Last Sunday, we heard words in John’s gospel from the supper before the Passover, not about a vineyard, an image for Israel in Isaiah and Jeremiah,[1] but about a grapevine. Jesus said to his companions, “I am the vine, you are the branches.”[2] Today’s gospel continues his teaching with words about the relationship of believers to him and words about how believers’ relationships with each other are enabled by him.
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