This allegorical passage centres round the last 'I AM' saying of Jesus, 'I AM the vine.' The vine and the vineyard are symbols used in the Old Testament for Israel, although usually in passages connected with Israel's unfaithfulness to God, hence the significance of Jesus' opening words in 15: 1; 'I AM the real vine.' Old Testament passages such as Isaiah 5: 1-7, Jeremiah 2:21, Hosea 10:1, Ezekiel 19:10--14, Psalm 80:8-15, lament the sinful failure and unfaithfulness of those called to be God's people, comparing Israel to a vine which God had planted and cared for but which had failed to grow well and produce the fruit expected of it. The synoptic gospels record other teachings of Jesus in which he used this kind of comparison (Mark 12:1-12, Luke 13:6-9. Mark 11 :12-14 and 20--25).

The Old Testament passages form a background of contrast for 15: 1.

Jesus, not Israel, was the true vine planted by God from which the universal Church grows; but the great responsibility of the Church to remain faithful to Christ is made clear in 15:2. As the dead branches of a vine are broken off by the gardener, so will unfaithful followers of Christ be rejected by God. Even healthy branches of a vine need pruning to make them more fruitful (15:2-3). A branch can bear fruit only if it remains growing from the main vine stem; in the same way the Christian must remain united to Christ to bear spiritual fruit (15:4). Jesus is the vital vine stem and his followers are the branches which draw their life from him (15:5); the warning about separation from -Christ is repeated (15:5). Whatever Christ's disciples pray for, which is compatible with being in spiritual union with him, they will be given so that they may bear spiritual fruit in their lives to the glory of God (15:7-8).

The thought of the allegory of the real or true vine is similar to that of Paul's metaphor in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, of the Church as the body of Christ. Both John and Paul show that unity in Christ is essential to the life and well-being of the Church. Eucharistic significance can be seen in the allegory; the real vine is the source of the wine of the new Covenant, the blood of Jesus Christ.

In 15:9-17, the teaching centres on the love of Christ for his disciples, which flows from the love between the Father and the Son.Between the disciples there should be love such as that which Christ has for them (15:12-13). In such love there is great joy (15:11). Jesus calls his disciples his friends (15: 13-15). They did not choose him; he chose them (15: 16). God's election of those he calls to serve him is an important Biblical theme which begins in the Old Testament with Abraham and runs through the whole Bible.