A  (1-2)  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

B  (3-4a)  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you.

C  (4)  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

X  (5a)  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:

C’  (5b-6)  for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

B’  (7)  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

A’  (8)  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

(Note: Here in X Jesus clearly and simply affirms the main principal of this parable of the vine. He is the vine, his disciples are the branches and those who abide in him will bring forth much fruit. Immediately before and after this central point are sections (C and C’) explaining the folly of not abiding in Jesus and what that leads to – without Christ we cannot bear fruit and in the parable this ultimately leads to us being cast forth and burned. B and B’ both help clarify that it is the words and teachings of Christ which, if we have abiding in us, will lead to us bringing forth fruit. Finally this passage is bookended by two sections which focus on God (A and A’). Although in A we have a description of the two types of branches, it is still in the context of what God does to these branches. In A Jesus declares that God is the husbandman and it is He who removes or purges the branches. This ultimately leads to people bringing forth much fruit and glorifying Him as in A’.)