15:1

I am the true vine: Jesus’ metaphor resembles word pictures found in the Hebrew Scriptures. In Isaiah’s prophecy, “the house of Israel” is called “the vineyard of Jehovah of armies.” (Isa 5:1-7) Jehovah also referred to unfaithful Israel as “the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine” and as “a degenerate vine.” (Jer 2:21; Ho 10:1, 2) But unlike that disloyal nation, Jesus is “the true vine,” and his Father, the cultivator. After likening his disciples to “branches” of the vine, he urged them to remain in union with him. Just as branches of a literal vine must remain attached to the trunk in order to remain alive and fruitful, the disciples need to remain in union with Jesus to be spiritually alive and productive. The illustration also shows that just as a cultivator expects a vine to produce fruit, Jehovah expects those in union with Christ to produce spiritual fruitage. This illustration emphasizes the unity that exists not only between Jesus’ true followers and Jesus but also between the disciples and Jesus’ Father.​—Joh 15:2-8.