What about Fruitless Branches

January 19

John 15 is the famous passage where Jesus told us that He is the true Vine, and we are the branches. It is a wonderful passage which teaches, as we remain on the vine, God will produce His fruit through us. Jesus—as the true Vine—produces fruit through the branches.

The responsibility of a branch is to simply stay in union and communion with the Vine, that is, to stay attached and allow the Vine’s life to flow through it. (John 15:4–5) The branches don’t need to struggle to produce fruit. In fact, the branches bear fruit that the true Vine produces.

So, what if branches are fruitless? Unfortunately, that does happen sometimes, and it’s easy to miss how fruitlessness is handled by the Gardner (the Father). Unfortunately, most English translations miss an important word in verse 2.

Before I go any further, let me say plainly, I believe God’s Word is God-breathed. There are no mistakes in God’s Word. However, sometimes Bible translators make mistakes, and their translations can lead to some wrong conclusions and bad theology. I mentioned this when we looked at John 3.

Look back at John 15:1–8. Notice that there are two types of branches. I’m not talking about branches that bear fruit and branches that do not bear fruit. Look closer. There are branches which are connected to the Vine, and there are branches that are not connected to the Vine. The branches that are not connected to the Vine cannot and will not bear fruit. (John 15:4) Those branches will be collected and destroyed because those fruitless branches are useless. (v. 6)

Branches that are connected may bear fruit, and other connected branches may not bear fruit. Fruitful branches that are connected to the Vine are pruned so that they can bear more fruit, and God is glorified when branches bear a lot of fruit. Bearing fruit is what branches are supposed to do!

But what about those connected branches which do not bear fruit? According to most English Bible translations, those branches are also removed from the Vine. (v. 2) However, those translations miss one word in the original Greek text which is critical to understanding exactly what Jesus was communicating and what He was not.

This word, when used in Greek viticulture (tending grapevines)—like it is here in John 15— does not mean to “take away” as some translations render it: “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (v. 2, ESV)

No, here the Greek word airó means to raise up or lift up. The fruitless branches that are connected to the Vine were not removed. In both Greek and Roman culture, these branches were raised up, tied to a trellis or something similar, allowing for better permeation of the sun’s nurturing rays and aeration from the wind, which helped prevent disease. We know this because of key historical writings from the period, like Pliny the Elder’s Natural History, Book 14.

In keeping with this key cultural context and a proper translation of the original Greek here, a better rendering of verse 2 would be: ““Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he lifts up, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

The idea that Jesus was/is communicating is that those branches are fruitless because they have been on the ground. They may have been overlooked, not properly tended. They might have been trampled. A small animal, like a fox, could have mangled and damaged the branch and devoured its fruit. But the point is, Jesus, keying directly off of the common agricultural practice of the day—as He did in all His parables—was communicating that the Gardener does not remove these branches. Instead, He lifts them up, gives them some much-needed TLC, and, in time, they can bear fruit once again.

Application

If you belong to Jesus, you are connected to the true Vine. You may or may not bear a great deal of fruit, but you are still connected to Him, and you will always be. I said a few days ago that if you have been born again, you can never lose your salvation.

There are a few reasons why you may not bear fruit. Perhaps you haven’t been a believer very long. Perhaps you need to deal with sin in your life.

If you belong to Jesus and have not been very fruitful, you may need some TLC. In that case, spend some time in God’s Word. Listen to God’s Word. Read God’s Word. Study God’s Word. Perhaps you need to study with other believers who can help you grow in your walk with Jesus, and by that I mean that you may need to study God’s Word with those whose iron will sharpen yours. (Proverbs 27:17)

Realize that in being sharpened you will experience some pain as rough edges are knocked off and dull edges are honed. Sparks will fly as those friends challenge you in your walk. Note that if you study God’s Word with friends who only affirm you or if your Bible teacher never challenges you, then you may be studying the Bible with the wrong people or the wrong church.

Your walk with Jesus should challenge you. Your walk with Jesus should be uncomfortable at times as you take off those things that don’t look like Jesus and you put on those things that do. (Ephesians 4:22–24)

© Copyright 2026 Craig Beaman