Church Fathers Commentary John 15:1-3

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 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. Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you." — John 15:1-3 (ASV)

St. Hilary of Poitiers: He rises in haste to perform the sacrament of His final passion in the flesh (such is His desire to fulfill His Father’s commandment) and therefore takes the opportunity to unfold the mystery of the assumption of His flesh, through which He supports us, as the vine does its branches: I am the true vine.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He says this as the Head of the Church, of which we are the members—the Man Christ Jesus—for the vine and the branches are of the same nature. When He says, I am the true vine, He does not mean a literal vine, for He is called this metaphorically, not literally, just as He is called the Lamb, the Sheep, and so on. Instead, He distinguishes Himself from that vine to which it was said, How you are turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine to me (Jeremiah 2:21). For how can that be a true vine which, when grapes are expected from it, produces only thorns?

St. Hilary of Poitiers: But He completely separates this humiliation in the flesh from the form of the paternal majesty by presenting the Father as the diligent Husbandman of this vine: And My Father is the Husbandman.

St. Augustine of Hippo: For we cultivate God, and God cultivates us. But our cultivation of God does not make Him better; our cultivation is one of adoration, not of plowing. His cultivation of us, however, makes us better. His cultivation consists in eradicating all the seeds of wickedness from our hearts, opening our hearts to the plow of His word, so to speak, sowing in us the seeds of His commandments, and waiting for the fruits of piety.

St. John Chrysostom: And since Christ was sufficient for Himself, while His disciples needed the Husbandman's help, He says nothing about the vine but adds this concerning the branches: Every branch in Me that bears not fruit, He takes away. By "fruit" is meant a righteous life; that is, no one can be in Him without good works.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: The useless and deceitful branches He cuts down for burning.

St. John Chrysostom: And since even the best of people require the work of the husbandman, He adds, And every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bring forth more fruit. He alludes here to the tribulations and trials that were coming upon them, the effect of which would be to cleanse and thereby strengthen them. By pruning the branches, we make the tree become more fruitful.

St. Augustine of Hippo: And who in this world is so clean that they cannot be cleansed even more? Here, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. He, then, cleanses the clean—that is, the fruitful—so that the cleaner they become, the more fruitful they may be.

Christ is the vine when He says, My Father is greater than I; but He is the husbandman when He says, I and My Father are one. He is not like those who only perform an external ministry, for He Himself gives the growth from within.

He immediately calls Himself the cleanser of the branches: Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you. He therefore performs the role of the husbandman as well as the vine. But why does He not say, "You are clean because of the baptism with which you were washed"? Because it is the word that cleanses in the water. Take away the word, and what is the water but water? Add the word to the element, and it becomes a sacrament.

From where does water get such power that by touching the body, it cleanses the heart? It is through the power of the word—not only spoken, but believed. For in the word itself, the passing sound is one thing, and its enduring power is another. This word of faith is so effective in the Church of God that through the one who believes, presents, blesses, and sprinkles an infant, that infant is cleansed, even though it is unable to believe on its own.

St. John Chrysostom: You are clean through the word which I have spoken to you; that is, you have been enlightened by My doctrine and have been delivered from Jewish error.