14. Why did Jesus not think it to be pointless for him to give the parable of the vine and the branches shortly before his arrest at Gethsemane?

¹⁴ As regards “the true vine” that Jehovah God had planted and was cultivating, Jesus knew that this could not be deadened, even though the Jewish cultivators of the typical national “vine” were allowed to put him to death later on Passover day. Hence, even though it was just before his going to the garden of Gethsemane and being arrested, Jesus did not think it to be pointless for him to give to his disciples the parable of the vine and the branches.

15. According to John 15:1-5, who is the cultivator of “the true vine,” and what does he do to the branches according to whether they bear fruit or not?

¹⁵ “I am the true vine,” said Jesus, “and my Father is the cultivator.

16, 17. (a) When did Jehovah plant “the true vine,” and how? (b) How was Jesus Christ one greater than the patriarch Jacob, and when were “branches” produced on the “true vine”?

¹⁶ When did the great Vine Culturist plant this fruitful vine? It was in the year 29 C.E., at the time that he anointed the newly baptized Jesus with his holy spirit. (Isa. 61:1, 2) Then it was that Jehovah established the central stalk of the symbolic “vine” of the Messianic kingdom.