Commentary on John

Baptist pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon is remembered today as the Prince of Preachers. But in addition to his sermons, he regularly reading a Bible passage before his message and gave a verse-by-verse exposition, rich in gospel insight and wisdom for the Christian life. 

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Sample: John 15:1-3 
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John 15 

This chapter contains some of the choicest of the utterances of the Lord Jesus to his disciples. On his way from the upper room in Jerusalem, where he had instituted the supper, to the garden of Gethsemane, where he was about to be betrayed, he spoke these wondrous words of cheer and counsel. 

1. I am the true vine, 

Many questions have been raised about which is the true Church; the Savior answers them, “I am the true vine.” All who are united, really united, to the ever-living Savior are members of the true Church. Find ye them where ye may, if they are one with Christ, they are his—they are parts of the divine vine; they are belonging to his Church. 

And my Father is the husbandman. 

It is the Father’s province, by the Holy Spirit and by the works of Providence, to see to the prosperity of the Church. “My Father is the husbandman.” All preachers, all teachers, are but, so to speak, the pruning tool in the hand of the great vine-dresser. “My Father is the husbandman.” 

2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away 

It is a necessary part of vine-dressing to remove the superfluous shoots. Too much wood-making, which does not lead to fruit-bearing, is but a waste of strength. And so in the Church there are those that bear no fruit, and for a while they appear to be fresh and green, and they who are the under-vine-dressers dare not take them away. But the Father does it—sometimes by removing them by death; at other times by permitting them openly to expose their own character, until they are then amenable to the discipline of the Church, and are removed. 

and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 

The vine is very apt to become unclean and unhealthy; there are all sorts of creatures that love to suck its juices, so that even the most fruitful bough needs to be cleansed. Besides, the vine has a great tendency to run to wood, so the pruning-knife must be used very sharply. It will be used upon all who are really in Christ, and who are abiding in Christ. 

Are you suffering under the pruning-knife just now? Accept it joyfully. How much better that the knife should cut off your superfluities than that it should cut you off! The mercy is that, although God will purge and prune his vine-branches, he will not destroy them. 

3. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 

While Christ was with his disciples he kept his vine continually pruned by the word which he spoke. That word cut off the non-fruit-bearing branches, for we read that after that saying there were some that went back, and walked no more with him, for they said, “‘This is a hard saying; who can bear it?” That was the word pruning off the useless branches. And there were others who were grieved by his word. These, were good people, and it did them good. It was a godly sorrow that led to bringing forth fruits meet for repentance. 

The Word is often the knife with which the great Husbandman prunes the vine; and, brothers and sisters, if we were more willing to feel the edge of the Word, and to let it cut, away even something that may be very dear to us, we should not need so much pruning by affliction. It is because that first knife does not always produce the desired result that another sharp tool is used by which we are effectually pruned.