John 15

1 [Jesus talked to us as we were walking along. Speaking figuratively of the need for us to live in a way that God wants us to, he said], “I am like [MET] a genuine vine, [not like those Jewish leaders who do not teach the truth]. My father is like [MET] a gardener who [works to] take care of a vineyard.

2 [Just like a gardener] cuts off the branches that bear no grapes [MET], [God gets rid of those who do not please him even though they say that they belong to him]. Those branches that bear fruit, [the gardener] trims so that they may bear more grapes. [Similarly, my Father disciplines/corrects those who live as he wants them to live].

3 You are already [like] the branches [that a gardener] trims because [you have believed] the message that I have told you.

4 Remain having a close relationship with me. [If you do that], I will remain having a close relationship with you. A branch [of a vine] cannot bear fruit [if it is cut off and left] by itself. To bear fruit, it must remain attached to the vine. Similarly, you cannot [live the way that God wants you to] if you do not remain united to me [MET].

5 I am [like] [MET] a vine. You are [like] [MET] the branches. All those who have a close relationship with me and with whom I have a close relationship will [do much that pleases God, like] [MET] [a vine that] bears much fruit. [Remember that] you can do nothing [HYP] [that truly pleases God] without my [help].

6 [A gardener cuts off and] throws away useless branches. Then, after they dry up, [he] picks them up and throws them into a fire and burns them [SIM]. Similarly, everyone who does not remain having a close relationship with me, [God] will get rid of.

7 If you remain having a close relationship with me and you keep [living in accordance with] my message, you can ask [God to do] anything for you, and he will do it.

8 The way my Father is honored is by your {The way you honor my Father is by} doing much that pleases him [MET], and by doing that, you will show that you are my disciples.

9 I have loved you just as [my] Father has loved me. Now keep living in [a way that is appropriate for those whom] I love.

10 If you obey what I have commanded you, you will be acting in [a way that is appropriate for those whom] I love, just like I have obeyed what my Father has commanded me and I act [in a way that is appropriate for someone] whom he loves.

11 I have told you these things so that you may be joyful as I [am joyful], and that you may be completely joyful.

12 What I am commanding you is this: Love each other just like I have loved you.

13 The best way that people can show that they love someone is to die for that person. There is no way that you can love someone in a greater way than that.

14 You [show that you] are my friends if you keep doing what I have commanded you.

15 I will no longer call you my servants, because servants do not know [why] their masters [want them to] do things. Instead, I have said that you are my friends, because I, [acting like a friend], have revealed to you everything that my Father told me.

16 You did not decide to become my [disciples]. Instead, I chose you, so that you would do many things that please him [MET]. The results of what you do will last [forever]. I also chose you so that [my] Father will do for you whatever you, using my authority, ask him to do [MTY].

17 [I repeat what] I have commanded you: Love each other.”

18 “The people who are opposed to God will hate you. When that happens, remember that they hated me first.

19 If you belonged to those who are opposed to God [MTY], they would love [you like they love] those who belong to them. But you do not belong to those who are opposed to God [MTY]. Instead, I chose you so that you would separate yourselves from [MTY] them. That is why those who are opposed to God [MTY] hate you.

20 Remember these words that I told you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ [That means that you, who are like my servants, cannot expect people to treat you better than they treat me]. So, since they have (persecuted me/caused me to suffer), they will (persecute you/cause you to suffer) also. If they had paid attention to the things I taught them, they would pay attention to what you teach them.

21 They will treat you like that because you [belong to] me [MTY], and because they do not know the one who sent me.

22 If I had not come and spoken [God’s message] to them, they would not be guilty [of rejecting me and my message]. But now [I have come and told them God’s message, so] they will have no excuse [when God judges them] for their sin.

23 All those who hate me, [it is as though] they hate my Father as well.

24 If I had not done among them the [miracles] that no one else ever did, they would not be guilty of the sin [of rejecting me]. But now, [although] they have seen [those miracles], they have hated both me and my Father.

25 But this has happened in order that these words that have been written in their Scriptures might be fulfilled {to fulfill this that [(someone/the Psalmist]) wrote in their Scriptures}: ‘They hated me for no reason.’

26 [Later] I will send to you from [my] Father the one who will (encourage/be like a legal counsel for) you. He is the Spirit [who will teach you God’s] truth. He will come from my Father. He will tell people about me.

27 But you [disciples] must also tell people [about me], because you have been with me from the time when I started [my ministry] [MTY].”