I’ll be covering a few more verses of Jesus’s parable about the vine and branches that he discusses with his disciples in this post.

v7: Christ reiterates that the disciples must “remain in Him” in order for His “words to remain” in them. He then states that they may ask whatever they wish and “it will be done” for them. Jesus is telling the disciples the positive results of remaining faithful to him and how when they ask for something that is “in Jesus” (according to what He approves), what they ask will be delivered. While he says these desires will be fulfilled, Christ does not specify how or when. Everything Jesus’ followers ask for “in Him” will be granted, but maybe not in the way or timing that they envision, but in accordance with the way that God knows is best.

v8: God’s desire is that the disciples grow in their faith and others realize that they are disciples of Christ.

v9: Christ goes on to talk about love, stating He loves his disciples as His father loves Him, which focuses on the emotional connection between them and the need to be loving. He ends this verse with another reminder about the necessity of remaining “in” one another, in order to keep this love front and center in their lives.

v10: Jesus moves on to repeating His theme of to “remain”. If the disciples remain with Him, He’ll remain in them, blessing them and showering them with His love. Christ also compares the disciples’ relationships with Him to his relationship with God.

v11: Moving on from love, Christ discusses the “joy” He feels in regards to His relationship with His disciples. He highlights another benefit they will receive from their relationship with Him, mainly that of having complete joy from their relationship with Him and the Father.

v12: Once again, Jesus stresses the importance of love, commanding the disciples to love each other as He loves them. This type of love is meant to be unconditional and forgiving, which goes beyond normal human love and requires Jesus empowering them. Jesus wants the disciples to practice the ideal kind of divine love He presents and to show that love to the rest of the world.

v13: Finally, Christ states what is one of the most well-known verses in the Bible: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” This verse has been referenced countless times and is a defining factor of modern Christianity – to show others kindness and grace while practicing the type of love Christ has toward other people in the world.