Dual PanelJesus Is Like a Vine
1Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
2He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. He also trims every branch that produces fruit to prepare it to produce even more.
3You have already been prepared to produce more fruit by the teaching I have given you.
4Stay joined to me and I will stay joined to you. No branch can produce fruit alone. It must stay connected to the vine. It is the same with you. You cannot produce fruit alone. You must stay joined to me.
5“I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I to you, you will produce plenty of fruit. But separated from me you won’t be able to do anything.
6If you don’t stay joined to me, you will be like a branch that has been thrown out and has dried up. All the dead branches like that are gathered up, thrown into the fire and burned.
7Stay joined together with me, and follow my teachings. If you do this, you can ask for anything you want, and it will be given to you.
8Show that you are my followers by producing much fruit. This will bring honor to my Father.
9“I have loved you as the Father has loved me. Now continue in my love.
10I have obeyed my Father’s commands, and he continues to love me. In the same way, if you obey my commands, I will continue to love you.
11I have told you these things so that you can have the true happiness that I have. I want you to be completely happy.
12This is what I command you: Love each other as I have loved you.
13The greatest love people can show is to die for their friends.
14You are my friends if you do what I tell you to do.
15I no longer call you servants, because servants don’t know what their master is doing. But now I call you friends, because I have told you everything that my Father told me.
16“You did not choose me. I chose you. And I gave you this work: to go and produce fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name.
17This is my command: Love each other.
Jesus Warns His Followers
18“If the world hates you, remember that they hated me first.
19If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as it loves its own people. But I have chosen you to be different from those in the world. So you don’t belong to the world, and that is why the world hates you.
20“Remember the lesson I told you: Servants are not greater than their master. If people treated me badly, they will treat you badly too. And if they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours too.
21They will do to you whatever they did to me, because you belong to me. They don’t know the one who sent me.
22If I had not come and spoken to the people of the world, they would not be guilty of sin. But now I have spoken to them. So they have no excuse for their sin.
23“Whoever hates me also hates my Father.
24I did things among the people of the world that no one else has ever done. If I had not done those things, they would not be guilty of sin. But they have seen what I did, and still they hate me and my Father.
25But this happened to make clear the full meaning of what is written in their law: ‘They hated me for no reason.’
26“I will send you the Helper from the Father. The Helper is the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father. When he comes, he will tell about me.
27And you will tell people about me too, because you have been with me from the beginning.