I think Jesus here talking about or mentioning the Israelites as Israelites was God’s unfaithful vine. But Jesus is the true and faithful vine and the Father is the vinedresser.
Here is a parable regarding the nation of Israel as a whole and the tribe of Judah in particular. (See Isa. 5:1-7). Those who thought of themselves as God’s people are called a vineyard.
First, both the fruitless branch and the fruitful branch refer to true believers. The phrase every branch in Me, which refers to genuine believers. Elsewhere in the NT, nonbelievers are never said to be “in Me (Christ)” in any sense.
The verb translated takes away can just as easily be translated “lifts up,” denoting the Vinedresser’s action in stimulating growth in a fruitless branch (God helping a fruitless believer to produce fruit).
In the viticulture of Israel, late fall was the season for removing dead branches (v. 6). The springtime (the time of the upper room message and Jesus’ death) was the season to “lift up” fruitless branches from the ground to encourage productivity. The fruitful branch (i.e., a fruitful believer) receives pruning (divine discipline) so that it might be even more fruitful.
HE is speaking of what happens to literal branches cut from a vine. He does not say that some believers may not remain in Him and that if they do not, they will be burned in the fires of hell. That will be the fate of unbelievers, like Judas Iscariot, but not of believers.
If any believer fears it might happen to him let him be sure to take hold of all the truth Christ taught and remain in Him. Then he will certainly not fall away.
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