
37-41. It is the manner of this Evangelist alone to record his own reflections on the scenes he describes; but here, having arrived at what was virtually the close of our Lord's public ministry, he casts an affecting glance over the fruitlessness of His whole ministry on the bulk of the now doomed people.
**though he had done so many miracles--**The word used suggests their nature as well as num...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Christ the true Vine.(1-8)
His love to his disciples.(9-17)
foretold.
(18-25)
The Comforter promised.(26-27)
**Verses 1-8**
Jesus Christ is the Vine, the true Vine. The union of the human and Divine natures, and the fulness of the Spirit that is in him, resemble the root of the vine made fruitful by the moisture from a rich soil. Believers a...
Read full commentary →I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing . without me: or, severed from me
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus reiterates 'I am the vine, ye are the branches' (ego eimi he ampelos, hymeis ta klemata). This identifies believers' relationship to Christ - they are not independent entities but extensions of Him, deriving life from Him. The promise follows: 'He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit' (ho menon en emoi kago en auto, houtos pherei karpon polyn). The reciprocal ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **I am the vine, ye are the branches.**—The first clause is repeated to bring out the contrast with the second. It has been implied, but not directly stated, that they are the branches. It may be that there was a pause after the end of the fourth verse, accompanied by a look at the disciples, or at that which suggested the imagery of the vine. His words would then continue with the sense, “Yes...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
37-41. It is the manner of this Evangelist alone to record his own reflections on the scenes he describes; but here, having arrived at what was virtually the close of our Lord's public ministry, he casts an affecting glance over the fruitlessness of His whole ministry on the bulk of the now doomed people.
**though he had done so many miracles--**The word used suggests their nature as well as num...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Christ the true Vine.(1-8)
His love to his disciples.(9-17)
foretold.
(18-25)
The Comforter promised.(26-27)
**Verses 1-8**
Jesus Christ is the Vine, the true Vine. The union of the human and Divine natures, and the fulness of the Spirit that is in him, resemble the root of the vine made fruitful by the moisture from a rich soil. Believers a...
Read full commentary →If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch</strong> (ean me tis mene en emoi, eblethe exo hos to klema)—The aorist passive eblethe (was cast) indicates decisive action. The conditional 'if not' (ean me) presents the alternative to abiding: not gradual decline but immediate severance. <strong>And is withered</strong> (exeranthe)—The aorist tense again, pointing to completed acti...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch . . .**—The thought passes from the fruitful to the sterile branch, from the man who abideth to the man who will not abide in Christ. In the natural vineyard such a branch was cast forth, and then withered, and was gathered with others into bundles, and burned. The vivid picture illustrates the fearful history of a man who willeth not to...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
37-41. It is the manner of this Evangelist alone to record his own reflections on the scenes he describes; but here, having arrived at what was virtually the close of our Lord's public ministry, he casts an affecting glance over the fruitlessness of His whole ministry on the bulk of the now doomed people.
**though he had done so many miracles--**The word used suggests their nature as well as num...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Christ the true Vine.(1-8)
His love to his disciples.(9-17)
foretold.
(18-25)
The Comforter promised.(26-27)
**Verses 1-8**
Jesus Christ is the Vine, the true Vine. The union of the human and Divine natures, and the fulness of the Spirit that is in him, resemble the root of the vine made fruitful by the moisture from a rich soil. Believers a...
Read full commentary →If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus promises 'If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you' (ean meinate en emoi kai ta rhemata mou en hymin meine), establishing two conditions: believers abiding in Christ and Christ's words abiding in them. The rhemata (words/sayings) indicates specific teachings retained and treasured. The astounding promise: 'ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you' (ho ean thelete aitesast...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you . . .**—He is now passing from the figure, which recurs again only in John 15:8; John 15:16. We should have expected here, “and I abide in you” (John 15:4); but His abiding in them necessarily accompanies their abiding in Him. The abiding of His words in them is the means by which, and the proof that they do abide in Him. (Comp. John 14:15; John 1...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
37-41. It is the manner of this Evangelist alone to record his own reflections on the scenes he describes; but here, having arrived at what was virtually the close of our Lord's public ministry, he casts an affecting glance over the fruitlessness of His whole ministry on the bulk of the now doomed people.
**though he had done so many miracles--**The word used suggests their nature as well as num...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Christ the true Vine.(1-8)
His love to his disciples.(9-17)
foretold.
(18-25)
The Comforter promised.(26-27)
**Verses 1-8**
Jesus Christ is the Vine, the true Vine. The union of the human and Divine natures, and the fulness of the Spirit that is in him, resemble the root of the vine made fruitful by the moisture from a rich soil. Believers a...
Read full commentary →Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit</strong> (ἐν τούτῳ ἐδοξάσθη ὁ πατήρ μου)—The Father's glory is manifested through the fruitfulness of Christ's disciples. The aorist passive <em>edoxasthē</em> points to completed glorification already achieved through Jesus's obedience, yet continuing through disciples who abide in the Vine. <strong>Much fruit</strong> (καρπὸν πολύν) ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Herein is my Father glorified.**—This clause is generally understood of the words which follow as it is taken in our English version, but the rendering is liable to the objection that it gives a forced meaning to the word “that” (Ἱυα), which is properly used to express purpose. We may here (as in John 4:37; John 16:30) take “herein” to refer to the words which have gone before. By so doing w...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
37-41. It is the manner of this Evangelist alone to record his own reflections on the scenes he describes; but here, having arrived at what was virtually the close of our Lord's public ministry, he casts an affecting glance over the fruitlessness of His whole ministry on the bulk of the now doomed people.
**though he had done so many miracles--**The word used suggests their nature as well as num...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 15
Chapter Outline
Christ the true Vine.(1-8)
His love to his disciples.(9-17)
foretold.
(18-25)
The Comforter promised.(26-27)
**Verses 1-8**
Jesus Christ is the Vine, the true Vine. The union of the human and Divine natures, and the fulness of the Spirit that is in him, resemble the root of the vine made fruitful by the moisture from a rich soil. Believers a...
Read full commentary →Abide in My Love
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus declares 'As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you' (kathos egapesen me ho pater, kago egapesa hymas). The comparison kathos... houtos (as... so) establishes proportion - the love between Father and Son is the measure of Christ's love for believers. This is staggering: divine intra-Trinitarian love extended to humans. The perfect tense egapesen (has loved) indicates completed action ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you.**—Better, *As the Father hath loved Me, I have also loved you.* He had passed from the thought of their discipleship to the foundation of their union with Him and with God. It was in the eternal love of the Father, ever going forth to the Son, and from the Son ever going forth to all who would receive it. The Father’s love and presence was ev...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**42-43. among the chief rulers also--**rather, "even of the rulers"; such as Nicodemus and Joseph.
**because of the Pharisees--**that is, the leaders of the sects; for they were of it themselves.
**put out of the synagogue--**See Joh 9:22, 34.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-17**
Those whom God loves as a Father, may despise the hatred of all the world. As the Father loved Christ, who was most worthy, so he loved his disciples, who were unworthy. All that love the Saviour should continue in their love to him, and take all occasions to show it. The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment, but the joy of those who abide in Christ's love is a continual fe...
Read full commentary →If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus explains how to abide in His love: 'If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love' (ean tas entolas mou teresete, meneite en te agape mou). Obedience is not condition for being loved but means of remaining conscious of that love. The verb tereo (keep, guard) suggests careful observance. Jesus then provides His own example: 'even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in h...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love.**—Comp. John 14:21; John 14:24. keeping of His commandments is the outward proof of love towards Him; so that the love of the human heart towards Christ, which itself flows from Christ’s love to us (see Note on previous verse), becomes the condition of abiding in that love. While we cherish love for Him, our hearts are abiding in that s...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**42-43. among the chief rulers also--**rather, "even of the rulers"; such as Nicodemus and Joseph.
**because of the Pharisees--**that is, the leaders of the sects; for they were of it themselves.
**put out of the synagogue--**See Joh 9:22, 34.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-17**
Those whom God loves as a Father, may despise the hatred of all the world. As the Father loved Christ, who was most worthy, so he loved his disciples, who were unworthy. All that love the Saviour should continue in their love to him, and take all occasions to show it. The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment, but the joy of those who abide in Christ's love is a continual fe...
Read full commentary →These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus reveals His purpose in teaching these things: 'These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you' (tauta lelaleka hymin hina he chara he eme en hymin me). Christ's own joy (he chara he eme) is to remain (meno) in believers. This joy is not circumstantial happiness but the deep satisfaction that exists in the Father-Son relationship. Jesus desires to share His own joy with ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you.**—The better reading is, . . *that My joy may be in you.* The joy thought of is that which Christ Himself possessed in the consciousness of His love towards the Father, and of the Father’s love towards Him. The brightness of that joy lit up the darkest hours of His own human life, and He wills that it should light up thei...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**44-50. Jesus cried--**in a loud tone, and with peculiar solemnity. (Compare Joh 7:37).
**and said, He that believeth on me, &c.--**This seems to be a supplementary record of some weighty proclamations, for which there had been found no natural place before, and introduced here as a sort of summary and winding up of His whole testimony.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-17**
Those whom God loves as a Father, may despise the hatred of all the world. As the Father loved Christ, who was most worthy, so he loved his disciples, who were unworthy. All that love the Saviour should continue in their love to him, and take all occasions to show it. The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment, but the joy of those who abide in Christ's love is a continual fe...
Read full commentary →This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus gives His commandment: 'This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you' (haute estin he entole he eme, hina agapate allelous kathos egapesa hymas). While the Torah commanded neighbor-love (Leviticus 19:18), Jesus' command is new in its standard: 'as I have loved you.' The aorist egapesa points to specific demonstration - supremely the Cross. The command is singular ent...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **This is my commandment.**—Comp. Note on John 13:34. In John 15:10 keeping of His commandments was laid down as the means of abiding in His love. He now reminds them that that which was specially the commandment to them was love to one another. Love to God is proved by love to mankind. The two great commandments of the law are really one. “If a man love not his brother whom he hath seen, how...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**44-50. Jesus cried--**in a loud tone, and with peculiar solemnity. (Compare Joh 7:37).
**and said, He that believeth on me, &c.--**This seems to be a supplementary record of some weighty proclamations, for which there had been found no natural place before, and introduced here as a sort of summary and winding up of His whole testimony.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-17**
Those whom God loves as a Father, may despise the hatred of all the world. As the Father loved Christ, who was most worthy, so he loved his disciples, who were unworthy. All that love the Saviour should continue in their love to him, and take all occasions to show it. The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment, but the joy of those who abide in Christ's love is a continual fe...
Read full commentary →Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.</strong> This statement comes at the climax of Jesus's Upper Room Discourse, spoken the night before His crucifixion. The verse articulates the supreme standard of love—self-sacrificial death on behalf of others—which Jesus Himself would demonstrate within hours.<br><br>"Greater love" (μείζονα ἀγάπην/<em>meiz...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Greater love hath no man than this.**—Better, . . . *hath no one than this.* (Comp. Note on John 10:18; John 10:29.) Nothing greater is conceivable in the thought of love. He has spoken of His own love for them as the measure of their love for each other. The thought of this verse dwells upon what His love really was and what theirs should also be. (Comp. especially Note on 1John 3:16.)
**T...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**44-50. Jesus cried--**in a loud tone, and with peculiar solemnity. (Compare Joh 7:37).
**and said, He that believeth on me, &c.--**This seems to be a supplementary record of some weighty proclamations, for which there had been found no natural place before, and introduced here as a sort of summary and winding up of His whole testimony.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-17**
Those whom God loves as a Father, may despise the hatred of all the world. As the Father loved Christ, who was most worthy, so he loved his disciples, who were unworthy. All that love the Saviour should continue in their love to him, and take all occasions to show it. The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment, but the joy of those who abide in Christ's love is a continual fe...
Read full commentary →Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Ye are my friends</strong> (φίλοι μού ἐστε, <em>philoi mou este</em>)—Jesus redefines the Master-servant relationship with the covenant term <em>philoi</em> (beloved friends), the same root used in <em>philadelphia</em> (brotherly love). This is not casual friendship but covenant friendship, echoing Abraham who was called "friend of God" (James 2:23).<br><br><strong>If ye do whatsoever I c...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Ye are my friends . . .**—Stress is to be laid upon the pronoun, “*Ye* are My friends . . .” “Ye are those of whom I have just spoken, and for whom I am about to give the greatest proof of love.”
**If ye do whatsoever I command you.**—Better, *the things which I am commanding you,* (Comp. John 14:21; John 14:23.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**44-50. Jesus cried--**in a loud tone, and with peculiar solemnity. (Compare Joh 7:37).
**and said, He that believeth on me, &c.--**This seems to be a supplementary record of some weighty proclamations, for which there had been found no natural place before, and introduced here as a sort of summary and winding up of His whole testimony.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-17**
Those whom God loves as a Father, may despise the hatred of all the world. As the Father loved Christ, who was most worthy, so he loved his disciples, who were unworthy. All that love the Saviour should continue in their love to him, and take all occasions to show it. The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment, but the joy of those who abide in Christ's love is a continual fe...
Read full commentary →Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Henceforth I call you not servants</strong> (οὐκέτι λέγω ὑμᾶς δούλους/<em>ouketi legō hymas doulous</em>)—The word δούλους (<em>doulous</em>) means slaves or bondservants, those who obey commands without understanding their master's purposes. Throughout the Old Testament, God's people are called His servants: Abraham (Genesis 26:24), Moses (Deuteronomy 34:5), David (Psalm 89:20), the proph...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Henceforth I call you not servants.**—Better, *I call you no longer,* or, *I* *do not still call you, servants.* (Comp. John 14:30.) For the word “servant,” as applied to them, comp. John 12:26; John 13:13. It is used again in this discourse (John 15:20), but with reference to an earlier saying. In John 20:17, he calls them brethren. The word here rendered “servant” means literally “bond-se...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**44-50. Jesus cried--**in a loud tone, and with peculiar solemnity. (Compare Joh 7:37).
**and said, He that believeth on me, &c.--**This seems to be a supplementary record of some weighty proclamations, for which there had been found no natural place before, and introduced here as a sort of summary and winding up of His whole testimony.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-17**
Those whom God loves as a Father, may despise the hatred of all the world. As the Father loved Christ, who was most worthy, so he loved his disciples, who were unworthy. All that love the Saviour should continue in their love to him, and take all occasions to show it. The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment, but the joy of those who abide in Christ's love is a continual fe...
Read full commentary →Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus declares 'Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you' (ouch hymeis me exelexasthe all' ego exelexamen hymas). This asserts divine initiative - salvation begins with God's elective choice, not human decision. The verb eklego means to select, to choose out. Jesus then states His purpose: 'and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit' (kai etheka hymas hina hymeis hypagete kai ka...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.**—Comp. Luke 6:12 *et seq.,* and in this Gospel John 6:70; John 13:18. The thought of His love for them, which had exalted them from the position of slaves to friends, from fishermen to Apostles, is made to remind them again (John 15:17) of the duty of love to each other. In John 15:20 he reminds them of the words which accompanied His own act o...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**44-50. Jesus cried--**in a loud tone, and with peculiar solemnity. (Compare Joh 7:37).
**and said, He that believeth on me, &c.--**This seems to be a supplementary record of some weighty proclamations, for which there had been found no natural place before, and introduced here as a sort of summary and winding up of His whole testimony.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-17**
Those whom God loves as a Father, may despise the hatred of all the world. As the Father loved Christ, who was most worthy, so he loved his disciples, who were unworthy. All that love the Saviour should continue in their love to him, and take all occasions to show it. The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment, but the joy of those who abide in Christ's love is a continual fe...
Read full commentary →These things I command you, that ye love one another.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>These things I command you</strong> (ταῦτα ἐντέλλομαι ὑμῖν, tauta entellomai hymin)—Jesus uses the verb <em>entellomai</em>, meaning to order authoritatively, not merely suggest. This is divine imperative, apostolic commission. <strong>That ye love one another</strong> (ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους, hina agapate allelous) presents <em>agape</em> love as the purpose and substance of His commands (p...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **These things I command you**—*i.e.,* the things of which He has spoken from John 15:1 onwards, and especially from John 15:12-16. After speaking them He comes back to the purpose from which this section started, “that ye love one another.”
We must beware of the not unfrequent mistake of interpreting “these things” of the words which follow, as if it were, “I command you this, viz., to love ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**44-50. Jesus cried--**in a loud tone, and with peculiar solemnity. (Compare Joh 7:37).
**and said, He that believeth on me, &c.--**This seems to be a supplementary record of some weighty proclamations, for which there had been found no natural place before, and introduced here as a sort of summary and winding up of His whole testimony.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 9-17**
Those whom God loves as a Father, may despise the hatred of all the world. As the Father loved Christ, who was most worthy, so he loved his disciples, who were unworthy. All that love the Saviour should continue in their love to him, and take all occasions to show it. The joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment, but the joy of those who abide in Christ's love is a continual fe...
Read full commentary →The World's Hatred
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus transitions from love within the church to hatred from the world. The world's hatred of believers stems from its prior hatred of Christ—opposition to Christians is ultimately opposition to God. 'Ye know' indicates certainty: persecution isn't possible, it's guaranteed. This prepares disciples for coming trials, showing that rejection proves they belong to Christ, not the world.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **If the world hate you.**—He has spoken of their close union with Himself, and of their love to each other. He proceeds in the remainder of the chapter to speak of their relation to the world. There is a striking contrast between the “love” in the last verse, and the “hatred” in this. There was the more need for them to be close bound to each other, and to their Lord, on account of the hatre...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
How little do many persons think, that in opposing the doctrine of Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, they prove themselves ignorant of the one living and true God, whom they profess to worship! The name into which Christ's disciples were baptized, is that which they will live and die by. It is a comfort to the greatest sufferers, if they suffer for Christ's name's sake....
Read full commentary →If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If ye were of the world, the world would love his own</strong> (εἰ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου ἦτε, ὁ κόσμος ἂν τὸ ἴδιον ἐφίλει/<em>ei ek tou kosmou ēte, ho kosmos an to idion ephilei</em>)—Jesus uses a contrary-to-fact condition, assuming the opposite is true: disciples are NOT of the world. The phrase <strong>of the world</strong> (ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου) indicates origin and essential nature, not mere physica...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **If ye were of the world, the world would love his own.**—The force of the expression indicates the utter selfishness of the world’s love. It would love not them, but that in them which was its own. (Comp. Note on John 7:7.)
**I have chosen you out of the world.**—Comp. John 15:16, and Note on John 7:7. There He had told them that the world could not hate them. The very fact of its hatred wo...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 13 Joh 13:1-20. At the Last Supper Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet--The Discourse Arising Thereupon.
**1. when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father--**On these beautiful euphemisms, see on Lu 9:31; Lu 9:51.
**having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end--**The meaning is, that on the very edge of His last ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
How little do many persons think, that in opposing the doctrine of Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, they prove themselves ignorant of the one living and true God, whom they profess to worship! The name into which Christ's disciples were baptized, is that which they will live and die by. It is a comfort to the greatest sufferers, if they suffer for Christ's name's sake....
Read full commentary →Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord</strong>—Jesus recalls His earlier teaching (John 13:16, Matthew 10:24) using <em>doulos</em> (slave/servant) and <em>kyrios</em> (lord/master). The principle establishes hierarchy and shared experience: slaves cannot expect treatment superior to their master. This isn't abstract theology but practical prepara...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Remember the word that I said unto you.**—Comp. John 13:16, where the saying is used in a different sense; and Matthew 10:24, where it is used in the same connection in which we find it here.
**If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying . . .**—The meaning is exactly that which is expressed in the rendering of the English version. The two things ar...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. supper being ended--**rather, "being prepared," "being served," or, "going on"; for that it was not "ended" is plain from Joh 13:26.
**the devil having now--**or, "already."
**put into the heart of Judas ... to betray him--**referring to the agreement he had already made with the chief priests (Lu 22:3-6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
How little do many persons think, that in opposing the doctrine of Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, they prove themselves ignorant of the one living and true God, whom they profess to worship! The name into which Christ's disciples were baptized, is that which they will live and die by. It is a comfort to the greatest sufferers, if they suffer for Christ's name's sake....
Read full commentary →But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake</strong> (ἀλλὰ ταῦτα πάντα ποιήσουσιν εἰς ὑμᾶς διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου/<em>alla tauta panta poiēsousin eis hymas dia to onoma mou</em>)—the phrase <strong>for my name's sake</strong> (διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου/<em>dia to onoma mou</em>) identifies the root cause of persecution: association with Christ's person and authority. <em>Onoma</em> (nam...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **But all these things will they do unto you.**—These words are themselves an interpretation of the previous verse. They suppose the persecution and hatred to take place, and find the true consolation in the fact that this would be done to them as representing their Lord. The Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles are a commentary on this text. (Comp., among numerous passages, Acts 4:17; Acts ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, &c.--**This verse is very sublime, and as a preface to what follows, were we not familiar with it, would fill us with inexpressible surprise. An unclouded perception of His relation to the Father, the commission He held from Him, and His approaching return to Him, possessed His soul.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
How little do many persons think, that in opposing the doctrine of Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, they prove themselves ignorant of the one living and true God, whom they profess to worship! The name into which Christ's disciples were baptized, is that which they will live and die by. It is a comfort to the greatest sufferers, if they suffer for Christ's name's sake....
Read full commentary →If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. cloke: or, excuse
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin</strong> (εἰ μὴ ἦλθον καὶ ἐλάλησα αὐτοῖς, ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ εἴχοσαν/<em>ei mē ēlthon kai elalēsa autois, hamartian ouk eichosan</em>)—this contrary-to-fact condition addresses the sin of rejecting Christ specifically, not sin in general. The phrase <strong>they had not had sin</strong> doesn't mean sinless perfection, but rather they ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin.**—In this and the following verses (John 15:22-25) our Lord shows the sinfulness of the world’s hatred, because it was in the face of His revelation to them by both word (John 15:22) and work (John 15:24). Apart from this revelation, their sin would have belonged to the times of ignorance, which God overlooked (Acts 17:30-31). It...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4-5. He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments--**outer garments which would have impeded the operation of washing.
**and took a towel and girded himself--**assuming a servant's dress.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
How little do many persons think, that in opposing the doctrine of Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, they prove themselves ignorant of the one living and true God, whom they profess to worship! The name into which Christ's disciples were baptized, is that which they will live and die by. It is a comfort to the greatest sufferers, if they suffer for Christ's name's sake....
Read full commentary →He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>He that hateth me hateth my Father also</strong> (ὁ ἐμὲ μισῶν καὶ τὸν πατέρα μου μισεῖ/<em>ho eme misōn kai ton patera mou misei</em>)—this stark declaration establishes the inseparable unity of Father and Son. The present participle <em>misōn</em> (hating) indicates ongoing attitude, not momentary emotion. The verb <em>misei</em> (hates) repeats, showing identical hatred directed at both ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **He that hateth me hateth my Father also.**—Comp. Note on John 5:23, and John 15:18 in this context. Again the darkness of the world’s hatred is drawn in the successive degrees of sin. Hatred against the disciples is hatred against the Master whom they represent. Hatred against the Son is hatred against the Father whom He represents. Hatred of the Father! There can be no greater darkness. Th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4-5. He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments--**outer garments which would have impeded the operation of washing.
**and took a towel and girded himself--**assuming a servant's dress.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
How little do many persons think, that in opposing the doctrine of Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, they prove themselves ignorant of the one living and true God, whom they profess to worship! The name into which Christ's disciples were baptized, is that which they will live and die by. It is a comfort to the greatest sufferers, if they suffer for Christ's name's sake....
Read full commentary →If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin</strong> (εἰ τὰ ἔργα μὴ ἐποίησα ἐν αὐτοῖς ἃ οὐδεὶς ἄλλος ἐποίησεν, ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ εἴχοσαν/<em>ei ta erga mē epoiēsa en autois ha oudeis allos epoiēsen, hamartian ouk eichosan</em>)—Jesus adds works to words (verse 22). The phrase <strong>works which none other man did</strong> (ἔργα ἃ οὐδεὶς ἄλλος ἐποίησεν/...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **If I had not done among them the works.**—Comp. Note on John 15:22, and for the evidence of our Lord’s works, see John 5:36; John 9:3-4; John 9:24; John 10:21; John 10:37; John 14:10. They met the evidence of works by the assertion that He was a sinner, and possessed a devil. Their hatred led them to ascribe the highest good to the power of evil. To such hearts there are no channels by whic...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-11. Peter saith ... Lord, dost thou wash my feet?--**Our language cannot bring out the intensely vivid contrast between the "Thou" and the "my," which, by bringing them together, the original expresses, for it is not good English to say, "Lord, Thou my feet dost wash?" But every word of this question is emphatic. Thus far, and in the question itself, there was nothing but the most profound and...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
How little do many persons think, that in opposing the doctrine of Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, they prove themselves ignorant of the one living and true God, whom they profess to worship! The name into which Christ's disciples were baptized, is that which they will live and die by. It is a comfort to the greatest sufferers, if they suffer for Christ's name's sake....
Read full commentary →But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law</strong> (ἀλλ' ἵνα πληρωθῇ ὁ λόγος ὁ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ αὐτῶν γεγραμμένος/<em>all' hina plērōthē ho logos ho en tō nomō autōn gegrammenos</em>)—the purpose clause <em>hina plērōthē</em> (that it might be fulfilled) shows divine sovereignty orchestrating even human hatred to accomplish scriptural prophecy. <em>Pl...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled . . .**—The words in italics are not found in the original, but they rightly complete the sense. For the phrase, “might be fulfilled,” comp. Notes on John 12:38; John 13:18.
**That is written in their law.**—Comp. Note on John 10:34.
**They hated me without a cause.**—The passage immediately referred to is probably that of the Messia...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-11. Peter saith ... Lord, dost thou wash my feet?--**Our language cannot bring out the intensely vivid contrast between the "Thou" and the "my," which, by bringing them together, the original expresses, for it is not good English to say, "Lord, Thou my feet dost wash?" But every word of this question is emphatic. Thus far, and in the question itself, there was nothing but the most profound and...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 18-25**
How little do many persons think, that in opposing the doctrine of Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, they prove themselves ignorant of the one living and true God, whom they profess to worship! The name into which Christ's disciples were baptized, is that which they will live and die by. It is a comfort to the greatest sufferers, if they suffer for Christ's name's sake....
Read full commentary →But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
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KJV Study Commentary
Jesus promises 'the Comforter' (ὁ παράκλητος/ho paraklētos), a title appearing only in Johannine literature (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7; 1 John 2:1). Paraklētos literally means 'one called alongside' and encompasses multiple functions: advocate, helper, counselor, comforter. Jesus identifies the Comforter as 'the Spirit of truth' (τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας), indicating the Spirit's essential charact...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **But when the Comforter is come.**—Better, *But when the Advocate is come.* (Comp. *Excursus G.*)
**Whom I will send unto you from the Father.**—Comp. John 14:16, and Note on John 15:26. The pronoun is here emphatic. “Whom *I* will send . . .” The mission by the Father in answer to the Son’s prayer, and the mission by the Father in the Son’s name, and the mission by the Son Himself, are thou...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-11. Peter saith ... Lord, dost thou wash my feet?--**Our language cannot bring out the intensely vivid contrast between the "Thou" and the "my," which, by bringing them together, the original expresses, for it is not good English to say, "Lord, Thou my feet dost wash?" But every word of this question is emphatic. Thus far, and in the question itself, there was nothing but the most profound and...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 26-27**
The blessed Spirit will maintain the cause of Christ in the world, notwithstanding the opposition it meets with. Believers taught and encouraged by his influences, would bear testimony to Christ and his salvation.
And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning</strong> (καὶ ὑμεῖς δὲ μαρτυρεῖτε, ὅτι ἀπ' ἀρχῆς μετ' ἐμοῦ ἐστε, <em>kai hymeis de martyreite, hoti ap' archēs met' emou este</em>)—After promising the Holy Spirit's witness (15:26), Jesus commissions the disciples as witnesses. μαρτυρεῖτε (<em>martyreite</em>, 'you bear witness') is imperative—not optional but...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **And ye also shall bear witness.**—The tense is present, *and ye also bear witness;* or, *and ye also are witnesses.* (Comp. Notes on Luke 24:48-49.) The Apostles themselves distinguished between their own witness of things which had come within their own experience and the witness borne by the power of the Holy Spirit, of which the Day of Pentecost was the first great instance. (Comp. Acts ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-11. Peter saith ... Lord, dost thou wash my feet?--**Our language cannot bring out the intensely vivid contrast between the "Thou" and the "my," which, by bringing them together, the original expresses, for it is not good English to say, "Lord, Thou my feet dost wash?" But every word of this question is emphatic. Thus far, and in the question itself, there was nothing but the most profound and...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 26-27**
The blessed Spirit will maintain the cause of Christ in the world, notwithstanding the opposition it meets with. Believers taught and encouraged by his influences, would bear testimony to Christ and his salvation.