“Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. And every branch that does bear fruit, he cleanses it that it may produce more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you”.
The branches are those who ‘attach' themselves to Jesus by an outward form of belief, appearing to respond to Him and His teachings. Thus they can be ‘taken away'. But the true branches will be known by their fruit. (Thus the eleven on the one side and Judas on the other). For they are then, by the very virtue of their attachment, expected to live fruitful, righteous lives in order to fulfil the purpose of the Vine. And they will do so if their belief is a true one wrought by God. Because just as an earthly vinedresser will cut out branches which are not bearing fruit so that the fruitful ones will flourish, so the divine Vinedresser will be harsh with branches that are unfruitful, for this will be a sign that they are useless. They are only fit to be cut out and taken away and burned up because they are no longer connected to the vine. They are rejected. This applied not only to unbelieving Israel of Jesus' day, but to all who since have demonstrated their unworthiness by their fruitlessness. In contrast, if any man is in Christ he is a new creature (creation). Old things are passed away. All has become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Some have argued that ‘in Me' must signify a living relationship, and that is true in cases where it stands on its own or follows the verbs ‘abide' or ‘is/are'. But here it is being used metaphorically of Christ as the true vine of Israel and signifies ‘in Me as the vine', and so it is not a parallel usage to the others. This is brought out by the fact that in John 15:6 it is quite clear that the branches described are no longer ‘in Me'. They have been cut out.
This latter may well have direct reference to Judas Iscariot. But it also has in mind those who left Him and walked no more with Him (John 6:66), and those who have done the same ever since. Being outwardly a part of the Tree is not sufficient, it is necessary to be receiving life from the Tree. There are many in churches today who consider themselves part of the Tree, they are ‘attached' to the church, but their failure to live godly and spiritual lives demonstrates that they are not in living contact with Jesus and are therefore only fit to be cast out.
On the other hand, when the branch is properly connected and receiving life from the Tree, then, although problems may sometimes rear their heads, the Vinedresser will ‘cleanse' or prune the branch so that its fruitfulness increases (e.g. Numbers 14:22-24; Hebrews 12:4-11). This involves the pruning of the dead wood so that the branch may flourish. This is what has happened to the disciples. They are not perfect, but Jesus' words and exhortations have cleansed them, and are cleansing them, and making them more fruitful.
The test of whether we also are being pruned is not solely that of our profession as a branch in the Vine, but is as to whether we live fruitful, godly lives in response to being a part of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12 ff). It must be recognised that this ‘fruitfulness' does in the first place refer to godly living, as always in Scripture (Matthew 5:16). ‘By their fruits you will know them' (Matthew 7:15-27). But, of course, if their fruitfulness is genuine, from this godly living will flow a living witness.
We notice that the contrast is between branches that bear fruit and those which never bear fruit. This is not a picture of people genuinely struggling and then partly failing. Such people will produce some fruit. It is a contrast between those who have truly responded and bear some fruit, and those whose response is shallow and not lasting, who thereby demonstrate, to use another metaphor, that they are not good seed growing in good ground (compare Matthew 13:19-24; Hebrews 6:7-8). In John's Gospel we find this continual contrast, the contrast between men who have ‘believed', but only superficially (e.g. John 2:23-25), and those who have ‘believed into (eis)' Christ and proved true. Indeed we notice that the unfruitful branches do not receive the ministration of the heavenly Vinedresser. They are simply taken away. It is the fruitful branches that are pruned in accordance with His promise to ‘will and to work in you of His good pleasure' (Philippians 2:13).
Another possible translation for ‘taken away' (airo) is ‘lifted up'. Some therefore have seen this as indicating the branch as being raised up from the ground so as to aid fruitfulness, and if that is so they must be differentiated from those in John 15:6. But in the passage the contrast is between those who abide in Him and those who do not, the latter being burned up as rubbish. Thus the same contrast probably applies here.
‘Already you are clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.' The disciples, apart from Judas, have experienced pruning through the words of Jesus to them. They are now in a state to be even more fruitful.