Another Reflection on John 15:3

Following the service yesterday I had a great discussion with my wife about John 15:3, a seemingly enigmatic little sentence in the middle of Jesus' analogy of the vine and the branches.

"Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you." 15:3

The word clean here is the same as the word prunes in 15:2, so Jesus is saying that the eleven remaining disciples are pruned, fruit-bearing branches. Judas is the ideal example of the dead branch that seemed to be "in Christ" but whom the Father has "taken away."

At this point in the sermon I made the comment that what Jesus says next is directed to fruit-bearing branches. Rachel told me that she wondered whether she would have understood Jesus to be speaking to only one kind of branch following this verse if I hadn't pointed it out. This caused me to go back to the verse and have another look at it.

This short verse is even more important than I thought. Here's why:

1. Often people quoting or referencing this passage will start in 15:4. "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me."

2. Had Jesus begun his speech here, you might be able to make a good case that Jesus is arguing for a sort of works righteousness, where it is the responsibility of the individual to stop being a dead branch and start producing fruit that God will accept. Try reading 15:1-2, skipping 15:3, and moving right to 15:4 to see what I mean.

3. 15:3 is the pronouncement of grace. The Gospel has cleaned these remaining eleven apostles. They are being pruned by the vinedresser to bear more fruit. Their responsibility is not to clean themselves, but to endure and partner in the continued discipleship process by abiding in the source of their spiritual life, Jesus Christ.

4. 15:3 and 15:6 work together to make certain that fruit-bearing branches realize it is God's sovereign grace that saves them and allows them to bear the fruit of Christ-like love.

What an important little sentence!